These distinct shifts in the global workforce—demographic changes, a shortage of talent, the growing empowerment of skilled employees and the rise of free agents—have converged into a perfect storm for recruiters and HR managers. So, here’s the question: How do these trends impact HR and what can HR professionals learn from their marketing peers?

One of the current challenges for HR is to develop hiring strategies that attract and retain the most talented employees. HR must understand that job candidates are also consumers. HR professionals should consider capturing the attention of job candidates and employees using similar tools and techniques used in consumer marketing:

•Attract talent with a tailored brand message aimed at a targeted skill or demographic segment
•Engage talent by delivering on a recruiting and on boarding experience that aligns with the brand message
•Retain talent in the workplace by validating the promises of the brand message over time
Some analysts have pointed out that today’s global economy is transitioning to a knowledge economy, where skills and expertise are a valuable resource for organizations—just as important as tangible economic resources. I believe this is a true statement. Consider this, with the shifting dynamics of the current workforce, companies are rapidly moving away from a focus on cost and speed of the hiring process to focus on the quality of each hire. Organizations are increasingly willing to absorb higher costs and slower results, as long as they obtain the highest caliber employee/talent. The question is, how do we attract the best talent without innovative marketing techniques?

Is your HR perspective beginning to shift? Are you leveraging marketing best practices to put your organization in a position to win in the current talent war? The fact is, many organizations are making this change and leveraging marketing techniques to elevate their talent spectrum. At the same time, many organizations are being left behind. It’s time to innovate. Are you ready?