Mark Ritson is right that marketing and HR need to collaborate to create and sustain the employer brand (Marketing, October 24), but there is an even bigger opportunity here.
The techniques of customer relationship management (CRM), which have revolutionised the marketing function with IT, should be used internally as employee relationship management.
This lets the line manager segment, understand and respond to employees in a customised way, through targeted remuneration and benefits, say.
It lets employees take back some control of their career management, giving them access to choices they didn’t previously have.
It allows employers to give workers a place to work in that mirrors the consumer environment in terms of customisation, choice and ethos.
The role of human resources changes, too. Commodity human resources services and functions can be outsourced and automated, while the high-value-added services are delivered on-line or through targeted coaching. HR does not just need to collaborate with marketing and IT, it needs to rethink its role in the modern business.
The new HR manages outsource suppliers, works with IT and marketing to understand employees and provides customised and targeted service options to the business.
All of this, as Mark Ritson points out, adds up to an internal brand experience for the employee, a powerful tool in the competition for talent.
