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Bestpracticesforusingsocialmediaasarecruitmentstrategy.pdf
Strategic HR Review Best practices for using social media as a recruitment strategy Sherrie A. Madia,
Article information: To cite this document: Sherrie A. Madia, (2011) "Best practices for using social media as a recruitment strategy", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 10 Issue: 6, pp.19-24, https://doi.org/10.1108/14754391111172788 Permanent link to this document: https://doi.org/10.1108/14754391111172788
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Best practices for using social media as a recruitment strategy
Sherrie A. Madia
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this article is to explore how HR professionals can best use social media in their search for talent.
Design/methodology/approach – This article discusses the current state of social media for recruitment and its relation to job boards, and examines best practices, including consideration of a social media recruitment strategy plan, appropriate resources and the importance of a content strategy and social media policy. The best practices are based on a comprehensive review of literature coupled with experiential accounts from practitioners and the author’s firsthand experiences in crafting successful social media strategies.
Findings – While levels of awareness and adoption continue to develop both for recruiters and job applicants, organizations must consider adding social media to their overall recruitment strategy to meet the goals of being cost-effective, targeted, and strategic; remaining competitive; and sourcing top talent.
Originality/value – The article points to the need for starting small, gauging response, and utilizing an iterative approach to the inclusion of evolving social networks for optimized recruitment.
Keywords Social media, Recruitment, Job boards, Social networks, Talent
Paper type Research paper
S everal years ago, it was acceptable for organizations to pass on social media, citing the fact that these channels may be no more than a fad, and reconciling themselves to the fact that they simply were not resourced to accommodate yet another channel.
Today organizations can no longer afford to sit it out. The business reasons for engaging in social networking have been sufficiently documented through success stories across industries, signaling to organizations that if they choose not to engage, they risk becoming less competitive at best, and irrelevant at worst (McCann, 2010).
As part of an organization’s recruitment strategy, social media is compelling. It is also still in the stages of being formulated, being adapted, and being adopted, which for many adds a layer of angst and apprehension. And yet, in this climate of slow economic recovery, companies have a need to get it right when it comes to hiring decisions, and they have a need to get it right in a way that is cost-effective and efficient.
Tactics such as job boards and employment fairs are proving less successful in a glutted market. They are producing far more individuals who are far less qualified for positions, and can now be supplemented with channels that are largely free and reach a more targeted talent pool.
Social media can no longer be ignored
For companies who have not yet engaged in the social networking space for the purposes of recruiting, the downside is that a company’s competitors most likely have, so it behooves HR
DOI 10.1108/14754391111172788 VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011, pp. 19-24, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 j STRATEGIC HR REVIEW j PAGE 19
Sherrie A. Madia is Director,
Communications, External
Affairs at the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA.
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departments in companies large and small to develop a plan – even if this means one simple, social-media component through which to test the waters. The key to success at any stage of engagement is to maintain an iterative approach, and compare results to existing recruiting strategies based on viable applicants, response rates and quality of candidates, to arrive at an organization’s optimal recruitment mix. For instance, the ideal social media elixir to complement Unisys’ more traditional recruitment tactics comprises YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, which enables the firm to reach a number of different demographics (Unisys, 2010).
Like everyone else in corporate America, HR professionals are challenged to do more with less. Social-media tactics can provide a new pipeline of talent as well as a means of showcasing the company or brand. Ideally, this is an opportunity for HR to develop its recruitment strategy in conjunction with marketing, public relations, customer relations and internal communications to achieve resource sharing in terms of content, and results in the form of top hires and positive publicity for a company that knows how to position itself in the online space. Bear in mind that social media speaks directly of a company’s relevance, so to attract the best of the best, companies must start by ensuring that their own online presence is strong.
The state of social media recruiting
According to a 2010 Jobvite survey of social media use by corporate recruiters, 83 percent of respondents indicated they currently are or are planning to use social media on behalf of recruitment efforts. LinkedIn remains the network of choice, with 86 percent of respondents citing this as a top choice for recruitment and the leading source for successful hires, but Facebook and Twitter have joined the ranks of viable recruitment channels (Jobvite, 2010).
