Essential Information

Human resources (HR) administrative assistants

support management-level staff and perform a variety of tasks
related to employee record-keeping within organizations. They
often handle sensitive employee and company information,
which requires that they maintain a high level of
professionalism and confidentiality. HR administrative
assistants usually need a high school diploma, and an
associate's degree could help with advancement.
Required Education

High school diploma; associate's degree may help

Other Requirements

Human resources or administrative experience

Projected Job
Growth*

3% between 2014 and 2024 (secretaries and admin

assistants)

Mean Salary (May

2015)*

$39,180

Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Job Duties for HR Administrative

Assistants
Human resources administrative assistants often provide both
HR-specific and general administrative and secretarial support,
depending on the size of their company or HR department.
Entry-level positions may require HR administrative assistants
to file employee-related documents, answer department
telephones, relay messages, and distribute information to
employees. They provide direct support to executives by
scheduling meetings and appointments, making travel
arrangements, and processing expense reports.
HR administrative assistants with intermediate office skills may
be responsible for editing documents and presentations,
entering and updating employee information into company
databases, preparing employment packages, handling benefits

information, and processing termination paperwork. These

professionals also assist HR staff with specified projects, such
as planning company events.
At the advanced level, administrative assistants in HR create
forms, templates, and other HR-related documents. They
explain company policies and procedures to employees.
Supervised by an HR manager, they may also perform payroll
and timekeeping functions. Some HR administrative assistants
handle essential recruitment tasks, including posting job
openings, reviewing resumes, calling candidates, and
scheduling interviews.

Job Requirements
Most companies request that applicants have two or more
years of general administrative experience or a human
resources background. Employers also desire candidates who
have strong computer and time management skills, a basic
understanding of the HR role, and experience using
productivity software. Individuals with an associate's degree
from an accredited college or technical school program may
have a competitive edge over those with a high school diploma.
While on-the-job training is generally available, some
companies prefer applicants to have a working knowledge of
HR-specific software and information systems. Other desirable
traits include demonstrated teamwork and customer service
skills. Candidates with the ability to meet tight deadlines,
perform multiple tasks, and work well under pressure may be
in high demand for HR assistant positions.
In summary, HR administrative assistants provide HRspecific and general administrative and secretarial support, a
job that generally requires a minimum of a high school
diploma.

The Role of a
Marketing
Department
Author:John Fatteross

The Marketing Department plays a vital role

in promoting the business and mission of an
organization. It serves as the face of your
company, coordinating and producing all
materials representing the business. It is the
Marketing Department's job to reach out to
prospects, customers, investors and/or the
community, and create an overarching image
that represents your company in a positive
lightthat is, your brand.
Depending on your company, the duties of
the Marketing Department may include one
or more of the following:

Defining and managing your brand.

This involves defining who you are, what
you stand for, what you say about yourself,
what you do and how your company acts.
This, in turn, defines the experience you
want your customers and partners to have
when they interact with you.
Conducting campaign management
for marketing initiatives. Marketing
proactively identifies the products and
services to focus on over the course of your
sales cycle, and then produces materials
and communications that get the word out.

Producing marketing and

promotional materials. Your marketing
department should create the materials
that describe and promote your core
products and/or services, and keep them
up-to-date as those products and services
evolve.
Creating content providing search
engine optimization for your website. Your
website is often the first (and possibly the
only) place people go for information about
you. Your marketing department will be
responsible for keeping Web content
current, while also working to ensure your
site comes up quickly when someone
searches for your type of business.
Monitoring and managing social
media. Marketing should contribute to,
manage and maintain your social media
pages and accounts and carefully watch
whats being posted about you online.
Producing internal communications.
Your employees need to understand your
company, its values, its goals and its
priorities. Marketing is often responsible for
employee communications through a
newsletter and/or intranet.
Serving as media liaison. When
your company is cited in the media, a
member of the marketing department often
acts as spokesperson for your company, or
guides executives in how to respond to
media queries.
Conducting customer and market
research. Research helps you define target

markets and opportunities accordingly, and

also helps you understand how your
products and services are perceived.
Overseeing outside vendors and
agencies. Marketing is typically responsible for
selecting and managing the agencies and
vendors who produce marketing materials and
or/provide marketing support. These may
include ad agencies, print vendors, PR agencies
or specialists, Web providers, etc.

Responsibilities of Marketing
Department

The marketing department has overall responsibility for

growing revenue, increasing market share and contributing to
company growth and profitability. In a small business, the
marketing department may just be one person, or it may
include a marketing director or manager plus marketing
executives responsible for functions such as advertising,
publications or events.

Strategy
The senior member of the marketing department takes
responsibility for setting marketing strategy in line with overall
company strategy and objectives. The strategy may be to
increase share in a specific market sector, for example, to
enter a new sector, or to open a new channel of distribution,
such as the Internet, to reach a wider geographical market.
The marketing department reaches agreement on strategy
with the board or senior management team before planning
campaigns in detail.

