What If Small Business HR Worked Like a Marketing Team?

Vanessa Murphy
Jul 25, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Oct 5, 2025

In most small businesses, there is no HR team. There’s someone juggling compliance, payroll, recruitment, and a thousand other tasks that come under the vague heading of “people stuff.” Sometimes it’s the founder or it’s the finance manager and sometimes it’s no one. So when I read a recent Forbes article about HR teams adopting a product mindset; treating the employee experience like a marketing team treats a customer journey, I thought: this sounds great in theory, but how would it work in the real world of small business?

OR… it might be exactly what small businesses need.

HR-as-Marketing: A Quick Overview

The idea is simple but powerful. Just like marketing teams build brand awareness, attract customers, nurture leads, and work to keep customers loyal ..... HR could do the same, but for employees.

Attract Think employer brand and job ads that speak to the right kind of people
Engage Consider onboarding as a carefully crafted campaign, not a quick handover
Retain Use feedback loops, meaningful recognition, and communication strategies to build loyalty
Offboard Even exits can be a brand moment (and a reputation risk if done poorly)

In big companies, this approach is being led by Employee Experience teams or HR Business Partners but small businesses don’t have that luxury. What they do have is agility, creativity, and the ability to take a human approach without needing layers of approval.

So, what could this look like in a small business?

Here’s how to start treating your employee experience like a product even if “HR” is just you and your calendar:

1. Map the Employee Journey Like a Customer Journey

You don’t need a 30-page slide deck. Just grab a whiteboard or a blank Word doc and outline the key touchpoints:

First time they hear about you (job ad, LinkedIn post, word of mouth)
Interview experience
First day
First 30/60/90 days
Feedback and performance conversations
Milestones (birthdays, promotions, work anniversaries)
Offboarding

Ask: What do I want people to feel at each point? Then build around that.

2. Write Like a Marketer

Most small business job ads are boring and your employment contracts probably are too. Use your marketing voice in everything: job posts, onboarding emails, performance review templates even policies. Bring personality to your words = people don’t just want a job, they want to feel something about joining you.

3. Track What Works

Even in a small team, you can ask:

Why did they apply?
What did they love about the onboarding?
What made them stay (or leave)?
What do they tell others about working here?

A simple survey, a chat over coffee, or a few shared Slack messages can give you data to improve your “product.”

4. Think Retention as Loyalty

Marketing teams track customer loyalty and you can track employee sentiment in the same way. Use simple tools like:

Stay interviews
Pulse checks
Friday shout-outs
Open conversations about what’s working

This isn’t about turning HR into a sales pitch. It’s about applying the same intention and structure that great marketers use because people are worth that kind of attention.

Why It Matters

In a small business, every hire matters, every culture cue is amplified and every moment is important. So, by thinking like a marketer, even the smallest business can build an employee experience that: