Talent War: The rise of HR Marketing

“A war is legitimate when it is unavoidable.” Probably Machiavelli in Pensieri Sugli Uomini was not referring to the “talent war”, a phrase used for the first time by Steven Hankin in 1997. However, the global skills crisis is forcing companies to “wage war” on themselves in order to attract the best “talents”, considering not only skills and competences but also if it is the “right” person, in the right organization and the right position. In a context of economic recovery, the scarcity of well-trained technical workers combined with the baby boom generation leaving for retirement, this escalating war is necessary because it is considered a long-term strategic investment.

Faced with this shortage, traditional recruitment methods quickly have become obsolete. Nowadays, merely publishing a job offer is not enough.

How can those “talents” be wooed then? Attractive salaries and various benefits are not enough: competitors are lining up in a climate of skills shortage. De facto employees are in a position of strength. Especially considering that a bidding rush is never the best solution. Furthermore, given similar financial benefits, talents seek the appropriate work environment.

Intrinsically, there is a reversal since it is the preference of the “talent” for a given company that will determine his / her choice rather than quantitative criteria. The employer brand appears as a determining factor to attract them. That’s what HR marketing is all about—all HR activities that aim at “selling” employee status within the firm and outside (Bathelot Bertrand).

It is all about setting a social brand that can federate the internal talent around common issues and carry out the identity values ​​to retain and attract suitable candidates. The goal is to create a psychological and moral attachment ensuring employee loyalty in order to attract potential employees. A strong and consistent corporate culture becomes a strategic asset for the company. The goal is not only to manage HR but also to do better than other companies, especially by using BI tools.

Besides “physical” HR marketing campaigns, for instance in universities, where companies meet the “talents”, the most essential promotion is made online. The company website is THE place for all HR marketing strategy actors. For the past 5 years PotentialPark has ranked the best HR websites in France. This year’s winner was Accor. But that’s not the only way; blogs, newsletters and social media are used to promote. Nevertheless, it is not only the company that makes its own praises, employees are now doing it as well. It’s called employee advocacy, when employees are asked to become HR ambassadors through social media. It’s the employer brand that allows companies to survive this “talent war”.

But retaining their own “talents” is also necessary. And before that, companies have to be able to identify these talents. This is mainly the manager’s job. Managers are closest to them and can detect the most talented employees, which also implies gathering and enterpreting employee data. And there is an increasing amount of employee data to be gathered! With so-called ‘Big Data’, segmenting and targeting becomes more effective to analyse and source candidates. HRIS tools, like CRM, aim at knowing them even better as customers and improve their candidate experience.

Will this talent war ever end? Probably not or at least not before the factors causing this war disappear. Companies cannot afford to lose this war. We need to put this concept into perspective, because one cannot compare an employee to a client. The first one is king and pays for a benefit while the second is a subordinate and is paid for their skills. This war between two companies for a candidate should also consider whether or not the candidate actually to be seduced or not.

Fariza LOUNIS & Fanny COULON