Zebra Technologies has a unique challenge: convincing robotics and highly skilled technology workers that it is more than a warehouse and retail technology company. The company, known for its barcode scanners and mobile payment devices, is evolving to expand into robotics, machine vision and retail software. In 2021 the company invested in a robotics business and bought Fetch Robotics, a developer of autonomous mobile robots, in a $290 million deal. Now he needs talent to support his new businesses.
In 2020, Jeff Schmitz was tapped to take over the job. Schmitz, who has been the company’s chief marketing officer for nearly seven years, is now also its CHRO. He is tasked with leading the company into its next phase of growth while changing the way potential talent perceives the company. This last directive is where your marketing skills come into play. Schmitz spoke with Fortune about how he’s repositioning the brand to attract more talent and why his background in marketing makes him well-suited to oversee Zebra’s nearly 10,000 employees.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Fortune: What led you to your current combined CMO and CHRO role at Zebra?
I am an engineer and computer scientist by education. I came to Zebra to be the CMO in 2016 and held that role until 2020 as my primary responsibility. About two years ago, our CEO asked me to go for the CHRO position, which was actually something I wanted to do. I saw it as an area of learning for me.
As I like to say, it’s probably the best and most challenging time to be in HR because it’s never been more important. We’ve gone from everyone going home to worrying about getting back to the office and dealing with wellness and burnout.
How did your marketing background show in your early days as a CHRO?
It was November 2020 and we were in the middle of the pandemic, past the first days when everyone was working remotely. First we had to make sure we were communicating effectively with our 10,000 employees who were all at home. This goes right to the sweet spot between marketing and the CHRO role; it starts with communication, and that is increasingly important.
Can you describe the unique talent challenge at Zebra Technologies?
We are truly in transition, moving from our core business to redefining what work looks like. We’re number one in key spaces (barcode printing, scanning, mobile computing), so it makes sense that you’re looking to join Zebra if you’re in one of these companies. But even though we’re a $6 billion company in revenue, you might not think of Zebra as the place for machine vision, robotics, or even software. And therein lies some of the challenges we face as we evolve the business. We have to be careful about retaining our people, attracting people, especially in these new areas, and developing them.
How have you used marketing techniques to attract new talent?
We started saying, “Hey, when people are looking for products, where do they go?” Most searches are done on Google or Amazon. And that’s why there’s such a huge advertising budget that people put into search engine marketing or search engine optimization. Now, we are using these tools for talent. If I’m looking for a job in robotics, how do I make sure I show up where the robotics are? How do we use marketing dollars to get ads in front of these people to get them into our talent pool, and how do we do that proactively? Therefore, advertising, especially digital, has been very effective for talent acquisition.
What other traits have helped you lead both marketing and HR? Most people have heard of the “rule of seven”, meaning that if someone sees something seven times it is more likely to be committed to their memory. Have you introduced theories like this to HR?
The rule of seven is good. The other one I like is “when management gets tired of saying something, that’s when people start to get it.” You need to overcommunicate. We use a lot of tools like our intranet and we also send out videos to both the marketing and HR teams every month or so.
Have you had to do any rebranding to attract new types of talent?
We have people within the company who own the employee value proposition, and that has to be integrated with marketing. Having a link between marketing and HR helps ensure that interconnection happens. When posting ads or a company image to be the employer of choice in robotics, software, or places where we’re not an expert, it’s essential to layer that message and have the right materials.
What do you see as the headwinds in the talent market that make it possible for a CMO to also be an effective HR leader?
I think there are a couple of different directions for CMOs. One is that you see a trend of CMOs staying where they are. Marketing has a lot of value in staying independent on its own. Sometimes you also see marketing move more towards a chief revenue officer. But I’ve also met quite a few people who have marketing connected to HR. And again, it’s for the reasons I mentioned before; they are people who understand the business. Sometimes having a good understanding of this business is a good backdrop for running HR.
You can find domain HR experts. But it’s also important to have someone who understands the business, connects with the executive team and helps people understand HR and how it’s connected to the business.
The headwinds for all of us will be what happens with the macroeconomic situation. Everyone is worried about it. We look at what’s happening in the stock market, interest rates and the desire to slow down the economy. It will have some ripple effect, and the question is, how do we navigate it? I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it seems like the macroeconomic situation might be changing, and that’s going to change what happens to talent.
Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberburton
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