The present work aims to carry out an analysis of the participation and incidence that human resources have in the positioning of a company in the market, based on the concepts described by Phillip Kotler in the video Marketing Total edited by the magazine Gestión / 1997.
Every company must define its position within the market where it is going to develop, that is, make its distinction from the rest of the companies by clearly transmitting to the client why they must choose to buy their products or request their services.
There are different aspects that must be taken into account to achieve this objective, we can consider the company's brand, with all its connotations in terms of its image, in terms of the association made by the client, in terms of slogans. defined and regarding the spokespersons chosen for its dissemination.
It is clear that these definitions aim to attract the attention of the client who seeks their own benefits, which can be defined as the search for something different or innovative, that can be obtained at the lowest cost and that the chosen company is a specialist in that aspect.
This is the game of what companies offer and clients request, but in the hypercompetitive markets in which we are currently immersed, all the attention is focused on the opinion and desire of clients, therefore, their satisfaction, clients, is the aspect that mainly defines the decisions that companies make.
In this sense, there are three aspects in which companies must differentiate themselves: Creativity, Operationality and Customer Approach. The ideal would be for the company to be the best in the three slogans, which is very difficult, that is why it is considered that to be a leader a company must be the best in one of the aspects, it must be at an adequate level in the others must be permanently improved and must always respond to the needs that the market seeks to satisfy. From these definitions also arises the consideration of the type of company to be developed, Specialist, that is, to focus its activity on the so-called “market niches”, whether for products or customers or Generalist companies that aim to be leaders in the majority market.
Now, what role do human resources play within the positioning of the company?
This analysis is based on the function that today corresponds to the Human Resources area and the activities it develops to achieve the objectives and definitions of the company set out above, through the influence generated by its actions on the culture of the company. business.
Let's see the description of the Human Resources area, according to the traditional vision and what its current role is like. In the traditional scheme, it was seen as a police station or an administrative office outside the company's production. People went every time they had to be sanctioned, persecuted or fired, when they had problems with their liquidation, for their vacations or their changes in their family group.
Their functions can be defined as exclusively operational, specifically limited to what is related to personnel and their specific function, without a global vision of the company. The measurement parameters were merely qualitative, the results were not weighted in the quality of the personnel. Emphasis was placed on the role of exerting a controlling effect on behavior and compliance with a given regulation. Its planning responded to an orientation towards operation and administration. Their actions were fundamentally reactive, that is, they acted as a consequence of a situation that had already been generated.
Today it is constituted as a strategic partner of the business.
This represents that in this new vision, the operational must become strategic, the results are measured from the quantitative point of view, from controller to partner, its current orientation is towards the business becoming a consultant and its activities tend to prevention and problem solving. The success or failure of the company will depend on its influence in determining the culture of the company, since human resources, the people who work in the company, are the most valuable resource. It is people who give the differentiating contribution in companies, therefore, Human Resources must take care of people, trying to get closer to them to help them take advantage of their potential and their wealth, to make them available to a goal that is to the company they work for.The new positioning of Human Resources is to be a promoter and support of the change process. It must be efficient in the use of all company resources and be available to people. It must be oriented towards prevention and action, not towards correction, punishment and reward once things have happened, but must be attentive to preventing situations and acting on situations that arise and oriented towards continuous improvement, because change is dynamic, and change must be accompanied permanently.but to be attentive to prevent situations and act on situations that arise and aimed at continuous improvement, because change is dynamic, and change must be accompanied permanently.but to be attentive to prevent situations and act on situations that arise and aimed at continuous improvement, because change is dynamic, and change must be accompanied permanently.
It is appropriate to name the following competencies that are currently required for the development of efficient management in the area of Human Resources:
- Strategic thinking Knowledge of the Business Consultant, Facilitator, Coach, Influencer Information Technology and Communication
In other words, on the basis of this new definition of the management of the Human Resources area, its competencies and its determining influence on the culture of the company, the correct positioning of the company in the market will fall.
According to the proposal made on the definition of the brand, the action of the Human Resources area should be oriented to the cultural awareness of the company in a manner consistent with the definition made, which implies that the installation of the brand in the mind of the The client is everyone's responsibility, breaking with the idea that this function is limited to the marketing area.This determines that the specific activity of each member within the organization should lead to the strengthening of this concept, in other words, everything that all employees do must be a reflection of the characteristics of the product or service that the brand is trying to convey to the customer.