Market Research
Market research is a key responsibility for the marketing
department. Research helps the company identify market
opportunities and gain a better understanding of customer
needs. It also helps them understand competitors strengths
and weaknesses so they can take action to protect business
with existing customers or win business from weaker
competitors. The department can carry out its own research by
studying industry reports, market data on websites, or by

contacting customers and prospects to survey their needs and

attitudes. Alternatively, they can brief a market research firm
to carry out the research.

Product Development
The marketing department works with Internal or external
product development teams to develop new products or
improve existing ones. The department analyzes sales of
existing products and identifies gaps in the product range
where there may be opportunities for the company. Marketing
employees provide development teams with information on
customer needs and preferences to help them identify the
features or improvements to incorporate in new products. Later
in the product development process, the marketing
department sets prices and prepares plans to launch the
product.

Communications
Marketing departments plan campaigns and develop
communications material to promote products and services to
customers and prospects. Depending on their available
budgets, they may plan advertising campaigns, develop e-mail
marketing programs, create promotional content for the
company website, write press releases or product publications,
such as product leaflets, company brochures, product data
sheets or customer newsletters. They may write and design
the promotional material if they have skills within the
department or they may appoint advertising agencies or
design firms to produce the work.

Sales Support
Cooperation between the sales and marketing departments
can improve sales performance and speed up business growth.
The marketing department can provide sales teams with highquality leads by running advertisements that include a reply
mechanism, such as a coupon or telephone number, or by
encouraging visitors to the company website to register their
details in return for a free newsletter or special report.
Marketing also prepares presentations for the sales team and
supplies them with stocks of promotional material to give to
customers and prospects.

Events
In some companies, marketing departments are responsible for
organizing events, such as exhibitions, seminars, sales
conferences or customer hospitality events. They plan the
logistics of the event, booking exhibition booths or meeting
facilities, for example, and provide event material, such as
displays, presentations or handouts. They also promote

external events to customers and prospects to ensure

successful attendance.
1. Focus on the Customer
2. Monitor the Competition
3. Own the Brand.
4. Find & Direct Outside Vendors.
5. Create New Ideas.
6. Communicate Internally.
7. Manage a Budget.
8. Understand the ROI.
9. Set the Strategy, Plan the Attack, and Execute.
Because we like to focus on brand stuff, heres what Rob has to say
about #3:
The perceptions and feelings formed about an organization, its
products / services, and its performance is what is known as its
brand. The Marketing Department is responsible for creating
meaningful messages through words, ideas, images, and names
that deliver upon the promises / benefits an organization wishes to
make with its customers. Furthermore, the Marketing Department is
responsible for ensuring that messages and images are delivered
consistently, by every member of the organization.
Not a bad start. And for the most part, yes, he is right.
Read the rest of Robs points here.
Robs list is a great first step for any marketing department that
finds itself needing to define its functions clearly. Lets take it one
step further though, with this second list, which should best serve
marketing departments that have already accomplished all nine of
Robs recommendations and are looking for the next step in their
evolution:
1. Befriend your customers.
2. Become your market. (Dont just monitor the competition.
Rewrite the rules. Set the pace. Lead. Outdistance your competition.
Make them copy you. Force them to up their game.)
3. Breathe your brand.
4. Recruit and direct outside vendors.
5. Foster Innovation.
6. Simplify your internal communications. Then simplify them again.
And again. And again.
7. Strategize as if your budget had been slashed in half. Deliver as if
your budget had been twice what it actually is.
8. Make your ROI completely clear to your clients and everyone in
your organization.
9. Observe, adapt, strategize, anticipate, plan, execute. and be
ready to improvise at a moments notice.

Not too long ago, a friend posed the following

questions to meWhat should a marketing
department do? What should they be responsible for?
After reflecting upon the query, I came to the
realization that my friend had asked quite interesting
and thought-provoking questions for which there are
not simple answers. For starters, the responsibilities of
a Marketing Department vary based on several factors
including business size, industry, corporate structure,
and more. To complicate the matter, a Marketing
Departments role will undoubtedly be different for
organizations where the department is considered to
be a cost center vs. a revenue center.
While understanding that it depends is not a suitable
answer for any direct question, the following are my
thoughts on 9 core activities / responsibilities a
Marketing Department must handle. They are not
listed in any particular order, as they all should be
accomplished if an organization wants to grow the
value of its business.

1) Focus on the Customer.

Marketers should spend time listening to their
customers (and prospective customers) in order to
understand their needs and wants regarding a
particular product or service. Soliciting thoughts and
input from internal stakeholders such as Sales and
Customer Service is also appropriate, as these
departments are typically closest to the customer.