One of the trends to take note of is that traffic to sites dedicated to career resources jumped in January 2010 amid a lackluster economy. According to comScore (2010), the career resources category of online traffic reached more than 51 million visitors, which marked a record high, including visitors to Monster (19.3 million), Yahoo! HotJobs (19 million), and Career Builder (18.3 million).
While the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported that as of December 2010 the ratio of applicants to jobs averaged 4.7 job seekers for every one opening (BLS, 2011), what should be cause for concern among recruiters is the dramatic increase in traffic to job boards. Twice as many job seekers are visiting job board sites, while half as many jobs are being posted.
Thus, recruiters are finding that job boards are yielding more unqualified applicants than ever (Light, 2011). Strategies are shifting from saturation on the job boards, to a mix of job boards and social networking sites so that recruiters can source top talent in more targeted and efficient ways.
The case for an integrated strategy
The results are showing that this integrated strategy appears to be working. For example, TiVo, Inc. attributed its 11 percent increase in referrals to LinkedIn and other social networking sites (Lauby, 2010). The most effective social-media recruiting applies the elements of smart social-media practice in general. Specifically, it is never about just one network. Effective social media talent sourcing centers on ‘‘networking the networks’’ in ways that provide entryways for talent across communities and platforms. The added benefit is the ability for companies to target pools of potential applicants with greater precision. Researching blogs, niche communities and groups within larger networks can give a HR operation the information it needs to be able to plant content seeds within these sites to attract more qualified applicants.
For many recruiters, social media has become part of a more cost-effective hiring solution – and the faster way to get jobs posted in a timeframe that the recruiter controls. For example, a job can be tweeted out right away, and retweeted as often as a recruiter deems necessary.
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These types of efforts can reduce job-board spending and enable the recruiter to focus on targeted communications within industry-specific communities.
Important to keep in mind is how job boards and social networks can work together. As CareerBuilder (n.d.) recounts, through the addition of a Facebook page for client Dan Temps, a full-service staffing agency, after three months on this site, the company had gained 600 fans, and an increase of 500 percent in applications to its CareerBuilder Job Postings page.
Social media channels proving successful
If you are not convinced of the power of social networks, consider Twitter, a microblogging site that enables users to tweet out messages of 140 characters. To date, more than 10,000 recruiters are using this platform. In early 2011, an initial attempt at a ‘‘25 Most Influential Recruiters on Twitter’’ was compiled based on data retrieved from We Follow, a user-generated Twitter directory (Buss, 2010).
While the methodology behind the list may be questioned (e.g., users who are not self-registered on We Follow were excluded from the data set), the takeaway is that Twitter has become a viable channel for sourcing talent beyond more traditional means.
Companies using Twitter effectively for recruitment include: Kaplan Test Prep Services (@KTPA_Careers), McCormick & Schmick (@Careers_At_MSSR), US Dept of State (@DOScareers), AT&T (@ATTjobs), and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts (@Hyattcareers) (2020 Workplace, 2009).
Strategies for engagement
Before an organization launches its presence within any of the social networking sites, it must first consider its process for engaging job candidates. That is, a company will want to create a job-applicant process that directs the right people seamlessly from its Twitter stream or Facebook page, to the corporate website for an application or additional information.
Companies who fail to create this process first end up letting qualified applicants slip through the cracks simply because the application process was not clear, or the volume of applicants became too overwhelming for a human resources staff that was not properly prepared for the influx.
For recruiters who are new to social media as a recruitment tool, or are looking to optimize their efforts, the following are best practices for launching a successful social media recruitment strategy:
B First, know that social media is neither a quick fix nor a replacement for existing recruitment tools. Consider social media an extension of your existing strategy; so before you turn on social networking sites, ensure that your corporate recruitment site is up-to-date and capable of handling additional volume.
