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

What do your employee’s want for Christmas?

Today’s post is brought to us courtesy of Glassdoor an online community that gives you an “inside look at jobs and companies.” Today they give us some insight into exactly what employees are looking for this Christmas.

Employee Holiday Wish Lists

The holiday season is upon us, which means many HR departments take on the role of fun committee, bringing festivities and seasonal cheer to the office. As you’re decking the office halls and arranging corporate caroling, I invite you to consider what your employees are really looking forward to this holiday season and what they’re planning to focus on come the New Year. A new survey from Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, reveals what employees want most this holiday season and what their top resolutions are for 2013.

Top Employees Picks For Holiday Season Perks

Perhaps unsurprisingly, cash reigns king. The survey reveals nearly three in four employees (73%) said that a cash bonus would be among their top choices for employer-gifted holiday perks this year, followed by a salary raise (60%), and paid time-off (36%). Employers may also want to skip the drinks because for a second straight year, holiday parties, even with an open bar, continue to be an unpopular perk (5%).

Employees’ New Year Resolutions

The Glassdoor survey also reveals employees’ work-related resolutions for 2013, finding one in three (32%) plan to focus on getting a raise in the New Year, one in four (24%) want to work on their leadership/management skills, and another one in four (23%) are planning to look for a new job. Also watch out for some sneaky behavior around the office, two percent of employees said their top work-related resolution is to help get their boss fired. Other top priorities among employees for the New Year include:

What are your work-related resolutions for the New Year? Are you asking employees what they want most this holiday season or what they’re thinking about for 2013?

Lisa Holden is the Employer Engagement Manager at Glassdoor, a jobs and career community that is changing the way people find jobs and companies find top talent.

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1) This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Glassdoor from November 8-12, 2012 among 2,059 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For the purposes of this survey, “employees” were defined as U.S. adults 18+ employed full time and/or part time unless otherwise indicated.

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in Engagement Leave a comment

Now Hiring HR Tech Geeks

This week I read the text of Dr. Graeme Codrington’s London TEDx speech on the Third Wave of the Digital Age. The third wave of the digital revolution starts when we realize that our newest inventions are of more use then just doing our old work better. The third wave of the digital age will affect how, where and why we work. In the third wave managers, companies, consultants and employees will apply new digital technologies to revolutionize our work in a number of ways: how we use technology, where and when we work, how we are rewarded, and why we work.

I read the speech, wrote some notes up and thought to myself that HR needs tech geeks. The third wave, as outlined, is all about HR. This is a huge opportunity for any HR pro and you don’t even need to work at Apple or Google to participate.

Using Technology: How many times have we heard a complaint about ancient technology slowing employee’s down? My experience has been that many do their best work despite the antiquated technology or autocratic rules we have to follow. An HR pro that: 1.) understand the power of technology and 2.) can network/collaborate to get that technology to the employee is invaluable.

Where and when we work: enough said here. Instead of telling horror stories about stolen SSN numbers lets understand the technology and the risks and then work to find a solution suitable for both employee’s and company security. If we don’t put the capability in our employees hands they will leave for a company that does.

How we are rewarded: This may be the toughest nut to crack: rewarding people for their output instead of their inputs (time spent at the office). Depending on the work environment this is going to be especially challenging but is a challenge we need to embrace.

Why we work: Technology does an amazing thing for us. It gives us back our time. We have the luxury to think about our life, our purpose, and our world. Think about the implications of that. We have more time than ever to watch things like American Idol but we also have time to invent and innovate, write blogs and spend time with family. The company that supports our perceived purpose in life doesn’t have a problem motivating and retaining the best employees.

In the list of skills we think the best HR pro’s have I’m adding tech skills. Understand that by tech skills I don’t mean “can our HR pro write programming code?” I mean “does our HR pro have the ability to understand how technology works? Do they see technology as a great thing?” Or are they a Luddite still trying to stop people from working at home?

By understanding and embracing the digital revolution we can develop employees and organizations that not only keep up with change but make change: Now hiring HR tech geeks

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Melissa Fairman in Future of HR 5 Comments

Love and Hate for HR

I stumbled upon this infographic a couple weeks ago and debated if I should post it here. The reason being because I feel that it reinforces some of the negative stereotypes about HR. After thinking about it though I decided to post it because it illustrates how much work we have to do to keep showing employees and organizations the value of HR.

Take a look at some of these numbers: 30% of people think that HR is lazy! Seriously, this is ridiculous. Especially after the great recession have you seen a non-busy HR group? This says to me that we aren’t communicating what we do and how we add value. What do you think? Check out the infographic below and let me know in the comments!