Human resource branding

The textbook definition of Human Resource Management (HRM) is the set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing and maintaining an effective workforce. In Syria, the study of HRM is slowly being introduced into educational curriculums, which will guarantee a steady influx of HR professionals who are proficient with the theories of HRM but unfortunately not necessarily the practice.

In all businesses, theories and practices are not necessarily adjoined. A sound knowledge of theory is required but as most business owners and managers realize, theory is not always applicable in today’s business world. It needs to be creative and it needs to be adaptive to an ‘organization culture,’ beliefs and vision.

This brings me to the main topic of this article and why I chose to address it. Two months ago, the Institute of Human Resources Management (IHRM), and the Syrian HR Association held a round table forum for HR practitioners to discuss problems of practicing HRM in Syria. This was the first discussion group to be held monthly for all HR members of the association to allow them a platform to discuss any and all pertinent issues they encounter in the HR field and to assist in quorum to present ideas and/or solutions to their quandaries. Although I was not able to attend the launch of this round table forum, the resounding feedback that I received from this event is the large discontent that HR professionals are feeling due to the lack of understanding in their respective organizations, for the necessity, impact and importance of an HR Department The resounding topic that echoed the halls of the round table was “help us sell HRM as a viable and important part of any business venture”. To that end, this article will be my contribution to shed some light on how HR professionals can significantly address this problem.

HR Branding

To begin with, I offer my readers a quote which I recommend they remember throughout the process of HR Branding. The quote originated, to my knowledge; from a mantra that is repeated at gatherings for “Alcoholics Anonymous,” but please don’t let that turn you off. It still holds powerful meaning for all in life. The quote is “God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”. Allow me now to outline how HR Branding works and I will tie in this quotation and its importance at the end. A definition of brand is what you are known for amongst your customers. That is, every positive or negative impression on the part of others, every promise that you kept or didn’t keep, and everything that you are known for and remembered by. Every company, department or person has a brand. There are both internal and external HR branding issues that HR Departments need to consider, however we will be concentrating strictly on internal branding.

The old adage says charity begins at home. Well, so does HR Branding. Do not wait or expect any person or consultant or association to sell your HR Department to the upper echelons of your organization. That is your responsibility and your job as HR professionals. Outside entities can help but the major impact will come directly from you To achieve this is quite simple, you must think, talk and reason as your target market does. Which in this case are the owners and top level managers of the organizations. Apart from familiarizing yourself with the vision, mission and objectives of your respective companies, you must also think in terms of bottom line and profitability. The overall business goals are your goals,. When you make plans for your department, they should be directed at achieving overall business goals as well as HR goals.

This does not necessarily translate into monetary benefits. In the field of HRM, Return on investment (ROI) is the hardest measure to identify. Today’s HR Managers also look at Return on Value (ROV), value being investment into pro-grams and people that are instilled or actioned by the HR Department.

Am I talking theoretical and not practical? Not necessarily. It is without a doubt that all companies operate and revolve around their profits so why should HR Departments be any different? Why has HR always been seen as cost centers? When times are hard the first ones to be laid off are the HR people. If you think about it, HRM as a field of study and as a practice has always demanded high budgets to operate and the sole justification for these budgets, be it for training or developmental purposes, was to motivate staff to perform better. The field of HR and HR practitioners all over the world has spent years trying to sell upper echelons of business the importance of their HR Departments and today they are starting to break ground. However, they were not selling this to businesses directly; they were educating HR professionals on how to sell this and what they need to do to ensure that this takes place in their companies. Thus, the idea that only HR people can sell the value of having an HR Department in the company holds true.

According to Shari Caudron in her article Brand HR: Why and How to Market Your Image, «If you want HR to be perceived as more strategic, more valuable, more credible, more whatever, you need to start thinking like a business with a product and market your overall brand image.»

Think about the first rule of marketing: target market. You need to know who they are and their detailed make up to be able to sell to them. Who best knows your target market then those who work directly with them? As an outsider, be it a consultant or an association, they can provide you with ammunition to prepare but in the end, the responsibility and efficacy of the deal lies in your hands. Why am I reverting to marketing and selling techniques when the issue at heart is HRM and HR Departments? Because, on a daily basis in life we are always selling something . An idea, a product, ourselves, it lies with how well we sell or present this topic and how much we can back our arguments with facts and figures.

So if the difficulty lies in measuring monetary terms. then measure in terms of value added. Arm yourself with a strong Human Resource Information System (HRIS) and measure the ‘be-fore and after’ of all your programs to the business goals of the organization. HR Departments success and failures should always be linked directly to the success and failures of organizational business goals. After all, your job depends on supporting and achieving the overall goals of the organization, so study it, live it, and link it.

So, what does all of this have to do with the proverb that I mentioned earlier in the article? Know your limitations. Not all organizations are alike and not all changes are applicable to your specific company. Part of knowing your target market is also identifying what sells and what doesn’t. Know what areas can make the greatest impact and be welcomed by the upper echelons. Know what will not be supported or welcomed. Even if you have identified this as a crucial area to address, without top support and backing, no amount of selling will make your effort a success. Thus, the wisdom is to know the difference. Concentrate on key areas that are inextricably tied to business goals and slowly address issues that you have identified as crucial to the overall success of your company. Begin by presenting it to top level managers through disseminating information and backing it with real life cases where it has been applied or practiced.

Remember, a brand is a distinct identity, and your HR brand will carry its own label and identity based on best practice HR but geared towards your specific corporate needs and wants.

Branding your HR Department is conjunct with both internal and external efforts. Although we have addressed internal branding, the effort exerted and the degree of success achieved of your internal branding efforts will translate into your external branding. This in turn will translate into a more efficient hiring process and inextricably linked to an organization people want to work for.