*A great benefit of blogging is meeting industry leaders and sharing and debating ideas.  Today, I’m sharing an article from Felix Wetzel of Jobsite.  Please be sure to give Felix your feedback at the end.  

When I joined Jobsite several years ago, one out of my two people strong team was what generally would be considered unskilled. He had no qualifications & before joining Jobsite as a data entry person, he worked for several years as a waiter in the Army barracks. He was also something of a computer geek, building his own PCs with the main purpose of increasing their performance to have a better gaming experience. This was also the time when companies like Jobsite lived very much on their SEO performance (and Google hadn’t impacted our shores yet). This person took the SEO bit between his teeth and ran with it, until he became one of the best SEOs in the UK. And this case isn’t an exception at Jobsite.

Paul Hart, former manager of Portsmouth Football club (sponsored by Jobsite) and previous to that responsible for the youth development of several football clubs, assessed footballing talent with  a SPIT test: In the order of importance: Speed, personality, intelligence, technique. His rational was as follows: I can teach technique, I can expand your playing intelligence – but personality and speed are a given, they can only be improved marginally and slowly.

Both of these stories have one thing in common – what we considered as skilled and unskilled is an outdated and narrow perspective. In the future, there will be skills required that are beyond our current understanding, and it will require certain characteristics and personalities that are in-built in people. And I’m not talking just about technology roles, such as mobile developers or SEOs, who would have thought that Starbucks would’ve created so many barista positions all over the world?

Recently I wrote several blog posts about the future of work and the main comments focused on not leaving the unskilled behind. I’m actually more worried about leaving the technically-skilled (as in white collared workers) behind – they are often the most complacent, the most rigid and the easiest to be replaced via outsourcing and ultimately automation. That’s why I believe the real in-demand ‘skills’ in the future of work will be creativity and project management.

• Creativity, as it allows the development of ground breaking, innovative, competitive and unique solutions.
• Project management, as it transforms creativity into tangible assets

Obviously great contacts and great education (and by this I mean being taught how to be a rounded and self-determined individual and how to think methodically yet radically) are important components.

Like sports clubs, big brands will set up academies to identify the raw talent. The technical skills – as in Paul Hart’s model – will be learned on the job. This is based on the premise that a participant is bright, has the right attitude and aptitude, and can pick up anything. For anybody developing an interest in work, wanting to get into an industry or just purely the workplace, it will be all about freelancing, volunteering and internships.

I started to write for my local newspaper aged 15. We need to get back to the understanding that school is only teaching so much and, here I agree whole-heartedly with Lucian Tarnowski, Founder and CEO of BraveNewTalent.com, neither the current education system nor the current political system are set up to deal with the global changes we are starting to see now and will continue to see in the future.

We need a structural overhaul not only of the system, but also about what and how we think and what and how we label. Much will depend on companies to make a difference. As much will depend on individuals. Let’s drive this change instead of blocking necessary reforms and hiding behind quotes such as ‘leaving the unskilled behind’.

Felix Wetzel is the Group Marketing Director for Jobsite and author of the ‘People, Brands, & Random Thoughts‘ blog.

Please be sure to leave Felix a comment at the end and tell him what you think of his concept of peopling.  Thanks friends.

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Felix Wetzel

I believe, and have believed for many years now, that HR and Marketing will move closer and closer, eventually overlap and consequently merge. There’s no question about it; it’s a logical outcome, triggered by the behavioural changes that have been magnified and accelerated by social media and mobile and my core belief about business and life: it’s all about people.

I base it on a very simple formula:

people = brand

This common denominator is underpinned by the following:

people = employees = customers = competitors = suppliers = citizens

So HR and Marketing are perfect companions, that share similar goals, approach life in a similar manner and most importantly have skills and talents that complement each other. Let’s now leave the abstract behind and get more concrete:

People are the brand

If you share this belief with me than you’ll also agree with the following statement: The strongest brand ambassadors are your employees. Subsequently, fostering the right culture within the company, influencing employees to participate every day voluntarily within it and communicating the culture externally in a personable but still branded manner, choosing new employees that fit and enhance the culture are areas where Marketing and HR, if working hand in hand, can make a massive difference and can enrich the growth of the brand but also the individuals within it. This becomes even more important as every interaction, every engagement, every mention defines the brand and defines the perception of the brand. That needs an exciting vision, a clear framework and at the same time shared experiences.

Internal and external communication are intrinsically linked

However we portray the brand externally has an impact internally. Jobsite’s CEO Keith Potts always reminds us: “When you choose a name for a brand, just pretend you call a client. How does it make you feel?”

