Social Media: Changing Talent Acquisition

Six Degrees, widely considered to be the first social networking site, came into existence in May 1997 and it allowed users to have a profile, make friends with other users, have school affiliations, etc. Six Degrees was followed by more successful social networking sites such as Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn, Xing, Facebook, Orbit, Photobucket, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter,Tumblr, Spotify, Pinterest, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. Some of these are very popular today and are part of our daily lives. Today majority of the world population uses social media on regular basis sharing their life and information with the virtual world at every opportunity.

People are continuously on the social media sites for business as well as personal communication, sharing of information and catching up on the news, entertainment, etc. The active population on the social media sites have crossed 2 billion and these social media sites together form a vast reservoir of content, profile and all types of information. Social media has completely shifted behaviours from news-sharing all the way to how we look for jobs, so it’s easy to see the value of social media in the business world.

With plenty of tools available around these social media sites, there are ways and means to scout, dissect and analyse the enormous information available on social media. It is becoming increasingly important for companies to leverage the social media sites for recruiting workforce. Given that ‘Building relationships’ is very vital in HR, social media certainly helps to reach out to potential recruits, to assess them based on their reflected behavior via activities and posts.

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Recruiters have found social media allows them to narrow the candidate pool more effectively and quickly find individuals who are qualified for the job. Integration of the social media with talent acquisition tools gives recruiters a way to smartly find suitable candidates. Survey done in recent years shows that 90% of the companies use social media as one of the recruitment tools and more than 80% of the Job seekers are likely to use social media for job search.

Some experts feel that engaging with potential recruits via social media is quite a challenge and this is because often the posts and messages are too generic, real conversations do not happen. There is a disconnect between the social recruiting strategies of the companies and how young workers leverage social media. When businesses implement social recruiting strategies correctly, they get their brand message across numerous social platforms while showing potential candidates an enticing picture of what their company culture is like. This helps them in creating their brand image and thus attracting the right talent.

Social recruiting can be done in both passive and active manner. It is important to formulate a concrete plan before posting job openings on social media. Something to keep in mind is that the modern workplace is constantly evolving. In order to thrive in this environment, it’s important for businesses to monitor and frequently shift or update their strategies to accommodate to the new ways our incoming generations operate.

Lastly, social recruitment can be made more successful by leveraging the network of your current employees and ex-employees. By involving your employees in the recruitment process, you can have your message spread to a much wider audience who are more likely to listen. Studies have shown that people trust people more than brands. This is the single most important reason why it is important to utilize your employees in your recruitment efforts.

 

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