The dominant perspective of professionals regarding self-development and training has predominantly been specialisation in their chosen areas of competence. Even though this differentiation results in increased functional competence, it tends to create tunnelled vision. A great deal of obvious learning — possible through the integration of knowledge from different functions — gets overlooked.

Just as a new product such as a wheelchair emerges through the cross-fertilisation of wheels and a chair, by cross-fertilising HR and Marketing, new frontiers for HR get created.

The Trap of Vertical Growth

The phenomenon of vertical growth — from AM (HR) to Manager (HR) and upward — is still widely prevalent in organisations. This is a surprising phenomenon, because it invariably leads to narrow perceptions and enormous difficulty in achieving shared perception at the top echelons.

More importantly, this is a "missed opportunity" for professionals to expand personal perception and see the reality around them. As a seasoned HR leader at a leading PSU once told me:

"Our organisation nominates us to training programs which are focussed on functional specialisations; other programs are difficult to sell internally."

This perception reflects a short-sighted view of learning and knowledge. Knowledge is an integrated phenomenon. When we look at a tree, we see the differentiated branches — Physics, Chemistry, Economy, Geography, Botany — all integrated. Working at it only from the botany point of view will result in seeing some things very clearly, while the other points of view are obfuscated.

Dominant Mental Patterns in HR Training

This realisation dawned on me as I transitioned from being an HR specialist in a leading textile company to a management consultant and entrepreneur. While working on a "Services Marketing" project for a client, I started closely examining marketing concepts and tools. Every new tool resulted in mental "clicks" as it integrated with earlier experience, resulting in new skills and perceptions.

The development of multi-functional perception tends to mirror reality, while unifunctional perception tends to skew it.

HR Professional's Mental Model of Performance Management (Reality R1)

  • Performance Appraisal systems
  • Training for Performance Appraisers
  • Training in Counselling Skills
  • Redesign of Performance Appraisal forms and norms
  • Developing feedback skills
  • Behaviour modification skills

Marketing Professional's Mental Model of Performance Management (Reality R2)

  • Enhancing "Performance" in terms of more sales
  • Prevalent sales process and its inadequacies
  • Selling skills and related gaps
  • Motivation of the sales force
  • Selling in adverse circumstances

It would be unreasonable to say that Reality R1 is more real than Reality R2. Reality is a combination of both — and a host of other realities that may not even exist at the periphery of our perception.

Integrating Marketing Reality into HR

Below is a framework for what emerges when we systematically integrate marketing thinking into HR practice:

Marketing Reality New HR Realities (Emerging)
Need-Based Product Development
  • Level of dominance of needs
  • Clarity of consumer needs
  • Product redesign based on changing needs
 Current Reality: HR practices based on assumption of personnel needs.

Emerging Reality (R1):
  • Identifying needs inventory of personnel
  • Measuring dominance of needs
  • Redesigning HR practices based on regular Employee Need Surveys
  • HR practices reviewed regularly, not once a year
Product Promotion Mix
  • Advertising to create demand pull
  • Consumer promotion tools
  • Business promotion tools (exhibitions, trade shows)
 Concept Promotion Mix:
  • R2: Internal advertising & publicity strategy to drive employee acceptance of quality drives, waste reduction, cleanliness campaigns
  • R3: Point of Interaction (POI) displays wherever 1-to-1 and 1-to-many interactions occur
  • R4: Internal exhibitions showcasing functional achievements, objectives, and collecting feedback from internal customers

Even if we implement one of these four new realities, we would have enough to think and talk about energetically for at least two months.

The Imperative

It is imperative that HR professionals find ways and means to do stints in other functional areas. This would not only develop the much-wanted depth but would also trigger the expansion of the professional's HR frontiers.

It is surprising that we continue to look for VP (HR) who has 10–15 years of experience in HR-related activities, rather than VP (HR) who has 5–6 years in HR with the rest spread across different functional areas and sizes of organisations.

The greatest gift that an HR professional can give themselves is the ability to see with new eyes what they have been seeing for ages — and to discover new realities in the process.