When we created our TV commercial, I always had in mind that I wanted our sales people to be proud about the ad and the brand, to talk about it, to walk into meetings with their head held high, without the chance of being ridiculed. Besides this being an important filter, it also highlights how internal and external communication are linked, how internal and external perception influence each other and how we as a business therefore need to ensure that we have consistency across all communication. It’s another area for HR and Marketing to benefit from each other’s skills.

Everything communicates

Mervyn Dinnen wrote a very insightful blog ‘Is your recruitment partner damaging your bottom line?’ In this post Mervyn refers to potential employees being potential consumers and if treated badly at the recruitment process it damages their perception of the brand. I wholeheartedly agree. People are multi-dimensional and every interaction shapes the impact of a brand. That’s why I advocate replacing the terms ‘employee’ and ‘consumer’ with the term ‘citizen’. They all influence and define the ecosphere of the brand. The brand is alive, has a stable core but is adaptable and subsequently far more resistant. So, if this is the case, the brand values need to be experienced also through the recruitment process and need to be aligned with the overall brand communication. The recruitment experience is as important as the customer service experience. Everything communicates.

Employer Brand

Is it an employee or employer brand? Who cares? The whole discussion about it is misguided. An employee/employer/employment brand is a myth. Ultimately there’s one core brand and the employer brand is just one facet of it, other facets are the product brand, the consumer brand, the supplier brand, etc – so, instead of reinventing the brand, HR & Marketing need to work together to communicate and execute the brand internally (employee brand) and externally (employer brand) within the employment market.  Use the skills across the business to build the best solution, that’s the way to create a world class experience.

At Jobsite, our brand essence is: ‘We help you plan your worklife, so your whole life works better’ – this, combined with our brand values, are at the heart of all our interactions be it internally and externally.

I know of several companies where HR & Marketing (and the entire business work hand in hand). I know even more companies where this doesn’t happen. Maybe one day, the merger will happen, and instead of HR and Marketing it’s called Peopling.

How often do you come across a global company that truly works to ensure that their culture supports the culture in the community?  Any company names come to mind?  Well, I had the privilege to meet executives from a company that does.

Jobsite.

Jobsite UK (Worldwide) Ltd. is one of the largest online recruiting sites in the UK.  There are some unique qualities that Jobsite has that are clearly making them stand out against their competition.  One thing that makes them unique is their section called Be My Interviewer.  In this section of their site, job seekers can choose to practice interview questions with leaders from many top UK companies.  The interviews are pre-recorded sessions where the business leader asks key questions they would typically ask during an interview.  They also record each leader’s recommendations of the type of answer they would expect or be looking for from a candidate.   It’s an innovative concept that will certainly help job seekers prepare and helps Jobsite position itself as a thought leader in creative outreach for candidates.

What I find most inspiring is the way Jobsite supports their community.  They are the proud sponsor of the Portsmouth Football Club.  Portsmouth, UK, site of the Jobsite headquarters, relies on the football club as a source of jobs and income for the city.  And, while the club is having some financial difficulty at this time, it has not halted the enthusiasm Jobsite has to support them.  They understand just how much it means to the city and to their employees to have this team.  They also do many other community service events to show their support and dedication to Portsmouth, aka “Pompey”.  Click here to see some of the things they are involved in.

As the platinum sponsor of TRULondon 2,  Jobsite helped provide a unique un-conference experience for many people who had never experienced such an exchange of ideas.  The fact that they were progressive enough to embrace something relatively new speaks volumes about the kind of company they are.  They not only were the premier sponsor, they were presenters and participants.  And I don’t mean the kind of companies who come to a conference to tell you how great they are.  They were active participants in the leadership conversations and the recruiting strategy conversations.  They were a seamless part of the experience.

Following the event, several key execs hosted some of the TRU London attendees at a football game.  For the US readers, this means I had the opportunity to attend the most exciting “soccer” event I have ever been to. Dare I say the most exciting sporting event I have ever been to.  It was just amazing.  With Jobsite as the sponsor of the Portsmouth, UK football club, we were given the full VIP treatment.  We learned the chants and the songs, we stood, we cheered, we even had the fortune of being able to walk out on the pitch (field) during halftime for some amazing pictures.

Why do I tell you this?  Because once again, Keith Potts and Felix Wetzel were not there to try to put on the hard sell about Jobsite.  It was clear to see they are passionate about Jobsite, about their home-town football club, and about the community of Portsmouth.  After all, it’s where they are based.  They, and their employees fully support this team.

So, next time you are looking to do business with someone, look beyond the slick flyers and booths.

• Who ARE they?
• What do they really stand for?
• Do they support their community, and does their community support them?

If not, point them in the direction of Jobsite and tell them to take a lesson.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m not a paid endorser of Jobsite. But, I think I could have a shot as their next model.  What do you think?