B Ensure that you are resourced appropriately to engage in the channels you create. Social media comes with a different set of expectations – conversation, timely response, and being there to interact are central across networks. Immediacy matters in this space.
‘‘ Effective social media talent sourcing centers on ‘networking the networks’ in ways that provide entryways for talent across communities and platforms. ’’
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B Create a social media recruitment plan based on business objectives. Your plan should include a content strategy (e.g. What types of content will you provide? How often will you offer this content?).
B Create a social media policy so that those who will engage within the online space will understand expectations, tone, style and the types of information that can be shared, as well as any legal parameters that must be followed.
B Choose social networks that are most closely aligned with where your target audience can be found. Start small, with a presence in one to three networks, and gauge results and workload accordingly. LinkedIn is a smart choice for most companies, particularly those just starting out in social networks. The site engages almost every imaginable industry and skill set – so companies will likely want to include this as a baseline network. Ensure that you have a completed profile and/or your Company Page contains up-to-date information.
B If you opt for Facebook and Twitter, these pages should reflect and align with your overall corporate image. While you do not have to spend a great deal of money on customized design, it makes sense to spend some resources to hire a designer/programmer to create this important extension of your digital footprint.
B If your company has not yet produced much in the way of video, recruitment might be the ideal place to start. YouTube, which remains the second-largest search engine, is a strategic place for companies to showcase their personalities, testimonials or behind-the-scenes looks at the corporate culture, its management or its work ethic. This not only lets you sharemore of your organization’s personality, it is a great way to help weed out applicants who may find that your corporate culture is not a match for them.
B Engage in social media specific recruitment sites such as TweetMyJobs, which was launched in 2009, and has since become the largest Twitter job board in the world; SimplyHired.com, a job search engine that aggregates listings from thousands of sites, including the top job boards and organization’s job sites; or TweetAJob, which manages the recruiters’ job postings via Twitter.
Following are some of the things that job seekers will be looking for when visiting your social networks:
B Signs that the company is on a forward-moving trajectory. Offer stories through blogs or Facebook updates that convey your organization’s progress.
B Recruiter’s bio. Be sure your bio and profile are complete and current.
B A link to a corporate web site – be sure to include this across profiles.
B A deeper sense of the corporate culture (photos, video, or testimonials from current employees can help to convey this authentically; avoid the corporate-training video – your content should be natural and unrehearsed).
B Relevance in the marketplace – just being in the social media space can accomplish this task for an organization.
B Personality – people hire people, and candidates are looking for signs of life when it comes to identifying the right fit for their talents and work-life personalities.
B Consistency – once you are in the online space, you must be prepared to offer regular updates and information to avoid creating a brand negative via inactive social networks.
B Content – always be looking for relevant, interesting content that will both offer value to potential hires, and help you to conduct more targeted searches. This can include tips for job seekers relevant to your company, prerequisites for positions, a sneak peak at life at the company, the state of employment, tips for interviewing and more.
When sourcing talent via social media, recruiters should think about the following:
B Positioning of candidate. Does the individual position himself or herself as an expert in the field? Are candidates sharing content? Are they offering value?
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B Active engagement. Is the candidate actively participating in the social networks in which he or she is a part? When was the last post, update or tweet?
B Is the candidate’s profile completed on each social networking site? An incomplete profile may indicate that the candidate is not fully committed – to the job search or to his or her professional career. In fact, Krista Candield, LinkedIn’s senior public relations manager, notes that candidates whose profiles are complete are 40 times more likely to be contacted with potential opportunities via this social networking site than those whose profiles are incomplete (Garone, 2010).
B Is information consistent across social network profiles? While the facts may be repositioned depending on the site, the facts never change. Look for inconsistencies or discrepancies from profile to profile, or between these sites and the candidate’s resume.
In the heat of the social media moment, it might be tempting to place more weight on a candidate’s social networking abilities than may be prudent. Social media savvy remains one indicator within your search, and a viable one, in that more and more companies are searching for social media prowess in addition to the strict skills of the job, but it remains only one aspect.
