Marketing Tips for HR

In Tuesday’s post I talked about why you need marketing. Go check that post out if you didn’t already. Back? OK great. Let’s talk about how you can use marketing concepts in HR.

Regardless if your company has a large marketing department or no department, that doesn’t mean you can’t apply marketing techniques to the projects and programs you roll out. Here are some tips and tricks:

Brainstorming: Instead of branding your latest program with some bland title, take some time to come up with a catchy word or phrase to describe your program. Start by getting your team together for a brainstorming session. If the team is having a hard time generating ideas, start by writing down words and phrases you associate with the topic at hand. Here is one example of a brainstorming session I did to name the new employee recognition program:

The idea is to generate as many words and phrases as you can. String phrases together. Throw out words associated with the topic. Once you have a few good ideas shop your ideas around to a variety of people: leaders, individual contributors, HR pros, people outside HR, you get the idea. Will this add to the time it takes you to roll out your program? Yes but it’s worth it.

Think like a marketer - your employees, like the rest of the world, are bombarded by emails, text messages and junk mail. How can you make your message compelling? What can you do to make your employees open that email from HR? Remember: in your communications you are selling HR. This means explaining “what’s in it for me?” to an employee population that is skeptical of another top down HR program. It also means taking some time to develop easy-to- read communications. This is more than just a well written email, it includes clear easy-to-use training materials, presentations and FAQ documents.

Generate some buzz - Is it possible to create buzz around an HR process or program? Yes. Is it easy? No. Will it take more effort and thought? Yes. Is it worth it? YES!

First, identify the “connectors” these are the people who cross locations, departments, and teams. They vary in the organization but you know ‘em when you seem ‘em. You also want to identify the “influencers” these are the people who are well connected and are well respected by employees. They are the ones who know all the gossip before it blows up. Connectors and influencers are important to rolling out your new program with some buzz around it, not the usual “oh another HR thing.” I highly suggest using these people as part of your focus groups. Besides their input, they also spread the word about all the things you focus group with them, which creates buzz.

These are just a couple ideas on what you can do to inject some marketing spark into HR. I don’t by any means consider this comprehensive but it is a start. I wanted to share with you the ideas that don’t require the use of high paid consultants or experts. The above is stuff you can start doing tomorrow at work: it’s relevant and its useful.

Speaking of which here are some additional resources you can read to keep up with the latest on marketing:

Guy Kawasaki, the original Apple evangelist: https://plus.google.com/+GuyKawasaki/posts

http://readwrite.com/

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

http://www.adverblog.com/ – more about advertising.

Also – advertising age publishes a list of power blogs: http://adage.com/power150/index

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Melissa Fairman in Future of HR, Strategy 2 Comments

Tattoo’s and Courage – Lessons from the Superbowl

Right now many of you are at the least tired or at the worst hung over and tired from a night of revelry celebrating the uniquely American tradition known as the The Superbowl. In this time-honored tradition we celebrate watching the two best teams in the NFL battle it out for the Lombardi Trophy, while drinking (usually) beer and eating chicken wings.

I’ve developed a fondness for American football in the last few years. I blame that largely on my upbringing (we planned our Sunday dinner around game time) and marrying a life-long Cleveland Browns fan. Beyond the entertainment value I’ve found many an allegory to the workplace through football and have blogged about that often (here, here and here).

So on this day after Superbowl Sunday (which by the way should really be a national holiday) let’s talk about some workplace lessons you can take away from this year’s two top teams:

1. Don’t judge a book by its cover: This is an old rule isn’t it? But one we often forget. Earlier this year some controversy was generated over Colin Kaepernick’s tattoos. A sportswriter claimed that Kaepernick looked like a recent parolee and wasn’t a good image for the 49ers. Those are tattoos of bible verses. So really get over your tattoo/piercing/hair/ bias- learn to look past the physical or you could end up missing a great person or opportunity.

