The second Social Recruiting Summit will take place in New York on Monday, Nov. 16th. If you missed the sold-out Summit at the Googleplex this summer don’t wait too long to check out the agenda and register. The Summit topics and conversations will challenge your thinking about recruiting, give you an opportunity to network, learn from recruiting leaders and take away ideas that will help shape your thinking about the future of recruiting…..social recruiting. Follow Summit happenings on Twitter @socrecruiting and track the conversations through #socialrecruiting.
Here’s a preview of my session and I hope to see you there!
Is social recruiting just another sourcing tool—a way to promote job postings and find potential candidates? Or is it a pathway to building a sustainable talent community and another tipping point in the evolution in recruiting?
The tools we have access to today deliver benefits that you won’t find through other sourcing vehicles. Harnessing the true power of social networking is about active talent communities. Talent communities provide a forum that enhances the relationship between candidates and your brand by inviting talent to engage in conversation rather than transactional activities and messaging.
In this interactive session, we’ll take all 200+ of you and create a massive brainstorming community of our own. We’ll look at community development through the eyes of talent and the organization. By organizing into sub-groups we’ll leverage our collective intellect to tackle key questions and begin shaping a sustainable recruiting strategy.
Some of the questions we’ll address include:
- How can you attract talent to your community, engage them, and give them a reason to keep returning?
- How can talent be inspired to help you grow the network?
- How will you convert a community member to a hire?
- How can your company approach social recruiting to build a sustainable strategy?
- How can the recruiting function create greater value for the organization?
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The growth, adoption, and momentum of social networking over the past 18 months brings another round of significant change for recruiting departments. The first question that needs to be answered is whether or not you believe social networking is all hype or if it will result in lasting change. Then you can answer the question, “If social networking is here to stay, is it right for our organization?”
Some look at the social networking trend and say that it’s all a bunch of hype. Some look at it and feel the need to, and will try to,
be everywhere. Some will consciously decide to be nowhere — we have the phone and that works very well, thank you. Many are feeling overwhelmed by what’s happening, the pace of change, and the fears about transparency. In most cases you don’t need to be and shouldn’t be everywhere. And, you may decide to be nowhere, but make sure that’s a conscious decision and not just resistance to inevitable change.
As for fear of social networking, the pace of change and transparency, think of it this way — whether you engage your brand in the discussion or not, the conversation moves on — nothing stands still, except that eventually people may just not care about your brand at all, and, well, at that point you won’t need to recruit anyways. If you want to influence the conversation about your brand and if you want to engage people in your brand story, then social networking has a lot to offer. The complete article featured in the Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership October issue, will delve further into that, but here are my more brief thoughts for the time being.
Social Media and Social Networking: Strategy or Tactics
The underlying premise of this article is that social networking is not a passing fad and that it deserves significant positioning in your talent attraction and management strategy.
Let me begin my differentiating, for the purposes of this article, the difference between social media and social networking. The terms are often used interchangeably, but I see an important distinction, especially for recruiting. Social networking is the application of social media, which provides the tools to share content and information, engage in conversations, and build networks. The key difference is what you choose to do after sharing your information. Social networking is pursued with the underlying intention of dialogue, engagement, and interest. It also results in a more sustainable talent strategy that differentiates your brand and brings forward many other business benefits. If you are simply pushing jobs out to Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, you are socializing job postings by using social media, but not necessarily engaging in social networking. If you’re engaging prospective talent in discussions and building active communities, you are pursuing a social networking strategy.
There’s also a significant difference between the two that influences how you design an effective strategy and how you define your desired outcome. Social media is in part strategic but mostly tactical and is really saying: “Hey, these are new channels through which we can reach people and we should broadcast our jobs.”
That may be fine, but it limits the value and doesn’t fully realize the potential or move you toward a sustainable solution. Also, and most importantly, when you use social media there is an expectation for networking! If you push a job out on Twitter and someone reaches out to you, they expect a response. When you don’t respond, the brand can be viewed unfavorably and over time this type of behavior will dilute the brand reputation and value.
This is similar to what job seekers expected with the introduction of corporate recruitment websites. They wanted a way to reach and connect with someone in a company they were interested in joining. Remember all the discussions about the “black hole of recruiting”? Well, in a social world, the expectations and consequences are higher. And, while today’s job market may be in favor of the employer, the cycle will turn again and the strategy that you develop and implement today will absolutely impact future talent attraction effectiveness — positively or negatively. If you want to develop a sustainable talent acquisition strategy and actively invest in the longevity of your brand, then it’s time to engage.
