Recruiting and retaining top talent has always been an essential element of any organization’s success. However, as workforce participation remains below pre-pandemic levels (according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, we have 3 million fewer Americans working today compared to February of 2020), the task of finding, recruiting, hiring, and keeping employees continues to be a significant concern for many employers. To address this ongoing trend, collaboration between the HR and Marketing departments has increased, and in many organizations, the two disciplines will continue to share responsibility for employee recruitment and retention efforts.
Uniting the disciplines and purpose of HR and Marketing makes sense given the growing need to provide candidates with an authentic and united experience from engagement through employment. Here are some of the ways we think that HR and Marketing working together enhances recruitment and retention efforts.
1. Stronger (Authentic) Employer Branding
Developing a compelling employer brand is essential to attracting and retaining top talent in today’s competitive marketplace. One of the principal considerations when developing an employer brand is to build out positioning that is distinctive and honest. Promoting a company mission or values that are nice to talk about, but not understood or reflective of actual organizational culture will simply lead to questions and mistrust when reality hits. For example, “collaboration” is a strong brand ideal, but if an organization claims this ideal without actually facilitating collaborative opportunities or recognizing collaborative efforts, that can lead to employee disappointment and even discontent. By working together more closely, HR can provide insights into the company culture and the type of employees that are most successful. Marketing can then determine the best way to package and promote an authentic company brand that balances aspiration with existing, supported foundational values.
2. Better Recruitment Campaign Targeting
A strong employer brand showcasing company culture, values, and mission can help build targeted recruitment Marketing programs to identify and connect with the most relevant candidates. When HR provides insights into the specific skills and qualifications required for each role, Marketing can develop creative, compelling, and credible messaging that resonates more authentically with potential candidates. Targeting the right people with a focused, appealing opportunity is exactly what is required in today’s competitive employment market.
3. Improved Candidate Experience
The candidate experience has become increasingly important in recent years as the scales of the employment equation have tipped in favor of the prospective employee. A close working relationship between Marketing and HR can help ensure that any candidate’s journey includes applicable and consistent information necessary to accurately assess the employment opportunity as well as the company. It’s worth noting that a positive candidate experience can extend well beyond a specific candidate to enhance the company’s reputation and aid in attracting additional top talent.
4. Increased Retention
Positive employee retention is the result of many good business and management decisions. From a strong onboarding process to establishing and nurturing company culture, to activating and developing talents over time; employee engagement is an ongoing critical pursuit. The greatest Employee Lifetime Value (ELTV) comes from finding the right people, incentivizing them to perform at high levels, and retaining their skills within the company for as many years as possible. Alignment between HR and Marketing is a means to create unity of strategic purpose, which makes the entire process and organization stronger.
From our perspective, connecting Marketing and HR to design and deliver better recruitment and retention solutions makes perfect sense. What do you think? Drop us your thoughts at [email protected].