Comments on: Community managers and the evolution of the recruiting function http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/ aligning talent solutions with business strategy Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:08:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: David http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/comment-page-1/#comment-944 David Fri, 08 May 2009 12:37:39 +0000 http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/?p=486#comment-944 I received your article on the community manager and totally identified with it. I immediately sent it to my director in relation to strategy and my interest in this type role. I received your article on the community manager and totally identified with it. I immediately sent it to my director in relation to strategy and my interest in this type role.

]]> By: Susan http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/comment-page-1/#comment-942 Susan Sat, 02 May 2009 00:10:24 +0000 http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/?p=486#comment-942 Shelley - Thanks for your comment. I agree that building the business relationships can be more challenging for a college grad but it can be for those with lots of experience as well. The talent function lead would simply need to be more involved in those conversations and participate initially in helping the community manager build relationships and translate the business to conversation. I've led programs that placed college grads in complex multi-million dollar businesses that required them to build stakeholder relationships at a variety of levels. Most succeed and when supported with additional business exposure and allowed to infuse their creativity do extremely well and advance rapidly. I'm not advocating that this would be the right approach for every company or that this should be who is targeted for the role. But, it is one option. Taking an approach that identifies the priorities most critical to the company, knowing and being honest about the company culture, and developing a supportive infrastructure is most important. It is a great job and one I hope we continue to see emerge! Shelley – Thanks for your comment. I agree that building the business relationships can be more challenging for a college grad but it can be for those with lots of experience as well. The talent function lead would simply need to be more involved in those conversations and participate initially in helping the community manager build relationships and translate the business to conversation. I’ve led programs that placed college grads in complex multi-million dollar businesses that required them to build stakeholder relationships at a variety of levels. Most succeed and when supported with additional business exposure and allowed to infuse their creativity do extremely well and advance rapidly. I’m not advocating that this would be the right approach for every company or that this should be who is targeted for the role. But, it is one option. Taking an approach that identifies the priorities most critical to the company, knowing and being honest about the company culture, and developing a supportive infrastructure is most important. It is a great job and one I hope we continue to see emerge!

]]> By: Susan http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/comment-page-1/#comment-941 Susan Fri, 01 May 2009 23:59:53 +0000 http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/?p=486#comment-941 Thanks for your comment Cade! Re your question about the strategies best utilize the tools - Companies need to assess what is right for their culture, brand and product or service. There are so many options that it can be daunting. The biggest challenge is in sorting through the noise to determine the right approach, scope and channels. Much of what is in play today would fall into the category of "socializing job postings". While this approach does take advantage of social media, it misses the opportunity to develop a sustainable approach that allows a company to develop an adaptive strategy. The real value in social media is when you can move from transactional to relationships to establishing community. Its great to drive traffic but keeping people engaged in a conversation is the differentiator. Entice offers great tools to attract and drive traffic. Once you have their attention, keeping the community engaged in conversation around the company's products and services by integrating blogs and incorporating tools like CRM offers the opportunity to build a sustainable approach. This is especially valuable today so companies can strengthen connections and leverage their community as we move through a down cycle and business strengthens again. Thanks for your comment Cade! Re your question about the strategies best utilize the tools – Companies need to assess what is right for their culture, brand and product or service. There are so many options that it can be daunting. The biggest challenge is in sorting through the noise to determine the right approach, scope and channels. Much of what is in play today would fall into the category of “socializing job postings”. While this approach does take advantage of social media, it misses the opportunity to develop a sustainable approach that allows a company to develop an adaptive strategy. The real value in social media is when you can move from transactional to relationships to establishing community. Its great to drive traffic but keeping people engaged in a conversation is the differentiator. Entice offers great tools to attract and drive traffic. Once you have their attention, keeping the community engaged in conversation around the company’s products and services by integrating blogs and incorporating tools like CRM offers the opportunity to build a sustainable approach. This is especially valuable today so companies can strengthen connections and leverage their community as we move through a down cycle and business strengthens again.

]]> By: Cade Krueger http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/comment-page-1/#comment-939 Cade Krueger Fri, 01 May 2009 21:36:01 +0000 http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/?p=486#comment-939 Susan, First of all, that was a great article. Your ideas were articulated very well and are quite applicable. I can understand the need of a community manager and those qualities that are vital to that position. I also like how you stated earlier in the article that,"As we experience rapid advancement and expansion of the channels, applications, tools and technology available to attract and engage prospective talent, the structure and competencies of the talent function need to evolve as well." I also believe you can have some success using social media, but what strategies do you believe are the best to utilize these tools? Even if the success is limited in your opinion. Susan,

First of all, that was a great article. Your ideas were articulated very well and are quite applicable. I can understand the need of a community manager and those qualities that are vital to that position. I also like how you stated earlier in the article that,”As we experience rapid advancement and expansion of the channels, applications, tools and technology available to attract and engage prospective talent, the structure and competencies of the talent function need to evolve as well.”
I also believe you can have some success using social media, but what strategies do you believe are the best to utilize these tools? Even if the success is limited in your opinion.