Some companies have set prerequisites for applicants including whether an applicant has a website for his or her resume, to aminimum number of followers on Twitter, and so forth. Even if the job is specific to these skills, recruiters must bear in mind that assessing a candidate based solely on his or her activity within this space may cause them to overlook real talent.
Increasing corporate online activity
Despite dramatically disparate levels of awareness, understanding and adoption among human resource recruiters, social media continues to evolve as a means of recruiting across industries and corporations because, like everything else, the tried-and-true mechanisms for sourcing top talent simply are not working as effectively as they used to.
Rather than hosting expensive job fairs in top markets (e.g. paying for recruiters to travel, booking space, and so forth), many companies are opting to focus their energies on their online presence in both the larger social networking sites, as well as some of the smaller, more targeted sites. Many companies are posting top positions within a corporate blog with a link to the company’s Facebook page or LinkedIn Company Page. While these efforts might be specific to recruiting, they come with the added benefit of shaping a broader corporate footprint in the digital space.
The risk of being left behind
Companies that prefer to maintain traditional methods of recruiting, should also be exploring social media at the very least as an experiment to familiarize themselves with these networks and what they can potentially do.
Those organizations that are skeptical about everything from resources to overall effectiveness might begin by researching the competition to get an understanding of what top competitors are doing in the online space – and the extent of the risk involved if the company chooses not to participate. In addition to remaining competitive with peer companies who are active in this space, on the grounds of tightened recruiting budgets, companies would be wise to explore social networking as a means of bringing at least some of their recruiting costs down.
‘‘ Social-media tactics can provide a new pipeline of talent as well as a means of showcasing the company or brand. ’’
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Heading down the path of social networking for recruitment does not signal an elimination of existing recruitment channels. On the contrary, social networking should be used, at least for now, as a means of supplementing an existing recruitment strategy by driving more of the right candidates to your open positions through more targeted, niche communities.
A long-term approach
Like everything else to do with social media, using these channels for recruitment takes time and effort. Companies must approach the use of social networks as building a long-term online community for sourcing talent – one that is more targeted and serves both proactive and responsive recruiting purposes. The key is to create a well-thought plan before engaging in the space, ensure that you are adequately resourced, start small, and use knowledge gained to further fine tune and optimize your online recruitment strategy.
References
2020 Workplace (2009), ‘‘Employers using Twitter for recruiting’’, available at: http://2020workplace.
com/blog/?p ¼ 211 (accessed June 22, 2009).
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2011), ‘‘Job openings and labor turnover survey highlights, December
2010’’, BLS, available at www.bls.gov/web/jolts/jlt_labstatgraphs.pdf (accessed February 8, 2011).
Buss, J. (2010), ‘‘25 most influential recruiters on Twitter’’, The Talent Buzz, available at: http://
thetalentbuzz.com/2010/01/25-most-influential-recruiters-on-twitter/
CareerBuilder (n.d.), ‘‘Will tweet for talent’’, available at: www.careerbuildercommunications.com/pdf/
socialmedia.pdf
comScore (2010), ‘‘comScore Media Metrix ranks top-growing properties and site categories for
January 2010’’, press release, February 23, available at: www.comscore.com/layout/set/popup/Press_
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Garone, E. (2010), ‘‘Promoting your job search when you’re employed’’, Wall Street Journal, July 8,
available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703571704575340624253781034.html
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McCann, D. (2010), ‘‘The cost of social media phobia’’, CFO, July 2.
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About the author
Sherrie A. Madia, PhD, is an Educator, Author and Speaker. Her recent business communication books include The Social Media Survival Guide, The Online Job Search Survival Guide and The Social Media Survival Guide for Nonprofits and Charitable Organizations. She is currently director of communications, external affairs, and a lecturer at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and is frequently cited by the media as an expert on social media. Sherrie A. Madia can be contacted at: madia@ wharton.upenn.edu
PAGE 24 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEWj VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011
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