But it is of no use if the product or service offered has a correct definition of the brand and the entire company is consistent with it, if it does not respond to the requirement of the customers, if it does not satisfy a need. Therefore, another activity that all members of an organization must develop is to capture the needs and requirements of customers. Whether or not they are linked to customer service, it must be part of the company culture to be attentive to the Feed-Back of customers, the center of all the company's efforts. We must observe the importance that this concept has acquired in current market conditions, giving the client the fundamental value in this relationship,it is enough to observe in details such as in large shopping centers, places and employees dedicated exclusively to the reception and attention of customers, products with free communication lines for customer services, after-sales services have been generalized to most of the products, additional, discounts specials and prizes in recognition of customer loyalty.
Finally, we also cite the fact that a company must be a leader in creativity, operationality and in approaching the client, none of this can be done if it does not have Human Resources with the determined focus.
Can a company be a leader in creativity if it does not have creative human resources? Be the company with the most efficient operational systems without an efficient human resource? Or to be a leader in capturing the needs of clients without highly trained human resources in this discipline?
All these questions lead us to the inevitable conclusion already raised, the culture of the company is the determining factor of its positioning.
We will now delve into the subject of company culture.
The culture of the company is not something that arises in a magical way, it is created through the contribution of each of the members of the organization and for this reason has its own stamp such as that of a family, a region or a country. It can be defined not only as the values, uses and customs that the company has in its daily actions but also as the way in which the company relates to its environment. But this characteristic can be guided by means of two fundamental elements, the correct selection of Human Resources and their adequate training.
That is why, as has already been defined, the role of the Human Resources area becomes so important at the time of personnel selection.
People who join the company must have the necessary skills to adapt to this system and its own culture, which they must acquire through a proper induction process and defined training.
With respect to another aspect that has been mentioned, training, a factor that defines the current training system must be taken into account first and foremost, and it has now become relatively important: the speed of change.
Some characteristics of the changes are defined below
- Changes are inevitable. Changes have a speed, which is currently quite high. Changes produced in one sector accelerate changes in other sectors, thereby producing an unstoppable and very fast dynamic. Change processes suffer certain turbulence; they are not always linear, quiet. Unforeseen events occur, or things that we had planned but that are harsh and produce “noise.” Any change has a direct impact on the sector where it is operating, and indirect impacts on other sectors. Therefore, we are all affected by the processes of change, directly or indirectly.
Given these characteristics and remembering one of the functions of the Human Resources area to prevent situations, special care must be taken that the training provided to the company's Human Resources responds to these requirements imposed by the changes. Consequently, the predisposition to adapt to changes must be incorporated into the culture of the company.
Not only technology changes but also market conditions and requirements, which is why training planning must be carried out that takes into account this situation. Hence the new trend is towards continuous training, within a scheme of continuous improvement (Total Quality Principles). Continuous training has as a fundamental benefit the possibility of adapting the contents to the changes that occur mainly in those factors that arise from the needs and demands of customers. At this point, the existence of good communication channels is essential, since the contribution of all the members of the organization makes the objectives of the training plan really match those needs. As already stated,the capture of customer needs depends on all the members of the organization.
This way of detecting the needs for changes, brings a double positive effect, since on the one hand a broad vision of the situation is obtained and a correct diagnosis can be generated. The basis for the success of planning is the elaboration of a diagnosis that reflects reality from different points of view, each person has very valuable elements to contribute since their experience and knowledge are unique and should not be wasted.
On the other hand, it is a motivating effect to be consulted about the problems or advantages that the person observes of the product or service that is provided, and much more if said contribution is taken into account for the agendas to be considered, they also make them applicable immediately since they arise from daily needs. It should not be forgotten that the knowledge acquired that is not executed within a certain period of time is not incorporated into the behavior.
This style of participation does not arise spontaneously, for this it is necessary to generate the appropriate communication channels for this purpose and train human resources in their uses, a task that, as it was proposed, falls to the Human Resources area.
Finally, it is possible to comment that the effort must be made to convey the idea that the improvement acquired is not only a benefit for the company since it improves its productivity, but mainly increases the potential of the person who receives them.
Article provided by: Uch de RRHH the portal of RRHH students
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