“Aren’t You HR Source?”

By Christopher Schneider, Director, Strategic Partnerships
Published October 15, 2024

Someone tapped my shoulder while I was checking out at Target recently. “Aren’t you HR Source?” the tapper inquired. “Why yes, I work for HR Source.” To my surprise it was a former sponsor of our Employment Law Conference from some years ago. He remembered me, but not my name, which is totally understandable, as I hadn’t seen this person in ages. He remembered HR Source though, and perfectly recalled our affiliation.

I can do this with our contacts as well. In fact, I remembered where this reacquainting stranger worked going back three previous employers through two decades, yet not his name. How can we do that? It’s not uncommon for my impromptu trips down memory lane to involve a detailed resume of our contacts. “He worked at company X, and then for a small non-profit, and now he’s at Z company.” 
I’m sure there’s a reason short-term memory becomes long term. Google AI says that the three skills that encourage consolidation of memory are practice, repetition, and association. That’s certainly been my experience. I recall the details about seemly random things for years, but not the name of the person who just introduced themselves. But after some repetition and association, I remember them forever. I might remember someone for a long time because of where I met them, some inane detail about the meeting, or even a silly rhyme of their name. 

The secret to most memory tricks seems to be association. (I intend the double entendre of word-association and belonging to an association, as they are both all about relationships.) The bond that can form in being part of an association like ours – having an invaluable ally in the struggle to remain compliant and competitive – is made of strong connective tissue. Why else do we have superfans that work HR Source right into their interview for a new job, even making HR Source membership a condition of accepting an offer of employment? 

Our Association both benefits and suffers when we lose a long-time contact at a stalwart member organization. We work to make a new friend at the current member, and to hunt down the landing place of the former contact. It’s the association that connects us to a potential new member. You could probably even track our diversifying member demographics to the translatable nature of the HR skillset and the strength of our connections. It may be the secret to our success.

I would be remiss without a tip of my hat to our marketing team and the brand identity of HR Source. I’m sure employers are acutely aware of how an employer brand can drive job applicants, the metrics of attrition, and the success or failure of a business. Whether you intend it, your employees are your biggest brand ambassadors, and your organization will be remembered long after your employee’s name in the minds of the public. What will they say about you and how will you be remembered?

Do you have examples of employees ‘being the brand’ for your organization? Share some instances with your colleagues in the All Members Community on HR Exchange.