The Importance Of Social Media In HR
Social media has transformed how individuals, particularly, and institutions, generally, convey and consume information as well as how they interact with each other. Social media tools comprise blogs, vlogs, wikis, podcasts, video sharing, social networks and community sites, among others. As key mechanisms for networking, collaborating and knowledge sharing, social media tools have transformed the Internet landscape.
Be it family, friends or peers, these tools have changed the communication world by their immediacy and instant messaging capabilities. Quite naturally, internal and external conversations have been transformed by social media in many ways.
Diverse Benefits
Given its vast reach and messaging prowess, employers and employees are both leveraging social media platforms to gain insights into one another. While HR heads deploy social media tools to mine information about prospective candidates, the latter do the same to comprehend a company’s culture and suitability. Some elaboration is in order regarding these aspects. Today, an individual’s comments on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn can make or mar hiring prospects.
Conversely, if a candidate is hired, social media can provide an opportunity for HR leads and the employee to bond better and understand mutual equations faster. This is irrespective of the location of the other. Consequently, the relationship between HR and the management on the one side and the new entrant and other employees on the other can be stabilised more speedily.
Moreover, management and HR can utilise social media to communicate the company’s objectives and vision overtly or covertly. In this way, social media can be a tremendous platform to generate a feel-good factor amongst present and prospective employees. Besides, organisations can enhance their brand value and public profile by utilising professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn.
Longstanding benefits apart, positive outcomes can be engineered cost-effectively. What’s more, potential recruits can be reached and influenced subliminally, without making the outreach wholly apparent. Through such interactions, the recruiting of shortlisted candidates can be achieved more seamlessly and in a cost-efficient way.
More impressively, the catchment area for recruits need not be restricted to a particular city but can cover vast geographies since digital transcends physical boundaries. Therefore, HR leads can engage with a much wider audience, targeting a select pool of top-class candidates. Overall, this can enhance recruitment efforts and foster more productive outcomes.
Another key aspect differentiates social media-linked recruitment initiatives. While the conventional model only focusses on individuals actively seeking a new job, platforms like LinkedIn allow recruiters the option of connecting and communicating with a wider, more diverse cohort who may be a good potential fit for the open job profile. In other words, the ideal candidate may not necessarily be looking for a new job but could be won over by a brand that commands top-of-the-mind space and recall.
Better Outcomes
The vetting of candidates in a mutually-convenient manner has higher chances of ending with a more compatible conclusion for both parties. On the other hand, candidates who may have made the cut through the traditional hiring regime may suddenly fall short if their social media accounts reveal some unsavoury facts or unbecoming incidents. Without social media, a comprehensive vetting process would not be possible, particularly at such negligible costs.
Best of all, it can facilitate seamless collaboration between diverse company stakeholders. Again, these come without the high costs of similar results derived from legacy systems, which are also more cumbersome and time-consuming. Also, learning and development projects can be facilitated via on-the-go, real-time access to training modules.
Considering the significance of social media in the present times, managements and HR leaders should ascertain the company’s profiles and pages on varied online platforms impart a responsible feel about its business and culture. Today, due diligence is a two-way street. Top talent will likewise spend time and effort in researching a company’s background and suitability before applying. Candidates failing to do their homework about the company, before applying for a role, won’t comprise the crème de la crème of talent and can safely be given the go-by since it indicates a lack of interest at their end.
For HR heads, as equally important as hiring is the ability to retain talent. Here again, social media can be used effectively in enhancing knowledge creation and critical communication. These can help in improving performance as well as productivity. Managed adroitly, social media can be instrumental in enhancing employees’ engagement and job satisfaction levels.
In a nutshell, if leveraged judiciously, social media offers immense benefits, including better branding and boosting brand awareness. Best of all, these results are achieved at a fraction of the cost of other mediums. In the post-pandemic period when companies are curbing discretionary spending, social media can be the perfect platform to achieve all the above objectives without denting bottom-lines.
(The given article is attributed to Sushmita Majumdar, Human Resources Lead, mPokket ad solely created for BW People)