They Really Are Interested in You — Really!
The evolution of technology, social tools, and ease of access are driving rapid advancements in communication. People like to play, create, share, and comment about your company and brand. The fear you may be feeling about letting people “in” to your brand, so to speak, can be looked at one of two ways. You can either be fearful of what they may do to your brand, which “they” will do anyways, or, you can celebrate that people are interested in your brand, products, and services. Listen to what they have to say. You may learn something. Engage them in your business challenges; they may solve them for you. Yes, they want to hang out with you — if, that is, you have something interesting to say! A UK student who found his job through Twitter shared this with me:
Personally, the companies that I’ve been most interested in have been the ones that are blogging and therefore appear to be knowledgeable industry leaders … also, some companies have begun posting jobs on blogs, which I think is better than on a recruitment website or in a newspaper, because the candidates applying have read the blog and are interested in the company.
Now, that’s something to think about. Does silence imply your company has nothing interesting to say? That you’re not knowledgeable about your industry? Pursuing a social strategy isn’t just a way to attract and engage talent. It can also be a way to expand the innovative capacity of your organization — perhaps something we should consider as the talent function evolves.
Clearly the impact of “social” is still emerging and the potential is just beginning to be understood — although it’s already profound. We are still at the edge of what the social media wave will bring. The potential for sweeping change is enormous. We will certainly see the future impacted and unfolding before our eyes.
You’ll find the complete article in the October edition of the ERE Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership. You can subscribe to the Journal or to purchase this article only please contact the editor, Todd Raphael.
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Think about a brand that you admire. What comes to mind? How do you feel when you interact with the brand’s product or service? How about when you interact directly with the brand through their website, retail store, phone service, advertising or other means of outreach? Brands are emotive and most people like brands that make them feel good, are dependable, provide some desired combination of quality and value, and have a fun factor.
Now, think about your company’s recruitment process. What does the candidate experience feel like? At the most basic level, is it efficient? Respectful? Is it easy for a candidate to get to know your company in a meaningful way? Has appropriate attention been paid to the importance of design? Are the job descriptions well written? Do they get the candidate excited? Can the candidate see not only how their work contribution benefits the company but also what opportunities employment could provide? Would they be excited enough about what they’ve learned to tell someone else? Keep in mind that these elements only begin to address the front-end of your brand experience. If you don’t have a clear talent philosophy and process that delivers brand continuity through each point in the application and interview process, your front-end experience will be quickly diluted.
If you read my post on Adaptive Talent Strategies you know that employment branding is one of the key elements. In that post I discussed the importance of resource allocation, technology and process design to developing an adaptive strategy. An adaptive talent strategy provides you an architecture to meet the evolving needs of business and develop a value-oriented talent function. The employment brand is a key component of the strategy. Closely related is the use of networks, which has been increasing in importance to the brand and establishing an adaptive, sustainable approach – see the post on community managers.
Employment Brand and Networks
Employment brand and networks are tightly linked and should not be looked at as being independent from each other. We also should not lose site of what’s at the center of the external employment brand and networks – the prospective employee. And, yet, most candidates have less than desirable experiences with a company. The job seeker’s experience will directly affect the company’s current and future competency in attracting and hiring the talent they desire. This starts with the front-end experience and all too often deteriorates further as the candidate moves forward and expresses interest in a job. The fact is that most corporate recruitment sites have become incredibly boring. They’re flat, static and lack engaging attributes. Very few catch your attention and draw you in. I can hear the arguments. “But, we’re not really hiring now.” ”We don’t have the resources.” ”Business is way off.” These may all be true but there other important truths. What doesn’t happen today will be significantly more costly tomorrow because it will be much harder for you to catch up and secure the talent you need when you need it, which is why brand and networks are part of an adaptive strategy. Ultimately, the job seeker doesn’t care what your issues are – they only want a good experience and to be treated respectfully as they move through the application and, potentially, the interview process. Even making relatively small investments today will provide exponential value tomorrow. Think of it this way. After connecting with friends on Facebook, exchanging tweets on Twitter, or connecting on LinkedIn they come to your website. Does it measure up? Is the experience as interactive and engaging or does it feel like it needs an infusion of energy?
