HR vs. PR

Many in HR have been left scratching their heads about how exactly they can continue to attract and retain the most exceptional talent, given the intense competition in today’s job market. Having a great Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is an essential place to start, but it is not the be-all and end-all. To build a robust employer brand together with a meaningful and honest EVP it is essential for HR to join hands with its PR and marketing teams. 

In the new world of work, the career ladder is all but gone. By 2025, Generation Y will make up 75% of the workforce, and with the cutbacks in retirement funds, it appears Generation X will stay in employment for a bit longer too. Both will be looking for lateral opportunities—but both have vastly different expectations and priorities when it comes to their career. The workplace of the future is succumbing to further digitalisation as well—according to EY, 47% of occupations in advanced economies are at ‘high risk’ of being automated in the next 20 years.

Giovanni Angelini, Chairman, Angelini Hospitality at the recent HR Forum in the Hotel Icon, Hong Kong frankly told Peter Lowe, Vice President Operations, the Hong Kong Disneyland that his position would most likely be replaced by a robot within ten years.

Get in bed with PR, Marketing & the CIO

Giovanni Angelini, Chairman, Angelini Hospitality tells Peter Lowe, VP Operations, The Hong Kong Disneyland that he will most likely be replaced by a robot within ten years.

HR worries are not just limited to staff—or themselves—being replaced by robots. Recruiting tech-savvy staff and upskilling existing talent is more critical than ever. Organisations are being hindered by the greatest technology skills shortage since the global financial crisis almost a decade ago. According to the world’s largest global IT leadership survey: The 2016 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey, over two-thirds of CIOs—69% in APAC, 65% globally—say they believe a lack of talent will prevent their organisation from keeping up with the pace of change.

So when it comes to talent attraction and retention, HR has its work cut out. Salary and company kudos are no longer go-to strategies for recruitment and retention success—HR must leverage tech innovation and motivate key leaders from PR, marketing and the CIO within its organisation to help drive change. Working with these leaders, HR should be the catalyst for positive change and should get to grips with creating a meaningful, realistic and honest EVP to captivate and motivate the best talent.

Worldwide, there are already many HR departments leading the way and doing some great work to develop highly attractive EVPs—but accurately mirroring that in their employer brand can sometimes be challenging. There is a growing recognition that HR superheroes need to be engaged in both creating and proactively managing the employer brand. To achieve this and create a winning EVP it is essential HR joins hands with the PR and marketing team because this message has to be consistent throughout the organisation. This helps ensure buy-in both from incumbent talent and from external potential talent—as it translates into a positive and honest candidate experience right from the get-go when they first research a company, apply for a job, attend an interview and progress to on-boarding and their career. Employer branding cannot just be a glitzy corporate facade, it has to be a culture that runs through every artery and vein of the organisation.

HR love triangle

Another important consideration for HR is the rapid digitalisation of the workforce and the effect this has on change at every level. HR also needs to reach out to their CIOs for help on driving through positive change in this regard. CIOs, just like HROs, have to keep pace with rapid tech innovation, which necessitates them picking up the leadership baton to champion change throughout the organisation. True HR superheroes not only go to bed with the PR and marketing team, they should invite the CIO along too. This HR love triangle with tech-savvy HR departments helps drive engagement, retention and productivity of talent at all levels. More importantly, it also paves the way for leveraging digital recruitment strategies that are far more appealing to younger generations—who already form the majority of today’s workforce.

HR does not just have to realise the importance of IT, it has to leverage its CIOs to help evangelise innovation and digitisation throughout the organisation. Bob Hayward, Head, Asia Pacific CIO Advisory Centre of Excellence, KPMG in Singapore commented, “The role of the CIO in today’s business is truly focused on innovation. CIOs are no longer focused solely on delivering the right technology to enable the enterprise, rather they are now the key agent of change for moving enterprise strategy forward...more than ever before, IT leaders must be strategic partners with the CEO.”

Creating authentic EVPs

Before employer brand is considered, the company’s EVP has to be sound. The degree to which an EVP genuinely attracts, engages and retains key talent is directly dependant on its authenticity. Considering the changes to the workplace and the expectations of employees, companies with highly successful EVPs demonstrate a willingness to do what is feasible to help meet employee needs. Richard Veal, Head—Reward, Talent and Communication, Towers Watson UK explained, “What we found is that companies with low EVP-effectiveness discuss the deal in terms of the programmes they provide and how valuable they are. But the best companies go much further—they discuss how they meet their employees’ expectations and, in return, what behaviours they expect employees to exhibit to help them succeed.”

It is crucial that HR is open, honest and realistic when creating and/or modifying their organisation’s EVP. As the EVP will be the backdrop for all the other organisational processes that occur, it is essential that the EVP conveyed is tangible, feels ‘real’ and—as far as is practicable within operational, logistical and budget constraints—meets talent expectations. In terms of organisational development an organisation’s EVP not only needs to be reflected in both the ‘employer’ and ‘corporate’ branding but also needs to be mirrored in process throughout the organisation. EVP should be reflected in recruitment messages and candidate communications, should influence every strategic HR priority and must support and drive the entire business strategy forwards. With so much hinging on the EVP offered, HR must ensure that they not only get talent buy-in, but that the EVP is constantly massaged to ensure that talent continually believe in it too.

HR owning the employer brand

HR in its traditional recruitment capacity leveraged the power of the organisation’s EVP and may have frequently bypassed the PR and Marketing teams during this process. In today’s workplace, with the power of social media and the Internet it is essential that HR make sure PR and Marketing teams are on the same page—for both internal and external communication—when it comes to the recruitment process. In doing so, HR plays a crucial role in marrying together the candidate experience, the ideals of the EVP and the company culture together with strategic business goals.

According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2016 survey, the percentage of talent acquisition teams that share or contribute to managing the employer brand has generally trended down from 50% in 2012 to 39% in 2015. Over the same period, there has been a general trend towards talent acquisition teams completely owning the employer brand. In 2015 32% of HR teams and talent acquisition teams surveyed ‘completely own’ their employer brand.

Estela Vazquez Perez Colombo, Employer Branding and Marketing Strategist, Scotiabank pointed out that HR and marketing have a lot more in common than was previously thought. She said, “Both HR and marketing are focused on influencing and motivating people. To do this, both disciplines need a good understanding of people and psychology. Despite commonalities, there are additional skills and capabilities that both can learn from each other.”

Source: Blu Ivy Group