]]> By: Shelley http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/comment-page-1/#comment-934 Shelley Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:03:49 +0000 http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/?p=486#comment-934 Very interesting article Susan. Our company have quite a few Community Managers and I've always thought their jobs looked really fun. Typically, they've been from the technical side and they have approachable, outgoing personalities. They are also experienced professionals not recent university grads. While I think university grads are great at community building and the social media arenas, I don't think they necessarily deem the in-person relationship building experience. I think work experience is a better attribute than having just graduated. Being from the University Relations area, I think these people are perfect candidates for this type of job. They reside in HR but have to build their credibility inside the company, build relationships with various groups from engineering to marketing. Externally, this group needs to be the sourcer at the highest level. This group has to be knowledgeable of products and strategy, must be able to relate at a the highest level of development directors and faculty to the undergraduate students just getting started in their college careers. What a great job - when can I start? Very interesting article Susan. Our company have quite a few Community Managers and I’ve always thought their jobs looked really fun. Typically, they’ve been from the technical side and they have approachable, outgoing personalities. They are also experienced professionals not recent university grads. While I think university grads are great at community building and the social media arenas, I don’t think they necessarily deem the in-person relationship building experience. I think work experience is a better attribute than having just graduated. Being from the University Relations area, I think these people are perfect candidates for this type of job. They reside in HR but have to build their credibility inside the company, build relationships with various groups from engineering to marketing. Externally, this group needs to be the sourcer at the highest level. This group has to be knowledgeable of products and strategy, must be able to relate at a the highest level of development directors and faculty to the undergraduate students just getting started in their college careers. What a great job – when can I start?

]]> By: susan http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/comment-page-1/#comment-933 susan Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:27:25 +0000 http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/?p=486#comment-933 Thanks for your comment Steve. Good questions. Breaking this down between skills to acquire and skills to develop I would prioritize the "conversationalist" skill and experience as #1. Authenticity in voice and respect for social communities is a must. This could be an experienced social media marketing person but considering the newness of the space how many are there? The potential for a "trained" marketer or pr person to unlearn their current conversation style could be challenging, but not impossible. The next characteristic I would look for is someone who embraces the company's values and passion around its product or service, which is central to authenticity. Next would be familiarity, curiosity, interest and desire to play and learn the technology driving the social space. Building the internal relationships and translating the "business" to conversation can be taught. As long as the talent function team leader is invested in developing the community manager this is the easiest piece to learn. The community manager role could also be a recruiter who has the skill and desire to evolve their role and company contribution. Thanks for your comment Steve. Good questions. Breaking this down between skills to acquire and skills to develop I would prioritize the “conversationalist” skill and experience as #1. Authenticity in voice and respect for social communities is a must. This could be an experienced social media marketing person but considering the newness of the space how many are there? The potential for a “trained” marketer or pr person to unlearn their current conversation style could be challenging, but not impossible. The next characteristic I would look for is someone who embraces the company’s values and passion around its product or service, which is central to authenticity. Next would be familiarity, curiosity, interest and desire to play and learn the technology driving the social space. Building the internal relationships and translating the “business” to conversation can be taught. As long as the talent function team leader is invested in developing the community manager this is the easiest piece to learn. The community manager role could also be a recruiter who has the skill and desire to evolve their role and company contribution.

]]> By: Steve Fogarty http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/2009/04/18/community-managers-and-the-evolution-of-the-recruiting-function/comment-page-1/#comment-932 Steve Fogarty Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:44:43 +0000 http://www.talentsynchronicity.com/?p=486#comment-932 This is probably one of the best blog posts I've read in a long time. The four skills of a great Community Manager is brilliant. This has become, and continues to increasingly be, a very important function for an organization. For smaller companies I can see this person playing a role across teams but for a large organization I can see the need to have several of these people. How strategic and experienced do you envision this person to be? I have seen people who, by educational standards, aren't the best communicators in world but manage to be very effective community builders. It's like the popular kid in high school that knows how to relate to masses. I also know people who understand the technology but don't know how to community build. I definitely get the need for internal partnership and cross-team collaboration but could a recent grad take on this role? Someone who knows how to build relationships, communicate, lives and breathes the social web, etc? Or do you see this person as a more experience social media marketing person? Either way I absolutely love this post. It's so relevant!!! This is probably one of the best blog posts I’ve read in a long time. The four skills of a great Community Manager is brilliant. This has become, and continues to increasingly be, a very important function for an organization. For smaller companies I can see this person playing a role across teams but for a large organization I can see the need to have several of these people.

How strategic and experienced do you envision this person to be? I have seen people who, by educational standards, aren’t the best communicators in world but manage to be very effective community builders. It’s like the popular kid in high school that knows how to relate to masses. I also know people who understand the technology but don’t know how to community build. I definitely get the need for internal partnership and cross-team collaboration but could a recent grad take on this role? Someone who knows how to build relationships, communicate, lives and breathes the social web, etc? Or do you see this person as a more experience social media marketing person?

Either way I absolutely love this post. It’s so relevant!!!

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