Why HR Professionals Should Be More Like Network Marketers

September 28 2019 - Marketing departments around the world are much different than they were 10 years ago. With the advancement of technologies like the Internet and social media, marketing has had to change quickly. The department's success now greatly depends on the help of human resources to find and train employees on new and emerging skill sets. After all, it's widely accepted that company culture is a critical factor when it comes to drastic or rapid departmental transformations. 

The skill sets that HR managers are trying to seek out for marketing departments in-house are the same skills that network marketers hone in order to be successful. Network marketers have the skills and the know-how to navigate social media and social advertising, have strong copywriting and storytelling skills, understand personalization of a sales experience, possess human interaction and rapport building, and also have general branding skills. Coincidentally, these are all the same skills that can assist with talent acquisition. 

So, this begs the question: why hasn't HR taken a page from the marketer’s book and started thinking like network marketers? 

Competing for talent as if they were customers

The competition is intense when trying to hire a high-potential employee. You will probably be competing against other businesses, as your potential employee will be shopping around like they were doing research for a purchase. You'll also have to consider how your company looks online and what your online reputation and first impressions are. Job candidates will usually head to a company's social media platforms or search for them on review sites like Glassdoor to get a better understanding of what the company is like before committing to a second interview or position.

This is similar to how customers would shop around for the right product or service. Successful network marketers, like Toni Vans marketing consultant, know how to monitor and manage their online reputation, as it is a crucial part to achieving success for their business. HR managers could learn from this and treat talent acquisition the same as network marketers treat lead generation and closing potential customers.

Being more human

The job application process is notoriously automated. Between filling out online applications to applications being screened through algorithms, there's not much human connection or even interaction in the process at all, unless an applicant is successful.

Technologies today are perfect for providing the opportunity to break down barriers for human interaction, but HR-oriented processes build barriers instead. 

Network marketers understand the human aspect behind the process of sales, so why not transfer that to hiring practices too? Most job applicants are looking for a company that displays a more human side to them, where automated processes are less prevalent and human interaction and camaraderie is higher. Crafting a message and getting a story across is something network marketers excel at, and HR managers should be considering this when trying to lure talent to join the team. 

Branding

Network marketing is all about promoting a brand that resonates with the target audience and utilizing testimonials and customer reviews to help elevate the brand. Why can’t HR managers get companies to do the same? Pushing employees to share content about the company’s products on their personal social media pages isn’t a good look, but fostering a workplace culture where employees feel proud to post it on social media is a much better approach. 

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