In the words of Management guru Jim Collins:

 “… the single biggest constraint on the success of my organization is the ability to get and to hang on to enough of the right people.”

The term “War for talent” was coined by McKinsey’s Steven Hankin in 1997 and referred to the issue of attracting and retaining talent in the present times. 

The Work Institute Report (2018)  states that nearly one-third of employee turnover was due to a lack of development opportunities. Employees are looking for balance in their workplace where Corporations need to align their goals for a balanced organizational climate where work is synonymous with personal fulfillment. This can be achieved by a streamlined focus on the most vital company resource…. The Workforce.

“People do more for you when you make them feel Important.”

– David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big

In this quote from his best-selling book “The Magic of Thinking Big”, David J. Schwartz gives us an insight into human interactions which translates well into business. 

The impact of Human resource management is evident from the story of Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines is one of the most successful airlines in North American history. It has grown in 30 years from being a four-plane regional airline into the fifth largest airline employing almost 30,000 people, serving 52 cities in 26 states, and is still growing. In talking about what contributed to their growth, Herb Kelleher CEO of Southwest Airlines stated at the 25th anniversary in 1996:

“It used to be a business conundrum: ‘Who comes first? The employees, customers, or shareholders?’ That’s never been an issue for me. The employees come first. If they’re happy, satisfied, dedicated, and energetic, they’ll take really good care of the customers. When the customers are happy, they come back. And that makes the shareholders happy.”

Simply put, it always starts with your employees. Create an environment where employees feel like a part of the company, a part of decisions, and a part of the process. 

Another notable success model is IBM’s model is inspirational. The company works which works on the core value of enhanced employee experience, based on the belief that “if employees feel great about their job, so would their clients.

How do these organizations handle and manage their employees and make them feel valued as assets indispensable for the company’s performance? 

This journey leads us to the concept of INTERNAL MARKETING…

Internal Marketing is defined as a planned marketing-like approach to motivating employees, targeting customer satisfaction, and achieving organizational objectives through inter-functional coordination. 

Put simply, Internal marketing is the concept of personalizing your employee experience, understanding your employees, and customizing the work environment to boost productivity and employee loyalty thereby achieving organizational harmony. 

You get two rewards: the promise of a more productive workplace in exchange for your time, energy, and (slight) financial investment, enhancing the loyalty of your staff. This is the Golden rule of Internal Marketing!

Key Takeaways

Internal marketing, employee marketing, or employee communications, no matter what you call it, is an opportunity that can lead to various attitudinal and behavioral enrichment of employees and both financial and non-financial gains for the organization.   

It is about applying the same level of creative thinking that you would for any promotional or advertising campaign for a customer, where you promote an idea consistently in ways to work out a logical funnel from attention to engagement.

Learn more about the ways in which we can help you elevate your Internal Marketing strategy: be it your corporate gifting, saving you time, and increasing your talent retention through a consultation with our experts.