It Takes Two
The standard pitch for a buddy movie goes something like this: two mismatched protagonists come together to create a unique bond. Think Butch and Sundance, Harold and Kumar, The Blues Brothers, or Romy and Michelle. In each film, the sum of the two together is far greater than the individual parts.
I’d like to nominate a new addition to this venerable list of buddy movies: Marketing and HR. While at first glance this makes as much sense as Turner and Hooch (and I’ll let you decide which one is Hooch), at Sprinklr we’ve transformed marketing and HR into the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Here’s how.
One year ago, Diane Adams (Chief Culture and Talent Officer) and I (Chief Experience and Marketing Officer) stood on stage together at the annual Sprinklr sales conference and announced The Sprinklr Way — a set of core values that guide the company. For reference, here they are:
- It’s ok. Be fearless.
- Sprinkle, don’t shout.
- Fix it, don’t complain.
- Never, ever give up.
- Passionately, genuinely care.
But here’s the twist. From the very beginning, HR and marketing worked together to discover these values, and incorporate them into everything we do—both internally and externally.
These core values aligned our employee branding with marketing messaging to create one cohesive Sprinklr brand. When we look at who we want to hire in HR, we look for people who align with our core values. And, when we promote our brand image, we are promoting our core values.
There’s a symbiotic relationship here: When employees feel engaged with their employer, they will communicate positive messages about the company. HR helps employees feel engaged, while marketing helps guide employees to share certain content about the brand. Making employees happy is vital for Sprinklr, because employees who genuinely enjoy their work are more productive, more successful and more supportive. Happy employees are strong team builders and collaborators. We like to say that happy employees equals happy customers. And not only do we like to say it, it happens to be true.
This partnership between marketing and HR is rare, but it’s powerful. Our culture and talent team is focused on the experience of our employees. Marketing is focused on the experience of our customers. Together, we’re like… well, Butch and Sundance.
For a deeper dive take a listen to the TalentCulture #WorkTrends Podcast, where Diane and I sat down with Meghan M. Brio to talk about how we built a dynamic partnership, and increased employee retention by 60% along the way.
And, if you happen to be reading this before Wednesday, March 11, 2020, be sure to join us on the #WorkTrends Twitter chat, 1:30pm-2:00pm, EST.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll soon be starring in your own HR/Marketing buddy movie.