2. Don’t be scared of intensity or fiercely competitive people – To say that Jim Harbaugh is intense is an understatement:

Just a little excited…

The 49ers coach is well-known for his passionate outbursts and fierce competitive style, which goes back to grade school. It’s that determination and grit that makes some of our most successful leaders and employee’s. Too often we discount people who are openly passionate as “kooks” or too emotionally involved. Instead of discounting these people, let’s embrace them. After all these are the people who are thinking about the business 24/7, when they think up the next great thing don’t you want them on your payroll? Not your competitor’s?

3. Besides passion, you need people who have the knowledge, skill and courage to make the tough decisions. An example from both Superbowl contenders:

Jim Harbaugh: he shocked the nation when he benched Alex Smith and replaced him with backup QB Colin Kaepernick. After Kaepernick became the starting QB average points per game shot up amid impressive wins against teams like the Green Bay Packers
John Harbaugh: In December, this Harbaugh replaced his Offensive Coordinator…in December. To make a change in that pivotal role, late in the season was a huge gamble that paid off. Ravens QB Joe Flacco has flourished under his new OC.
Organization: Both Harbaugh’s needed a gutsy organization that trusted them to pull off those moves. You can hire all the stars you want but if you don’t give them the freedom to work independently, they will just be frustrated and walk away.

Some might say we can’t compare our organizations with professional sports…I don’t agree with that. Your company and the NFL are certainly not identical. But can we learn something? Absolutely. How much better would our organizations be if we followed those basic rules I outlined above? Put away your bias, don’t discount the passionate as kooks and have the courage to trust your employees.

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Melissa Fairman in Strategy Leave a comment

In defense of laggard HR pros

Last week I took a quiz and the results told me I should leave the HR profession.

What!?

Here’s the background

One of my favorite HR pro’s, William Tincup, wrote a blog post called HR Laggard Quiz. Basically, a laggard is a person who “makes slow progress and falls behind others.” The post also comes with a handy quiz you can use to determine if you are an HR laggard. Based on the number of “Yes” (correct) answers you fall into these categories:

“0-5 Correct answers – You’re a dinosaur, please help us all out and get out of the HR profession. You might not even have a pulse.

6-8 Correct answers – We’re not giving up on you but you are clearly a laggard. Get help.

9-10 Correct answers – Congrats you are NOT a laggard. Now, for the love of all that is holy, please go help your peers.”

So did you take the quiz? What was your score? You want to know mine? I scored a 2.

That’s right, I’m an HR blogger, active in social media but I’m a dinosaur. You could even call me a hypocrite. I’m on here every day trying to push HR into the future, advocating for HR pro’s to be tech geeks and yet I’m a 2! I should leave the profession!

Where philosophy and reality collide

I don’t think many HR pros could score 9-10 on that quiz. Many of the questions are about social media and mobile technology, two important trends in HR right now, but not always on your average HR pro’s mind. After a brutal recession that left many HR departments minus a number of bodies, most are just trying to keep the wheels on the car.

For many companies outside of Silicon Valley, the idea of giving their employee’s tablets or paying for their data plans sounds ludicrous when the company is trying to figure out if they will be making their quarterly goals. When your company is facing problems like that, its tough to walk in and push for more money or for more time from employee’s.

But there is no excuse for not having mobile and social on your radar. To be honest with you, that is where I’m at. It’s on my radar. I’m an advocate within my company and I hope to change some hearts and minds this year.

Stay tuned! That sounds like some blogging goodness!

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Melissa Fairman in Strategy 7 Comments

Selling HR: It’s Tough

How do we sell something that many people don’t understand, that can be heavily compliance driven, is often ambiguous and whose success lies in changing human behavior?

In other words: How do you sell HR?

This has been on my mind because I keep hearing a lot about small business, its everywhere in the political discourse but I want to get away from politics and ask: How do you sell the value/need for HR to a small company/startup?