Moving from Fragmentation to Integration
The first place to look is at your corporate recruitment site – the center of your employment brand for prospective talent. Aesthetic design, the application of technical elements and community spaces haven’t continued to evolve. I do like Microsoft’s new site, and am still playing around on it. The job search integration is sweet. I also had a sneak peak at what Steve Fogarty is getting ready to launch at adidas and can only say that it will significantly raise the bar….stay tuned. In many instances, brands have become fragmented through the introduction of new channels that are shifting quickly, but also important to connecting with prospective talent. The model included below provides a view into the complexity of the recruitment ecosystem. The corporate career site is at the core and each of the spokes shooting off from the center are brand touchpoints. While it certainly isn’t necessary to be represented through every touchpoint it is important to understand who your trying to reach, what they do online and what is brand appropriate for your company. However, This approach will
help you capture and drive the most relevant job seekers to your site and set the stage for providing a positive experience. Integrating a set of touchpoints into the corporate career site and supporting bi-directional links delivers a more enhanced brand experience and adds value. The dashed line circling the corporate career site and intersecting with each touchpoint represents the tools used to communicate and manage (CRM), support viral behavior (sharing), and push out content (RSS). Lastly, implementing an SEO and SEM strategy will advance visibility for your brand and drive relevant traffic to your site in a very cost effective manner.
Evolution
Ideally, the corporate career site has an embedded community. Extending the corporate career platform to support actively engaging job seekers in a dialogue is simply an evolutionary step. Why not engage job seekers in a discussion about the company, its products and services? What are you proud of? What problems are you trying to solve? What are you working on? Wouldn’t this type of interaction be more rewarding then having someone stop by for a visit and read, watch or listen to what you have to say? Blogging is a good way to begin. If your interested in learning more about how to incorporate a blogging strategy here’s a link to the Definitive Guide to Corporate HR Blogging. I had an opportunity to work on this guide with Ben Yoskovitz of Standout Jobs. Trust me, blogging is hard work and can take a lot of time but there is value in staying the course to develop your voice and a regular writing habit – I’ll let you know when I’m there! You’ll find that there are a lot of opportunities for companies to enlist a variety of voices as part of a blogging strategy that can make developing a diverse mix of content much more manageable.
As your thinking about your recruitment strategy, the talent your trying to reach and the experience you want to create, think about your favorite brand and how it makes you feel. Then, go to your website with the “eyes of your job seeker” and experience the brand. Are you smiling?
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I had an opportunity to sit down with Peter Clayton while we were attending the ERE Expo this past March. We talked about a variety of trends and events influencing the talent landscape, including:
- business cycles and their impact on talent management
- talent leaders and the C-suite
- internal talent management
- community and social media
- generations
- developing an integrated brand strategy
- talent planning
- mind shifts and transformation
- caring for talent
Just a few of the things I’m passionate about! Visit Peter’s site to listen to our discussion. You’ll also find interviews with leaders from a variety of disciplines across the talent industry.
Curios about Peter’s title for our interview? Here’s a glimpse into what we were up to at the Future of Talent Booth as covered by HRMarketer.
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With the new year upon us there’s no shortage of predictions for 2009. But, predicting the future is a tricky game, especially in times of increased uncertainty – and that’s the one thing 2009 promises to bring us! Your company has most likely completed a plan for the coming year and is also taking a broader view to consider a longer time horizon, ensuring the company is well positioned for 2010 and beyond. The “and” here is very important because, as economic and business cycles go, how a company will weather through a downturn is only half the story. Being prepared to fire-up momentum coming out of a downturn is as important as how the downturn is managed, and a direct result of the decisions made.
So, how has this flowed down into the talent function in your company and how is it influencing the way you’re thinking about 2009 and the future? What does your strategy look like to successfully navigate what the year brings and what the future holds? The absence of strategy in itself is a strategy – just one that lacks deliberate intention and attention. A well-defined strategy that reflects a longer time horizon and includes contingency options to shift and recalibrate as things evolve will support a stronger and more competitive positioning.
Here are a few questions you can reflect on to ride the wave of uncertainty, align your talent function with the strategic business plan and insert agility into your talent function to embrace the future and prepare your company and yourself for success.
Strategy or Economy: What’s having the greatest effect on the company’s business? Is there a good business strategy in place that’s simply feeling the impact of the wide-spread economic downturn or is there something else going on as well? This is important to know because it will have a very different effect on business over the long-term, staffing momentum, and potentially your company and employment brand. Also, how will the natural business cycle of your company weather the uncertainty and what will that mean to talent planning?
Business and Talent: Are you meeting regularly with business and financial leaders in your company? Is there a clear understanding of which segments of the business are being impacted and what the short and long-term outlook is for each of these in terms of investment decisions and/or recovery? What are the differences in growth and contraction across key businesses and what role does talent planning play in the short and long-term for each? Given the outlook and big picture, how will this influence the talent your targeting, your active pipelines and ramp-up time to meet business objectives?
