Just recently I’ve been involved in advising companies on implementing social media strategy for recruiting. Last week I spoke to a group of corporate recruiters based across the world about what social media recruiting could do for them. The conversation was quite open with the usual reservations about time, cost, expertise etc with varying solutions being offered as well as speculation and guesstimates on Return On Investment (The old R.O.I. chestnut.) I also raised this on the excellent radio show HR Happy Hour from @SteveBoese.

This was a special edition of the show from the HR Technology  conference with about 15 guests and quite a few callers. The issue of personal v corporate branding provoked quite a lot of discussion and quite a few tweets.

The big issue I’m getting feedback on is the fear that the personal brand of staff, in particular recruiters  both corporate and third party. The other big discussion across social media is the number of companies banning social media sites like facebook, twitter and others.  Looking at these two key issues and  the impact this may have on employees and potential new recruits.

The biggest resistance I’m getting is actually from marketing departments within companies who find it hard to understand how non-marketeers can represent the brand properly and not damage the company reputation. My response to this is to introduce clear guidelines and trust people to follow them.  It is an issue of trust.

I remember showing a client twitter live through a projector. Her reaction was to look at all the non-business tweets in my stream and immediately gave the instruction that everyone was banned from twitter in the office! It was a day after a big football game and much of the stream was relating to this hence the reaction.  Only LinkedIn seems to be accepted as business based, and I suspect that this is more related to the less interactive nature of Linkedin and the more obvious business benefits presented by a platform that outside of groups and questions is essentially a giant people directory.

What employers should consider is the message this gives out about their employees. They are yelling out “We don’t trust you to be grown ups in this new media. We don’t trust you not to waste your time all day on facebook talking to your friends and watching funny videos on facebook.” Aside from the possible impact on business on withdrawing social media as a networking tool, the message it gives out is a very negative one in terms of the trust placed on the employees.

Increasingly candidates are researching potential new employees or suppliers in social media. (I actually recommend it) and if there is very little available what does this say about the company? Equally, candidates are asking about social media use and strategy at the interview. What impact does this have on the potential employee, and will the message “we don’t trust you” make them employer of choice.

Would welcome your comments on this, shoot me down.

@BillBoorman

Bill Boorman is something of a recruitment veteran, having worked in the industry for 25 years. All this despite being told at his first job that he didn’t have a future in the business! At the age of 40, the industry has given him most of his experience, having worked in most market places. For the last 12 years he worked for one of the fastest growing companies in the U.K. – this culminating in his appointment as Director of Training.

Photo Credit, respres

Your business and Disney have something in common?  Any guesses?

You both provide a lasting “User Experience” every single time you interact with a client.

During our classes yesterday at Disney Institute, we spent a good amount of time pondering the impressions and overall experience that we provide to our clients.  While we waited in line to see the “Turtle Talk” demonstration, we were prompted to pay special attention to the environment around us.

How would it be for a child to be waiting in line?  How about a parent who has just spent a long day walking around the park in the hot sun?  What do they see, feel, think and react to while they are in the midst of a seemingly idle process?  Do they wait uncomfortably or have you thoroughly thought through your User Experience?

In many ways, Disney Institute provides students an opportunity to translate the successes and failures of a major organization into your own business.  While you may never be challenged with figuring out how to entertain hundreds of people while they wait in line to see Nemo… you are challenged to discover the various pieces of your business process that leave a lasting impact on your clients.  Have you thought about it?

User Experience in HR & Recruiting

Naturally, I translate these questions into the challenges that we face within HR and Recruiting.  I, by no means, have all the questions that we should be asking… nor do I know all the answers.  However, I do think that there are a few important pieces in the recruiting process that we should be keeping in mind.  Add to the list in the comment section if you have more ideas… I’d love to hear them!

Candidate Side

• What experience do candidates have when they don’t get hired by your company?  A cold decline letter?  Do they still like your company after you say no?
• What’s the experience like going through your hiring process?  Are your potential hires kept informed?  Do they sit in mental limbo?
• What happens between the time that a candidate finishes the interview process and a final decision is made?  Do you help calm their nerves or do you leave them sitting in a puddle of nervousness?

Client Side

• When you are having challenges identifying the “right” candidate for your hiring manager… how is the experience for them?
• How is the experience for your client when they first present a hiring request?  Do they feel that you understand their needs?
• What happens after a candidate is hired?  Do you follow up months later to find out how things are progressing?  Are you learning from that feedback?  Does it help you improve the next time around?

What else should we be thinking about?

You don’t have to be a multinational theme park and entertainment organization in order to concern yourself with how you make your clients feel.  It may not always be brought to your attention, but you can bet that your clients make judgements about how you do business every single time you come into contact with them.  What will our clients and candidates think once we have completed our engagement?

Surely we can all improve the “User Experience” that we execute on in our businesses.  One step at a time, we have the opportunity to create a little bit of magic for all of those we come into contact with.

How can recruiting be revolutionized?  How can we leave a lasting and positive impression on those we come into contact with?  What’s your take?