If the owners/initial investors were in the corporate world, they may not view the traditional HR group as very valuable. Many people see HR as overhead (we are that’s true) but some view our version of overhead differently than marketing or PR. Marketing is the “cool” department, finance/accounting are “necessary” but HR is neither.

So how do we sell HR? Here are the two main tactics I’ve seen in the past:

Compliance “You need me or you are going to get sued.” This is the DirectTv “when you have cable…” method of persuasion (click on the link if you have no idea what I’m talking about).
Efficient task masters: “I can manage the facility, plan the company Christmas party, and get everybody paid correctly on-time.” This is the Wal-Mart style, they have everything you need but it isn’t necessarily the best quality or selection.

These look and sound great: the bigger a company gets the more they have to worry about compliance, and there is a reason why Wal-Mart is so popular. People go there and get what they need in one stop. There’s nothing wrong with that but you are unlikely to find something unique or different there.

The problem with the tactics above is that more and more they are being outsourced. This is not news but it certainly complicates our ability to sell HR. In the past we could rely on the compliance or task master model but in this world many outcomes are determined by something that we have little control over: human behavior. Leaders, supervisors, employees, maybe even customers all influence how our department is perceived, positive or negative.

To sell HR we need to look at the business environment and company history. From there we need to determine what aspects of HR are most vital to success: securing talent? retaining talent? keeping the company’s nose clean?

Determine all that and follow in the footsteps of niche marketing. Customize services, create initiatives, plans, strategies (whatever you want to call them) that fit the business and its employee’s.

This means that outside of legal compliance, HR likely looks different at every organization. And that’s OK. Is it difficult? Sure it is. But that’s the only way to differentiate the value of HR at your organization. If HR at Dan’s Bait Emporium looks the same as HR at Rob’s Huntin’ Shack then why bother having your own HR team? Just find an outsourcing company that can do it for you.

What do you think? Am I out of line? Off my rocker? How do you sell HR in your organizations?

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in Strategy 18 Comments

What to do if you are on Yahoo’s HR Team

Photo Credit: Dreamstime.cm

What can you do if you work in HR for a company that is in desperate trouble like Yahoo?

By most measures Yahoo is floundering: low morale, shrinking market, tough competition and now the head of HR has agreed to leave the company (not necessarily a bad idea).

I don’t know about all of you but working in HR at Yahoo or a company in a similar situation sounds pretty overwhelming. Right off the bat I can think of one or two things Yahoo should do to improve morale and stem turnover. But then I start to think about all the details that need to take place, then I start to think of everything that can go wrong on top of everything else that is already wrong. Is your head spinning? Mine is.

So what’s an HR person to do? Give in to the overwhelming sense of despair and start looking for a new job? Or do the best you can and soldier through each day?

I’m a practical gal, so I would advise you to do both. Your company may or may not pull out of this funk but I strongly suggest you work on your resume, keep your network current and do your best to help your company pull through this bad period.

This crisis is a great opportunity for Yahoo’s HR team. This is the time to start putting those crazy ideas on the table! I mean what’s the worst that can happen? You may get fired but you are probably more likely to get laid off before that happens.

Okay, Okay, you don’t want to go all idea crazy because you still need to make the payments on your home but you still have an opportunity here. Start by “getting it.” The company is in a tight spot and may not recover. Your job is to remove the roadblocks, ease bottlenecks, and escalate good ideas and good people (not just the bad stuff). What does that look like? Well start by asking what is unnecessary…truly unnecessary.

Tap your front line HR folks: administrative assistants, generalists, and recruiters. What holds up their BL partners? Are there old rules in place (“from a more civilized age”) that can be removed? Get rid of them. Now is not the time to worry about high level strategy.

What’s the end look like? Two scenarios here:

a.) The company goes out of business, you worked your ass off and have some good references = shorter job search time

b.) The company stays afloat and your business partners are all like “HR rocks!” = credibility and maybe a seat at the cool kids lunch table?

So what do you have to lose again? Exactly.