Marketing and human resources have historically existed on opposite ends of the spectrum. Both segments are focused on people's needs and wants, and their shared goal is to improve people's lives. As we all know, employees who are happier work harder for customers, creating a real win-win scenario. While these departments' goals are aligned, however, the way they each help grow a company is vastly different.
Marketing, of course, appeals to external customers' needs, anticipating what they're missing or wanting. A company's marketing and advertising efforts highlight what differentiates the company's products and services -- and even the company's brand itself.
HR, on the other hand, caters to the company's internal customers. Assessing what employees need or want is high up on human resources' to-do list, but the department exists to ensure that everything within the company is running smoothly and legally. It's indirectly impacting the company's brand through its influence on the organization's culture.
But these two separate areas are becoming more alike as they get to the heart of what makes a company tick.
Why Marketing Is Becoming More Like HR
On the marketing side, we're moving away from direct advertisements. That's natural, based on the advancements of technology. With today's plethora of media touch points, the days of someone speaking to a camera for 30 seconds, telling you to buy something, aren't dead -- but the method is much less efficient.
What advertisers are learning is that purpose-based initiatives have staying power. Most pizza commercials aren't memorable. But when Domino's spends its budget on fixing potholes, that sticks. Why?
It becomes a brain worm for two reasons. The first is that it contains purpose, and purpose is very important to both Millennial and Gen-Z consumers. It's also essential in helping to differentiate a brand. The brands that do more within and think more about their community create more affinity. It's a basic extension of human psychology.
Secondly, the absurdity of the concept gives it stickiness. In a crowded landscape with too many channels to count, the breakthrough is the thing that doesn't make sense, not the thing that does. When Taylor Swift surprises an engagement party with an impromptu performance, she's not doing it for the ROI -- she's doing it because it's genuine, and it will turn heads at the same time. She could charge hundreds of thousands to perform at people's milestone events, but she knows there's deeper value in the things you do for others.
That value is long-term brand-building. And that's where marketing is starting to bleed into HR.
Why HR Is Becoming More Like Marketing
On the talent attraction and retention side, things have always been positioned as a long-term play. Your goal is to attract people and build their careers so you can keep them -- and their knowledge. As we trend toward more jobs within one person's career, making sure all the new parts fit becomes an even more important task in an organization.
The more turnover an organization has, the more productivity it loses -- not to mention money. It takes time to get people up to speed. How a person is compensated, what her path to success looks like and how much upward mobility she sees all play a part in her decision to stay or go.
But organizations are also realizing that purpose can be one of those driving factors for employees. What an organization does, what it stands for and how it treats its employees can make the difference in getting people to stay -- or even getting them attracted to a role in the first place. Logistically, it can also mean not overpaying for talent if you get this equation right.
In order to do this, HR has to think in terms of campaigns and activations, focusing on ways to attract talent. HR's methods may include volunteer programs, community initiatives or diversity and inclusion programs. You can see how this quickly starts to blur into marketing -- the same things that attract long-term customers are often the same things that draw in high-quality job candidates.
As both marketing and human resources change their core competencies, businesses need two things to address this shift: a position that plays in this in-between space and platforms that help businesses manage it.
Some companies' human resources departments are already evolving to meet these needs. VaynerMedia doesn't have a head of HR; it has a chief heart officer, Claude Silver. Her background is in advertising, not human resources; her goal is to create the best work culture. Her success in this role will undoubtedly lead other companies to duplicate it.
The other part in accelerating this change will be adapting processes, of course. InvolveSoft already has a jump on that, having created a SaaS platform that finds, creates, manages and schedules all purpose-driven initiatives for an organization. It raised $2.5 million last year and is growing quickly because co-founder Saumya Bhatnagar recognized, like VaynerMedia, that organizations were naturally heading in this direction without a guide.
I expect more players to jump into this space as it grows. I also expect colleges to start offering interdisciplinary programs in marketing and human resources as the lines between them blur.
One shift in business leads to other shifts and opportunities. Don't just look at the shift -- look at where the ripple will occur. In this case, a change in advertising technology has led to a complete shift in human resources. Don't simply look for changes in tactics; look for changes in culture. That's where your next opportunity lies.
