Human Capital Management

Human Capital Management

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April 22, 2013

Social Networks and Human Capital Management



Social media and networking have had a transformative effect on businesses of all kinds. Human Capital Management (HCM) vendors, for instance, have started looking at social channels for not only getting referrals and recommendations, but also recruiting. That does, however, present new challenges.

Take a look at your Facebook (News - Alert) page or your Twitter feed or whatever social network you choose to use. How many posts do you make a day? How many friends post on your walls? The pictures you’re tagged in, the articles you’ve shared, the lyrics you quote -- all of them have become a part of this vast mosaic of one’s social online identity. That’s quite a tapestry for human capital managers to sort through.

As such, it’s important that organizations get proper social network analytics. Social networks can act as massive recruitment channels, and companies are using it to their advantages, although there is not only a balance to be struck, but a need for the proper tools.

Social media can be used to find referrals, providing insights into a potential employee’s behavior, work ethic, and skills. LinkedIn (News - Alert), for instance, has a feature where people can say “This person has a talent for ____,” and as a social site for job seekers and those in the workforce, any potential employers can contact them to get more information.

Of course, there are many tactics that a company must avoid as well. Social sites serve more purposes than just job hunting, so it’s important not to spam anyone. A company must also have an employment brand that their job postings are tied to, and use that brand to provide to the social network. It’s also important to stick with the social network, rather than treat it as a mere tool that can be abandoned once used.

There are also some companies that ask for a potential employee’s password for social networks such as Facebook. Don’t be one of those companies; it’s a massive invasion of privacy.

There are also several HCM tools that can help a company make the most of social recruiting. The Oracle (News - Alert) Taleo Social Sourcing Cloud Service, for instance, uses employees’ social connections to match open positions with candidates and generates referral suggestions. There’s also SuccessFactors Recruiting, which publishes to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter (News - Alert), and email, with built-in analytics. IBM’s Kenexa Recruitment Process Outsourcing is also a useful tool, which covers sourcing, recruitment marketing, and more.

There are many ways to make the most of social media, whether it’s for finding candidates or learning more about them. It must be used properly, however, otherwise it’ll just be a quick way to find an employee’s favorite food on Instagram. There are tools for making the most out of social media, so use it wisely.




Edited by Rich Steeves
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