When the HR weds marketing

There was a time when marketing and human resource development used to be very separate disciplines. People who contributed to these disciplines had their own distinct schools of thought and nothing in common.

But given today’s talent bazaar, both these sciences were compelled to shake hands and share tools to form a new discipline- HR Marketing. As strange as it may sound, it relates to HR professionals employing classical marketing tools to do what they do best- which is almost every listed HR function.

Explains Adil Malia, Group President - HR, Essar Group, “As human beings, we don’t want to believe that we are like products. But given the fact that every candidate has four offers to choose from, and every organisation has multiple positions to fill, it is evident that the talent market is mimicking behaviour patterns of the product market.

This has pushed HR professionals to don a marketing cap and utilise marketing principles to present their employer offerings to relevant prospects.”

Go to talent market strategy

Today, when you try to hire a person, he/she has will evaluate you on multiple metrics, depending on what one finds attractive. So, in order to create a unique value proposition for various talent segments, HR needs to first develop a customised brand strategy based on what each one seeks.

You cannot afford to have the same formula across segments, just like one appeal may not be successful across diverse consumer segments. Adds Malia, “HR must understand the psychographics of the talent segment that it aims to attract and plan a customised go to market strategy for that segment. Only then will it be able to successfully develop a unique value proposition for them.”

But conceptualising a market strategy needs more than a clear idea of the value chain in the organisation. This calls for market intelligence to get a taste of what works for a particular talent segment and also considering the initiatives that competition is taking to attract talent.

Explains Neelesh Hundekari, Principal, A.T. Kearney Limited, “There have been many changes in the preferences over the last few years - for example, work-life balance and opportunity to learn new skills are important to the young generation, while the opportunity to build a career is less important. So, employers have to match this with what they offer best.

However this is not an easy task. Even companies which have been recruiting professionals for a long time, see a gradual change in their market/competitive positioning which gets reflected in their positioning in the talent market. Just as the segments in the market that you get to serve is influenced by competition, the talent that you attract is infleunced by matching the needs of the segment that you want to attract and their needs.”

Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink

This phrase rings true for every professional in the business of recruitment who would agree that there is a talent crunch. But HR marketers believe that there is no talent crunch. You just need to restructure your talent channels. So, if metros have been wrung dry, go to the rural areas! Malia opines, “India has a large talent pool but we still complain that there is a shortage of talent.

This is because we don’t have the appropriate channel strategy worked out. For example, our hiring related communication is usually directed only towards the metros, while there is a huge neglected talent pool available in the rural areas and small towns. So, just like planning for a brand, we need to develop a brand, channel, cost/price and occasion strategy to find and attract relevant talent.

Also, the employer brand created must have a clear differentiator, an identity of its own and a uniqueness to distinguish it from other employer brands in the market.” Hundekari agrees, “In a cluttered market, you need to identify new niches - be it customer segments or talent segments - where you will have a competitive advantage.

However just as each segment of customers has an associated ‘cost to serve’, each talent segment comes with its own set of needs, which could be potential issues. Hiring freshers implies less competition but greater need for orientation and training and hiring from non-traditional channels could mean higher hiring costs and lower success rates. However, wherever you go, you have to differentiate yourselves from other employers, by playing to your strengths.”

Living up to promises

Most would think that once you’ve managed to successfully build a desirable employer brand, your job is done. But the truth is far from it. As Malia would put it, “Building a strong employer brand and marketing it across talent segments is not the end of the process, just like marketing a product well can only determine first time purchase.

And like product attrition happens when there is no repeat purchase, talent attrition happens when you don’t live up to the promised value proposition made at the point of hiring. So, it can be safely said that talent will stay in your organisation till he/she is able to taste the total unique value proposition, which attracted him/her to that organisation in the first place. So, now companies are required to use macro marketing concepts to micro marketing requirements.” So, constant evaluation and alteration is must for survival, if not for acquiring an edge over competitive employer brands.

Hundekari explains how a new entrant could push existing players to bend their positioning, “Just like a product needs to be rejuvenated if you have to extend the product life cycle and prevent it from a decline, the employer brand needs to maintain its appeal. As new employer brands enter the market, existing ones face competition. There is no alternative to constantly tracking your brand (as an employer) health and repositioning when on a decline.”

So, as HR professionals don marketing gloves they may be able to brand their firms with the right attributes and may do a brilliant job of attracting relevant talent. But the ultimate criteria for retaining people was and continues to be- how you manage the aspirations and nurture the dreams of your people.