HR Marketing: Interview with Nawal JAI, Senior Consultant LMS ORH
23 August 2010
Read by 2125 persons
Employees are more difficult customers to win and retain
If HR marketing is not yet on the agenda of executive committees, "it is a safe bet that it will soon appear and become an unavoidable path for any company that truly places human resources at the heart of its strategy." These words are from Nawal Jai, senior consultant at the LMS ORH firm. She explains the concept and the reasons for its growing importance.
In recent years, we have been talking about HR marketing, what exactly does it consist of?
HR marketing is exactly the same concept as marketing in general. Except that instead of defining and implementing original, targeted and distinctive strategies to stand out from its competitors in order to sell a good or service to a consumer, this time it is a question of "selling" the entire company to a more difficult customer to win and retain: human resources.
Where does this concept come from?
I don't know exactly who named this concept "HR marketing", but the name is, in my opinion, very judicious...
That being said, I believe that the name came well after the actual birth of the concept... Indeed, I think that this concept has always existed, except that it has until now been applied intuitively, and more or less correctly...
And that is why there are -in Morocco and throughout the world- attractive companies, where all the CVs are jostling. And there are a multitude of others, which are less so and which suffer to recruit and retain their employees...
Some and others, by acting, by communicating, by standing out positively or negatively, did not know that they were applying -or not- the principles of marketing in their management of human resources and communication... And yet!
Do you think that Moroccan companies believe in it?
The companies that are truly interested and that have made it a structuring, studied and coherent project remain a minority. But the reality of the market is catching up with those who have not tackled it and the "clarity" on the need to be interested in this aspect is growing. It is a problem that, without bearing its name, is on the lips of all the HR directors with whom we work...
So, if HR marketing properly speaking is not yet on the agenda of executive committees, it is a safe bet that it will soon appear and become an unavoidable path for any company that truly places human resources at the heart of its development policy and its business strategy.
Isn't it simply a fad that will eventually disappear?
Recent -and apparently structural- changes in the employment market, characterized by an inflation of salaries and a relative shortage of certain profiles, mean that the company is no longer in the position of "choosing" and the balance of power is gradually reversing... The choice is now two-way: candidates also evaluate and choose the company they want to join and in which they wish to evolve, just as the company evaluates and chooses the candidate who best suits it...
Regarding your question about the risk, I would like to answer in two parts.
If there is a risk today, it is that managers and executives remain comfortably convinced that the company sells itself and do not really worry about its attractiveness, its ability to retain talent and thus perpetuate the investment in training and experience that we offer to the people who join the company.
On the other hand, it is true that a risk exists: that of selling an image that does not correspond to reality. That of wanting to copy our practices on others... That of considering HR marketing as a "tool" when it is indeed a real strategy, which involves not only HR but also -I would even say especially- top management and all the company's employees. Because communication is everyone's business. And whatever the medium used, the originality of the messages, and the actions undertaken by HR, if the latter is not coherent and is not supported by others, we will still not be able to talk about HR marketing...
Does HR marketing announce a mutation of the human resources function?
Yes. Honestly, I think HR marketing is the future of HR.
How can HR launch an HR marketing project?
During our consulting missions on this aspect, we often intervene according to the following scheme. First, by carrying out an attractiveness assessment on internal aspects (through the analysis of a number of indicators: spontaneous applications, response rate to advertisements, turnover, etc.) and on external aspects (attractiveness survey on the employment market). We have developed a tooled and well-established methodology in this respect.
Then, we accompany the company to define its employer strategy: analysis of the internal and external environment, listening to key partners, a sample of employees, in order to clearly identify its strengths (management policy, professions, etc.)
We then define a clear positioning, or what is called in our jargon an employer "promise". Finally, we accompany the company to "concretize" this promise in all HR processes, namely recruitment (typical advertisements, events to animate, trade shows, student fairs, school relations, etc.), integration (learner pathways, etc.) and management of its resources because, after having integrated, it is necessary to retain... (incentive systems, motivation plans, etc.).
What seems important to emphasize is that there is no turnkey solution. Because each company has its own identity, its culture, its strengths and it is not a question of distorting it to fit into a mold... Just like in product marketing: orange juice, a soft drink and mineral water all quench thirst. But that's their only common point: each drink has its strengths, its promises, a target and arguments to be put forward to the best advantage.
