The human resources and marketing functions in CPA firms share similarities but traditionally operate separately.

Now that hiring up-and-comers and keeping employees happy is more challenging than ever, a tight partnership can pay off big. Recruiting, onboarding and retention all improve, sometimes dramatically. “Successful companies we’ve seen really thrive when they’re collaborating,” says Jeaneen Andrews-Feldman of the two disciplines. Andrews-Feldman was chief marketing and experience officer at the 350,000-member Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) at the time of this interview in 2021.

Stephanie Gandsey, then-marketing director at Naperville, Ill.-based DHJJ, strikes a similar chord. She believes the HR and marketing functions can work together more productively if they consider themselves a team of “organizational developers,” not separate entities.

The overlap between the two departments is significant, as each addresses a different audience in pursuit of a similar goal. Both sides rely on a strong brand for success – to recruit new employees (HR) and gain new clients (marketing). Both seek the best possible onboarding process – to welcome new employees (HR) and introduce new clients to the firm (marketing). Both strive for positive interactions with the firm – to retain employees (HR) and to keep clients satisfied with services (marketing).

MPs may consider bringing the two departments together in one room (or one Zoom room) to find common ground, learn how they can help each other and brainstorm ideas. Simple moves like this can eliminate competitiveness and lead to an understanding that working together makes their jobs easier, not more difficult.

Here are some collaboration ideas offered by SHRM, in an interview with IPA, and Gandsey, who spoke at recent webinar for the Association for Accounting Marketing, in 2021.

Recruitment: Consistent messaging about the firm’s brand sounds like a given, but it’s not guaranteed. HR may talk about the firm slightly differently than how it is presented on the website and social media. In these cases, recruits can be confused about what a firm is really like, Andrews-Feldman says. Lack of consistency also hurts trust, the bedrock of the profession’s sterling reputation. (Accountants rank No. 6 on the latest Gallup poll of most trusted professionals.) HR knows the types of professionals the firm needs; marketing knows how to find them. Marketing can write job postings that differentiate the firm and describe the feeling of working there; HR can sell recruits using a unified message.

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