Organizations compete for customers, seeking to rise above the noise of the competition. But organizations also compete for talent, striving to attract and retain clever employees that will enhance their company culture and ensure their company’s success. As a business, it is important to tell your story. Of course, we know that marketing teams work to reach audiences in variety of ways through advertising, key messages and well-thought-out marketing strategies. But how is your organization communicating to your current and potential employees? Are you telling your organization’s story, truly communicating where you’ve come from, where you’re going, and how your team can work together to get you there?
Your employer brand is so important, it must be tackled by both your marketing department and your human resources department. Both must work together to actively engage, educate and retain talent. Marketing folks know messaging. HR folks know talent. By working together, you can ensure that you are using the best strategies to reach candidates and connect with those you’ve already hired.
Know who you’re talking to
Just as marketing departments help organizations identify key customers and their interests, likes, dislikes and preferences, your HR department can help you identify the types of talent that your company wants to attract and actively recruit. Communication in an effective, clear and meaningful way to either audience is critical.
Keep the story straight
Your corporate message should be consistent, no matter which audience you’re addressing. Whether in the board room or talking to your neighbor down the street, there are some key messages about your organization that aren’t going to change. But those messages have to start somewhere. Marketing specialists and HR experts can work together to hone your organization’s key messages, then make sure they are reiterated in hiring talks, with current employees and beyond.
Get the message out
There are many ways to communicate with audiences once you’re ready to talk. Your HR and marketing teams can both help you navigate tools such as LinkedIn and other social media to communicate with potential talent and other audiences. Whether you’re communicating with potential customers or potential employees, dedicate time to getting to know the tools that will best serve your needs…then get talking.
Watch the numbers
Whether monitoring social media data, tracking information from exit interviews or gathering information from current employees, it’s important to keep tabs on current employee satisfaction rates, turnover rates, overall feedback tone and impressions of the company as a whole. This is a place where merging the marketing perspective with HR experience can truly benefit both parties.
When marketing works hand-in-hand with human resources, you not only promote your company culture to a wider variety of audiences, you also solidify your company messaging both internally and externally. Telling your story in a clear and concise fashion not only attracts potential customers, it also makes an impression on potential talent. And this carefully-crafted messaging allows you create brand ambassadors in each of your employees by consistently reiterating your company culture and employer brand language again and again.
Seeking help with your HR processes? Contact the experts at Wild Coffee HR today.
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