Published on April 12, 2010
Posted online on August 23, 2010
Lavieeco.com
If HR marketing is not yet on the agenda of executive committees, "it is a safe bet that it will soon appear and become an unavoidable path for any company that truly places human resources at the heart of its strategy." These words are from Nawal Jai, senior consultant at the LMS ORH firm. She explains the concept and the reasons for its growing importance.
In recent years, we have been talking about HR marketing, what exactly does it consist of?
HR marketing is exactly the same concept as marketing in general. Except that instead of defining and implementing original, targeted and distinctive strategies to stand out from its competitors in order to sell a good or service to a consumer, this time it is a question of "selling" the entire company to a more difficult customer to win and retain: human resources.
Where does this concept come from?
I don't know exactly who named this concept "HR marketing", but the name is, in my opinion, very judicious...
That being said, I believe that the name came well after the actual birth of the concept... Indeed, I think that this concept has always existed, except that it has until now been applied intuitively, and more or less correctly...
And that is why there are -in Morocco and throughout the world- attractive companies, where all the CVs are jostling. And there are a multitude of others, which are less so and which suffer to recruit and retain their employees...
Some and others, by acting, by communicating, by standing out positively or negatively, did not know that they were applying -or not- the principles of marketing in their management of human resources and communication... And yet!
Do you think that Moroccan companies believe in it?
The companies that are truly interested and that have made it a structuring, studied and coherent project remain a minority. But the reality of the market is catching up with those who have not tackled it and the "clarity" on the need to be interested in this aspect is growing. It is a problem that, without bearing its name, is on the lips of all the HR directors with whom we work...
So, if HR marketing properly speaking is not yet on the agenda of executive committees, it is a safe bet that it will soon appear and become an unavoidable path for any company that truly places human resources at the heart of its development policy and its business strategy.
Isn't it simply a fad that will eventually disappear?
Recent -and apparently structural- changes in the employment market, characterized by an inflation of salaries and a relative shortage of certain profiles, mean that the company is no longer in the position of "choosing" and the balance of power is gradually reversing... The choice is now two-way: candidates also evaluate and choose the company they want to join and in which they wish to evolve, just as the company evaluates and chooses the candidate who best suits it...
Regarding your question about the risk, I would like to answer in two parts.
If there is a risk today, it is that managers and executives remain comfortably convinced that the company sells itself and do not really worry about its attractiveness, its ability to retain talent and thus perpetuate the investment in training and experience that we offer to the people who join the company.
On the other hand, it is true that a risk exists: that of selling an image that does not correspond to reality. That of wanting to copy our practices on others... That of considering HR marketing as a "tool" when it is indeed a real strategy, which involves not only HR but also -I would even say especially- top management and all the company's employees. Because communication is everyone's business. And whatever the medium used, the originality of the messages, and the actions undertaken by HR, if the latter is not coherent and is not supported by others, we will still not be able to talk about HR marketing...
Does HR marketing announce a mutation of the human resources function?
Yes. Honestly, I think HR marketing is the future of HR.
How can HR launch an HR marketing project?
During our consulting missions on this aspect, we often intervene according to the following scheme. First, by carrying out an attractiveness assessment on internal aspects (through the analysis of a number of indicators: spontaneous applications, response rate to advertisements, turnover, etc.) and on external aspects (attractiveness survey on the employment market). We have developed a tooled and well-established methodology in this respect.
Then, we accompany the company to define its employer strategy: analysis of the internal and external environment, listening to key partners, a sample of employees, in order to clearly identify its strengths (management policy, professions, etc.)
We then define a clear positioning, or what is called in our jargon an employer "promise". Finally, we accompany the company to "concretize" this promise in all HR processes, namely recruitment (typical advertisements, events to animate, trade shows, student fairs, school relations, etc.), integration (learner pathways, etc.) and management of its resources because, after having integrated, it is necessary to retain... (incentive systems, motivation plans, etc.).
What seems important to emphasize is that there is no turnkey solution. Because each company has its own identity, its culture, its strengths and it is not a question of distorting it to fit into a mold... Just like in product marketing: orange juice, a soft drink and mineral water all quench thirst. But that's their only common point: each drink has its strengths, its promises, a target and arguments to be put forward to the best advantage.
Published on April 12, 2010
Posted online on August 23, 2010
Lavieeco.com
