Social Media: Beyond Recruitment

Building relationships has never been more important in business settings. As companies of all sizes vie for a piece of the local and global marketplace pie, the need to build your profile and communicate your company culture is critical. Social media offers unique opportunities for HR professionals.

Social media for recruitment

A recent report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) on the use of social media for recruiting notes that two-thirds of responding companies indicate they used social media in the past year to hire new talent.

Other findings of the SHRM report include:

• For companies using social media to recruit, top sources include LinkedIn, professional association networking sites, and Facebook.

• For candidates, the need for a social media profile on LinkedIn or on a business networking site is important. In certain professions, such as marketing, public relations, and IT, a social profile is a priority. For all candidates seeking their best employment opportunities, a social media presence, through a LinkedIn profile, association reference, or blog, is essential.

• When reviewing social profiles, recruiters look for professional content that illustrates a knowledge base and membership in relevant professional associations, or related groups.

• While social media offers a quicker means to a candidate pool, the accuracy of the content is never guaranteed. Posting to job boards, and cultivating LinkedIn profiles is a good start--but just part of the recruiting process.

As candidate and recruiting personnel go mobile, the use of social media in the recruiting process is all but guaranteed. Physical tools like paper cover letters and resumes, along with initial in-person interviews, are virtually unnecessary. The standard resume format can be replaced with a rich LinkedIn profile that hosts illustrative blog and video content, or professional presentations. Using social media for recruiting enables rapid exploration of opportunities by the hiring manager--and candidates.

HR as a driver of internal social media engagement

Managed social media is a great vehicle for intra-office communication. While some companies work to limit the use of Facebook, or Twitter, during the workday, social applications are invaluable for sharing information, creating corporate culture, and supporting employee engagement.

In the Sierra-Cedar 2015-2016 HR Systems Survey White Paper, social applications are discussed as an emerging technology. Findings include:

• Growth of social media tools continues with companies seeking uses for social media beyond the recruiting cycle.

• Companies continue to embrace internal collaborative tools like Central Desktop and Sharetop. As could be expected, other channels of higher use include LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

SaaS platforms do a great job of providing stable HR environments in local--or geographically distant--workplaces. The development of full-featured HR software enables HR personnel to drive engagement programs that boost retention and productivity rates.

A few of the ways that social tools help accomplish these goals include:

• Collaborative decision making increases buy-in from groups, teams, and workforce. Shared responsibility is a key factor of engagement. When employees have skin in the game, they are more willing to offer their best. Good internal communication involves employees in creative problem solving, feedback, and ideas for suggested improvements.

• Top down social tools are a great idea. Informal and frequent communication from the C-suite down keeps company messaging moving. An internal company blog is an opportunity for employees at all levels to take part in thought leadership and knowledge building.

• Like mobile apps, networked and collaborative work opportunities are a natural fit for younger workers. Offer training and guidelines for the use of social applications on the job and let the power of relationship building work for you.

The no-brainer: Social media to increase marketplace profile

Your website, company blog, Facebook, and Twitter account are important social media channels, among others, to leverage relationships with clients and your wider industry audience. Be sure your social media presence is vigorous, up to date, and responsive to consumer complaints or questions.

In the next year, expect more apps, enterprise communications solutions like IBM Verse, and other tools that decrease the time spent collecting and communicating data across and beyond your enterprise.