Why it’s important for HR and marketing departments to work in sync

It’s a no-brainer that if companies are looking to sell a product, their best bet is their foot soldiers — namely their marketing executives. As simple as it sounds, why is that some companies fail despite having a formidable marketing strategy and team on their side? While there may be many answers to this question, lack of talented marketers is a deal-breaker for most firms.

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In order to sell their products, companies need to sell themselves as a good career investment to job aspirants, which is where the human resources department comes in. For job seekers, a company is as good as the HR personnel describe it to be, because they are often the first point of contact for the former. The lack of engagement with employees points to disconnect between the HR and marketing departments. If a prospective candidate cannot understand what sets a company apart from others, it can be difficult for marketers to recruit good talent. According to a 2014 survey by Altimeter Group, only 41 percent of respondents said that their companies had a comprehensive employee advocacy strategy chalked out.

In small organisations, it is easy to bond with employees and communicate with each other. However, the problem lies with big organisations, as they have to deal with multiple levels of operations. In such situations, factors like training, bonding, and communication become difficult.

Typically, the human resources department is responsible for the well-being of the employees, while the marketing department handles the brand. People wonder what necessitates an alignment of HR and marketing objectives. Well the answer is quite simple, as communication verticals like web and social media thrive, the mantle of looking after company’s reputation is too big for a single department to handle.

The HR department can help add to a company’s value by pitching it as a good place to work in. The results of such synchronisation between the two departments can be seen in the form of better rapport between employees and a more dedicated workforce.

This being said, it is also important to understand that the two departments cannot work in silos. Vidya Priya Rao, Founder of Innovatus Marketers Touchpoints, says that even the best marketing strategy cannot do anything if the talent at hand is substandard. On the other hand, if the marketing department fails to come up with good content, even the best HR practices might fail to attract employees to a company.

To facilitate a streamlining of goals, companies need to place more emphasis on engagement with employees and advocacy. For starters, the HR personnel could be more empathetic towards their employees’ expectations. Firms are opting for a data-driven approach to know more about what is expected of them and keeping communication channels open. Fixing realistic budgets to incorporate best employee practices can go a long way in changing minds of employees and make them better brand advocates.

The marketing department, for its part, could set its goals in line with the company’s objectives. With social media spinning off its own advertising medium, interacting through social networking websites could help garner more support. Aligning marketing goals with HR policies helps broaden the company’s vision and enables the best of talent to represent the brand.