Definition & Distinction
What makes you an attractive employer? Your company’s success is closely tied to the answer to this question. In the war for talent, only companies that can find and retain qualified and motivated employees win – and they want to be able to identify not only with their work, but also with their employer. This is where HR marketing comes into play.
HR marketing increases your attractiveness as an employer. It helps you attract the best talent to work for you and subsequently retain them long-term. In this article, we reveal what it entails, what types of HR marketing exist, and what challenges they pose.
Human Resources Marketing: Definition & Differentiation
Marketing is always about promoting a product – and so is HR marketing. The product is nothing other than the company itself. The goal of HR marketing is to make the company and its jobs more attractive to current and potential employees.
There are therefore two different target groups that HR marketing must serve: If it’s aimed at current employees who are to be retained by the company long-term, it’s called internal HR marketing . If it’s aimed at potential employees who are to be made aware of the company in the first place and encouraged to apply, it’s called external HR marketing .
Support from a personnel marketing agency
As you can see, there are countless HR marketing tools you should consider to position your company as an attractive employer. Because individual measures are often an art in themselves—a good job advertisement or a strong onboarding process, for example—it can be worthwhile to bring in external HR marketing support.
A HR marketing agency or a good recruiting company can help you implement internal and external HR marketing measures and strengthen your employer brand. This begins with transparent consulting services and can include any number of the above-mentioned measures – from recruiting support to maintaining your social media channels.
With Riverstate, you’ll find motivated and qualified employees for your company and gain long-term loyalty. As a specialist in HR marketing, we support you in building and maintaining your employer brand and enhancing your image among both potential candidates and your current employees. Contact us now for a free assessment of your situation.
External personnel marketing
Companies use external HR marketing to be perceived as an attractive employer by potential applicants. It is intended to strengthen a company’s employer brand and clearly define its unique selling points. There are countless measures for this.
Examples of measures in external personnel marketing:
- Employer Branding
Employer branding encompasses all communication measures that improve a company’s image as an employer. These include, for example, the company website (especially its careers section), social media presence, and job advertisements. - Targeted image campaigns
Companies can communicate their advantages as employers in a targeted and coordinated manner through special employer branding campaigns, for example with image videos or advertisements. - Professional Recruiting:
Active recruiting is an opportunity to directly address potential applicants and convince them of a company’s advantages. Direct contact and social media recruiting also allow you to reach the passive job market and people who would otherwise have never heard of the company. - Strong applicant management:
Word quickly spreads among potential candidates about a poor application process. Not every application is successful, but even those who are ultimately not hired should have positive memories of the process itself. - Presence at career fairs
At career fairs, companies can present themselves at their best and position themselves in direct comparison with competitors.
External HR marketing is all about a company’s positive external image. But looking internally is at least as important.
Internal personnel marketing
Attracting qualified employees is just the beginning: Once the contract is signed, an employer-employee relationship begins that must be carefully nurtured. Long-term employee retention is the most important goal of internal HR marketing. Various measures are available for this as well.
Examples of measures in internal personnel marketing:
- Well-rounded onboarding:
New employees should feel welcome in your company from day one. With a good onboarding process, the employer-employee relationship starts off on the right foot, and newcomers are reassured that they’ve made the right decision. - A positive corporate climate:
Employees should enjoy coming to work. A positive corporate climate characterized by friendly interactions, understanding managers, and a strong work-life balance creates more satisfied employees and strengthens emotional bonds. - Career Planning
: Working toward goals is motivating. You should offer your employees good, promising development and training opportunities and help them set and achieve their goals. - Material Incentives:
A good salary is a must for many employees; therefore, you should offer a good compensation compared to the competition. Bonuses and other perks, such as a leased car or an e-bike, are certainly also welcome. - Transparent communication:
Employees know when they’re being led by the nose. Open and transparent communication strengthens mutual trust.
Internal personnel marketing therefore begins on (if not before) the first day of work and focuses on employee retention.
Now you know which aspects you should pay attention to in personnel marketing and what the differences are between internal and external personnel marketing.
At Riverstate, you’ll find customized recruiting and experienced headhunters who discreetly and quickly find the right talent for your high-level positions. Contact us now and tell us about your requirements—without obligation.
HR Marketing – Frequently Asked Questions
HR marketing and employer branding are closely linked, but have different focuses. Employer branding refers to all the measures a company takes to define and strengthen its profile and reputation as an employer – the employer brand. HR marketing involves practical measures a company takes to specifically inspire talented individuals to work for the company (for example, addressing them with relevant marketing messages) and to build employee loyalty.
Human resources marketing encompasses all operational measures companies use to recruit new employees (external HR marketing) and retain existing employees long-term (internal HR marketing). It goes hand in hand with a company’s employer brand, which clearly communicates a company’s core values, especially in its role as an employer, to both external and existing employees.
Marketing is an umbrella term for a wide range of advertising measures used in different industries and media. HR marketing specifically focuses on advertising measures in the areas of recruiting and employer branding—that is, advertising open positions or jobs at a company in general.
HR marketing is important because committed employees determine a company’s future. With successful HR marketing measures, companies can attract the best talent on the market and ensure that good employees stay with them long-term.
When it comes to HR marketing, it’s all about the mix. You should therefore find the ideal combination of measures for you and your company that will help you attract and retain the best employees. Ideally, you should start by taking stock: What’s already going well (what are existing employees satisfied with, which channels are your searches successful through) and where do you need to improve (how’s your social media presence, what criticism do you regularly hear from employees?). You can conduct this analysis either independently or with the support of a HR consultancy.
To strengthen your employer brand, you must first define it: Identify the values, ideals, and visions that differentiate you from other companies and employers. Talk to your employees to incorporate their perspectives. Once you know how you want to position your company as an employer, you can take many measures: You can strengthen your presence, whether online by redesigning your website or offline by participating in events. You can improve the candidate experience by, for example, simplifying the application process and responding more quickly. Because your employees are the best ambassadors for your employer brand, it is especially important that you optimize employee satisfaction (and utilize your employees for recruitment marketing – for example, through video testimonials or “employee referral” campaigns).
If you want to expand your network, you should first think about your specific goals: Are you looking for mentors to help you take the next step in your career? Or do you simply want to network better within your industry so you can stay up to date? These questions will determine which people you should approach first. The best place to start is with the contacts you already have: Maybe you already know someone who knows someone who can help you. Social networks like LinkedIn allow you to add even complete strangers to your network. However, don’t send out requests haphazardly; choose new contacts carefully (and introduce yourself with a short message if you really want to get in touch with the person). Events and trade fairs are also a good place to make contacts.
There are a few basic rules you should follow when designing your application documents. First, the layout should be flawless and coordinated (clear design, coherent structure, error-free, appropriate to the industry). Of course, you also need to consider all the important content – especially the cover letter, which should be no longer than one page and should succinctly summarize your interest in and suitability for the position, and your resume (including personal information, qualifications, and professional experience). You can find numerous checklists online to help you optimize your application documents.
It depends on what you want to use your social media profiles for. If you simply want to make a professional impression – in case a headhunter notices you – you should make sure all your information is up-to-date and accurate. A professional profile photo is especially important. If you want to expand your network and get other people to notice your social media profile, you need to provide good content: For example, you can write on LinkedIn about industry topics where you offer a unique perspective. If you want to take a particularly systematic approach, you should define your target audience and create a content plan that offers added value to this target audience.
