In a typical business setting, the human resources (HR) and marketing departments serve two very different functions. One focuses on customer acquisition, while the other is responsible for recruiting, onboarding, assisting, and retaining employees. However, HR professionals are beginning to realize that the two share important similarities.
That said, you may be surprised to learn the value of removing corporate silos and allowing these two teams to work together. If you’re not convinced that an HR and marketing collaboration is worth considering, here are four benefits it can bring to your business:
Acquiring New Talent
HR professionals are beginning to realize that recruiting talent is becoming very similar to acquiring customers. In both cases, you need to clearly communicate your brand’s identity and value to resonate with a target audience. In the case of HR, that audience consists of applicants who have a desire to contribute to your company’s vision.
HR professionals have the gift of working with and helping people. Still, they sometimes need to learn how to craft cohesive campaigns clearly communicating a branding message. That presents a significant opportunity for the marketing team to offer their assistance in making sure the business attracts the right talent.
Leveraging Modern Recruitment Tools
Human resources, much like many other aspects of most businesses, has undergone a digital transformation in recent years. Many HR teams are having to learn to use new recruitment tools such as social media, content marketing, career websites, and pay-per-click campaigns to capture the attention of applicants.
While HR professionals likely know how to create and post content, they may need help understanding how to look at these activities through a marketing lens.
How do you create SEO-optimized content that ranks highly and grabs attention? What about using hashtags and authentic behind-the-scenes videos to help your social media profile stand out? Establishing collaboration between HR and marketing might be the key to answering these questions for maximum digital recruitment success.
Better Culture for Increased Retention
If customer and employee acquisition require similar messaging, so do customer and employee retention. To retain employees, you must appeal to them with frequent communication and clear messaging highlighting their value to the company, the shared mission you all work toward each day, and the action each person needs to take to uphold that mission.
When you communicate clearly, you can win your employees over, making meeting their goals much easier for all departments. Use your marketing team to help you appeal to current employees by creating a better organizational culture. You’re likely to see increased retention as you work to boost employee morale.
Creating Impactful Programming
If there’s anywhere your HR team needs to provide clear communication, it’s during the new-hire onboarding process. Employee retention efforts start the minute a candidate receives and accepts their offer. From then on, it’s HR’s job to ensure a new employee has everything they need to thrive.
That may seem daunting, but it’s another way that your marketing team can help. A marketing professional will have the knowledge necessary to optimize your onboarding content to convey the right message and provide clear, concise instructions. New employees, therefore, will feel ready to hit the ground running.
Suppose the HR team has ideas for other programming they want to tweak or implement. In that case, marketing can also help pitch them to leadership and governance teams. Getting everyone on board requires persuasive skills that marketing teams already employ, so it makes sense to leverage these skills for an internal team.
HR and Marketing Collaboration: The Key to Success
While their audiences differ, marketing and human resources teams have similar objectives, which means working together can help both departments refine their messages to attract more of the right audience.
For HR professionals, if you are ready to take your talent acquisition to the next level, 10X Digital offers digital marketing services to help your team attract and recruit preferred candidates. Contact us today to learn how we can assist your team in developing a solid strategy, improving culture through clear messaging, and leveraging new channels to find your next all-star employee.