PR as an Instrument for Human Resources

In the search for the perfect employee, more and more German companies are participating in the “competition for talent”. Necessarily so. Due to demographic changes in the country, competition for the best brains has been heightened. As in many other European countries, Germany is experiencing steady population decline. Increasingly fewer young people as opposed to increasingly more old: the population is expected to fall by about 17 million inhabitants by the year 2060, according to forecasts from the Federal Office for Statistics. One in three will be over 65 years old. And one in seven, about 10 million people, will actually be over 80 years old.

These days, competence in communication and dialogue is playing a pivotal role for companies that want to differentiate themselves from their rivals in this highly competitive market. And so it comes as no surprise that a new term has found its way into the vocabulary of personnel: Human Resources-Public Relations (HR-PR). In light of the skill shortage, an increasing number of personnel departments are finding out that HR-PR is an important component of their employer brandings. If companies deploy Public Relations – especially when it comes to increasing the awareness level for their products – horizons slowly expand: The idea behind HR-PR is to present the company as an attractive employer to potential applicants.

So what do we actually mean when we talk about “HR-PR”? Essentially the term relates to external communication. PR is used to communicate content, messages and stories, where HR takes centre stage: the focus is on the working environment in companies, on organizations as employers. This primarily entails classical presswork. Active issue management regarding all current issues in the working and living environment means having to find what those current issues are. It also requires mid to long term topic planning. Other elements are, of course, the placement of interview partners from each of the relevant sectors, as well as active contact with journalists. The tools of story telling can also be sensibly deployed. Trust can be created by telling stories, such as how employees can find an optimal work-life balance or how the company and its employees are mastering the challenges of an ageing society. This trust will be in the company as an employer and also in its products. Companies often underestimate interesting details from their working organisation and thus miss out on opportunities to have their voice heard.

In many organizations, involvement in associations and other cross-company initiatives can also be considered as HR-PR, such as talks and publications, which go beyond the realms of classical recruitment.

Thanks to Web 2.0, other opportunities are available for HR-PR: direct contact as well as uncomplicated dialogue with potential colleagues. Career starters and young professionals in particular don’t just inform themselves via the official career network sites of the company; rather they also use the social networks and online communities to find out more about their potential employers. Having a presence on important professional networks such as Xing is now a norm. Although many potential employees are also available via Facebook, so far only a handful of companies are using this channel.

In this context, employer rating websites such as kununu.de, jobvoting.de and bizzwatch.de should be closely monitored. Poor ratings from (former) employees about the company climate, the bosses or colleagues can create an Internet crisis in no time at all. Let us not forget the assertion of Edward L. Bernays, Father of Public Relations, who in the mid 1950s claimed that “PR begins at home”: The best ambassadors for a company are its own employees. They remain the most important HR communicators. With maximum credibility and authenticity.

 

Author: Michael Zühlke is Managing Director relatio PR