2) Monitor the Competition.

Learning about, and understanding the competitive
landscape is also an important function of the
Marketing Department. Marketers should be the go to
people within an organization to answer the following
types of questions: Who is the competition (both direct
and indirect)? What do they communicate? Which

customers do they serve? Why do customers choose

the competitor versus you?

3) Own the Brand.

The perceptions and feelings formed about an
organization, its products / services, and its
performance is what is known as its brand. The
Marketing Department is responsible for creating
meaningful messages through words, ideas, images,
and names that deliver upon the promises / benefits
an organization wishes to make with its customers.
Furthermore, the Marketing Department is responsible
for ensuring that messages and images are delivered
consistently, by every member of the organization.

4) Find & Direct Outside

Vendors.
Internal Marketing Departments do not create magic
alone. Therefore, Marketing needs to source and
oversee a group of outside resources (a.k.a.
partners) such as copywriters, graphic designers,
web designers, database specialists, and printers so
that a company can get the most bang from its
marketing efforts.

5) Create New Ideas.

Whether its customer acquisition campaigns, keep-intouch programs, new product promotions, retention
efforts, or something in between, the Marketing
Department should ultimately be responsible for
developing new ideas that generate revenue for the
company. This does not mean that the Marketers have
to come up with every idea on their own; however,
they need to identify, cultivate, and work with others
(see point #4) to execute programs that will create
revenue.

6) Communicate Internally.

It is important that the Marketing Department

communicates with all departments inside an
organization. Since any employee (regardless of
position) can support (or damage) a brand, value
proposition or even specific program initiatives, the
Marketing Department needs to take responsibility for
disseminating information throughout the organization
(this includes internal education and training when
appropriate).

7) Manage a Budget.
Establishing and communicating messages to the
marketplace costs money. Therefore, Marketing
Departments should be responsible for estimating the
anticipated expenditures associated with marketing
activities. Once set, Marketers should be held
responsible for meeting all budget projections.

8) Understand the ROI.

Since marketing activities are an investment an
investment in time, money, and effort they should
be monitored and measured against specific concrete
goals and objectives. Marketing Departments should
constantly ask themselvesWhats my expected
return? Answering this simple, yet often overlooked
question will result in better, more accountable
decisions.

9) Set the Strategy, Plan the

Attack, and Execute.
One of the key activities for a Marketing Department is
to integrate an organizations goals, strengths,
channels of distribution, competitive environment,
target markets, pricing, core messages, and products
into one cohesive document known as the Marketing
Strategy. As part of the strategy, the Marketing
Department should also develop the list of tactical
ideas such as direct mail, print advertising, and search

engine optimization that will enable the organization

to communicate its message to customers and
prospects. With a strategy and tactical ideas in hand,
the Marketing Department is now ready to take on the
responsibility of executing the programs and initiatives
to drive sales and revenue for the organization.
Whether you are part of a Fortune 500 corporation, a
regional manufacturer, a local distributor, an
independent professional service provider, or
somewhere in between, marketing is a critical
component necessary to increase the value of your
business. Take a look at your Marketing Department
how many of the 9 activities above do they handle? If
something is missing, it is a sure sign that your
marketing efforts are not as effective as they could be;
therefore, your company is leaving money and
valuable resources on the table.

What Are the Functions of a

Marketing Manager or Officer?
by Paul Merchant, studioD

Marketing managers or officers are focused mainly on the

practical application and management of an organization's
marketing operations. For marketing managers to be efficient
and effective in performing their functions, they should have
excellent communication and analytical skills. In small
organizations, the marketing manager is in charge of the
organization's entire marketing activities and therefore handles
formulating, directing and coordinating marketing activities so
as to influence customers to choose the organization's
products over those of competitors.

Conducting Market Research

Marketing managers carry out market research to gain a clear
understanding of what an organization's customers really want.
Marketing research enables these managers to identify new
market opportunities, helping the organization create a market
niche for its products or services. Market research also involves
studying the organization's competitors so as to develop
superior products and employ efficient marketing techniques.

Companies conduct market research using questionnaires,

face-to-face interviews or analyzing the buying habits of
consumers.

Developing the Marketing Strategy

Marketing managers are responsible for developing marketing
strategies for their organizations. These strategies outline
clearly how an organization will promote its products and
services to its target market with an aim of increasing its sales
volumes and maintaining a competitive edge over its
competitors.

Customer Relationship Management

The marketing manager performs the function of championing
customer relationship management in the organization. The
marketing manager collects this information from the
organization's customer database to help create a customer
satisfaction survey. Marketing managers then share this
information with other employees to ensure they offer
excellent customer service to their clients in order to build
lasting relationships.

Employee Management
Marketing managers are in charge of the marketing
department and therefore are responsible for employees within
their department. They assign duties and set targets for
departmental staff. It is also the function of marketing
managers to perform periodic performance evaluations of the
staff working for them.

Identifying New Business Opportunities

Marketing managers analyze market trends with an aim of
identifying unexploited or new markets for the organization's
products and services. Through studying the purchasing
patterns of consumers, they can identify the peak and off-peak
demand periods for their products. By employing sales
forecasting, they can estimate future performance of the
organization's products. Also through market analysis and
forecasting, they can develop strategies to ensure the
organization remains competitive.

A marketing manager performs many duties aimed

at developing and implementing the long- and short-term
marketing strategies of his employer. The broad scope of this
task requires him to interact heavily with various departments
of his firm, including research and development,
manufacturing, supply chain, sales and, in some industries,
legal and compliance. Depending on the size of his

organization, a marketing manager may also oversee a team

of junior marketing professionals.

Brand Development
Perhaps the most important duty performed by a marketing
manager is the development of her employers brand.
Consisting of visuals, such as a logo, and sometimes sounds,
such as music used in a television or radio advertisement, a
brand is the image that comes to mind when customers think
of company. Although each of a firms products and services
may be branded, there is typically a corporate brand that
encompasses the entire organization. Partnering with senior
management, a marketing manage creates a brand that aligns
with the organizations mission statement. She then directs
internal or external media relations and advertising
professionals in the implementation of that brand, producing
press releases, commercials and other promotional material.

Competitive Intelligence
In an effort to assist his employer in remaining competitive in
the marketplace, a marketing manager performs a multitude of
research aimed at ensuring the firms foothold in the industry.
He may perform customer research by implementing surveys
and hosting focus groups. He may also analyze the advertising
activities and sales performance of competitors. In addition, he
may assess the state of the economy as it relates to the firms
industry. Once this research has been compiled, a marketing
manager creates various reports based upon his findings.
These documents are then presented to senior management.
Reports based upon the research of the marketing manager
are considered by management when making business critical
decisions, such as the development of new product lines or the
discontinuation of a poorly performing advertising campaign.

Public Relations
In many environments, a marketing manager represents his
employer in the media. He grants interviews in an effort to
promote new products, services or initiatives. He represents
the firm at charitable events and other happenings taking
place throughout the community. In times of crisis, he may also
perform damage control, courting the press for the purpose of
changing a negative opinion of his company. While some
marketing managers perform this duty autonomously, others
work in partnership with internal or external public relations
professionals.

Responsibility of a Sales &

Marketing Division
Small businesses often organize their sales and marketing
operations differently than larger businesses, putting more of
an emphasis on sales until they have sufficient capital and
staff to elevate the marketing function. Understanding what
responsibilities a sales and marketing division will need to
handle until you more formally separate these areas will help
you maximize your resources to boost your sales and profits.

Sales vs. Marketing

In its formal usage, marketing serves as the umbrella function
that manages advertising, promotions, public relations and
sales. Marketing functions include research and development,
pricing, distribution, customer service, sales and
communications. In its narrowest form, a sales department
advises the marketing department based on its feedback with
customers and focuses on customer contact to drive sales. The
marketing department tells the sales staff what to emphasize
and what sales tools is will use.

Sales and Marketing Division

Because many small businesses dont have the expertise -- or
even need -- to pursue a classical marketing strategy, the sales
manager handles marketing duties as part of his
responsibilities. The sales division takes the lead in setting
strategies and decides what marketing communications it
needs to support its efforts.

Goal-Setting
The sales and marketing division sets individual sales rep
quotas, as well as the overall volume goal for the company. To
achieve sales goals, it creates bonus and commissions
structures. The division uses past sales figures and expert
projections to estimate which products will sell where and in
what amounts.

Product, Pricing and Distribution Planning

Because sales and marketing managers spend much of their
time talking directly to customers, they guide the development
of products and services. They recommend modifying or
dropping products or services or adding new ones to the
companys mix, based on what customers want. A sales and
marketing department has the responsibility for deciding
where the company should sell and what its prices should be.

This includes choosing which, if any, intermediaries the

company will use, such as wholesalers, distributors or retailers.
This requires the division to research where the companys
competitors are selling and where its customers say they want
to shop.

Customer Service
To maintain its customer base, sales and marketing takes
responsibility for making sure buyers are happy, as well as
trying to upsell them. The division is proactive in contacting
customers with surveys and special offers and is reactive in
attempting to solve any problems that might cause the
company to lose customers.

Promotions
The word promotions covers a broad array of sales and
marketing efforts, including advertising, social media, public
relations, sales, event sponsorship, cause marketing,
discounts, loyalty programs, rebates, trade show appearances
and buyers clubs. The sales and marketing team decides
which publications to advertise in, which TV, radio or websites
are best for promoting the companys products or services,
and what contests, giveaways, discounts or other marketing
methods will help it boost sales.