Beyond the Brand: Is your company actively hiring or are they in a frosty freeze? What does the experience look like for job seekers? Attracting new talent and engaging prospective talent in your proprietary community should always be a priority. The experience that each job seeker has with you now will determine if they are open to hearing from your company in the future – so when you reach back out to a candidate in 6, 12 or 18 months – when everyone else is as well, will they take your call and prioritize their interest in your company. The ultimate cost here is the impact on your employment brand. How can you not only protect your brand but enhance it even further? Investing in developing a social media strategy is one way to further support your brand, if your not already doing it. And, even if you are already actively working social media into your strategy this is the time to further embrace it and build up visibility and sustainability. Does your structure support a sustainable social strategy? This is a low cost investment and one that needs time to take root. I’m a big believer in establishing a structure that supports a “community manager”, a term borrowed from the consumer world, to ensure a solid and sustainable solution is in place. I’ll write more about this in a future post but for now what should be considered is the time it takes to actively develop and nurture community. Full-cycle recruiters simply can’t sustain what’s needed to deliver the ROI. Reallocating work across the recruiting team could be one way to free someone up for 15 – 20 hours a week to begin, which should allow you to see a good ROI in 6 – 12 months. The opportunity here is, that in time, you can show the value of the investment and either continue with someone part-time or build a case for a full-time resource. Continuing to identify talent, build relationships and actively qualify talent, even if your not hiring today, will ensure your prepared for the future. I realize that there’s likely been a significant increase in the volume of resumes, referrals and phone calls flowing in but with the technology available today there’s every reason to perform as a high-touch staffing organization.
Backwards and Forwards: Look back at the past 10 years and ask yourself how much has changed in a relatively short period of time that affects how you, your team and the talent your trying to attract think and operate. Think about how many new tools and technologies are now a part of your daily toolkit that didn’t exist before. How have these influenced recruiting and talent management? How about the way we receive, manage and share information? Now look forward 10 years to 2019. Yes it feels like a long way off! But, it will be here faster than we can imagine. Remember life without Google, an iPod and corporate websites – not so long ago was it! So, what can you anticipate and be ready for and how will you and your team keep pace to attract the best candidates, provide them with the best experience, and provide your company with a progressive and highly effective recruiting strategy?
Learning for the Future: Its easy to be successful when times are good and much more challenging when they’re not. In the retail industry it was always desirable to have someone anniversary their own business results to enhance their learning, skills and business acumen. Was the business last year a result of excellent planning and execution or timing? When the business climate is challenging it may not be fun but its an excellent learning environment. What is your team learning and how can you operationalize and capture the learning? Granted its not that you want to go through this again but how will what your learning today influence how you operate in the future to deliver enhanced efficiency and results.
Nurture Active Dialogue: How is information being shared to keep everyone on the same page, moving in the same direction, staying focused and having fun. Facing tough and/or uncertain business over a period of time can certainly take its toll. Keeping information flowing and inviting an active dialogue across the recruiting team, and broader HR team, keeps everyone focused, ensures people are informed and demonstrates a commitment to transparency. Taking an approach that looks at both internal and external information and trends is key. Having a process in place to develop and share competitive, economic and market intelligence is important at any time but especially now. What has an effect on your industry, company and the type of talent you need to attract and retain? Knowing the interest and status of your internal talent community supports transparency and ensures that both resources and priorities are aligned. These are all things that will benefit your hiring today, protect the company’s existing talent, and positively impact how prepared you are for the build in momentum that will arrive.
Train for Endurance: As business turns around do you want to sprint or just quicken your pace? How adept is the staffing team at keeping pace with exploring new tools and techniques that will advance talent strategies and actions over the long-run? Technology and tools are changing so quickly that its become an endurance sport just to keep up with the changes, filter through what’s really important and identify what’s right for your company, as well as ease the adoption curve. Perhaps there’s someone on the staffing team that has a high affinity for technology – if not, there really should be. Can additional time be allocated to keeping a pulse on emerging technologies and educating the balance of team members so that when business does pick up your drinking from a straw rather than a fire hose?
Visibility and Review: Are you still on a path that supports your strategy? Is the path your on still relevant? Keep your goals visible and revisit them often so your always aware of what you’ve committed to doing differently to advance your strategy, and its clear what your still doing. It takes 21 consecutive instances of practicing something new to make it a habit. And, it only takes 5% of a familiar past experience to trigger habitual patterns that bring you back to where you were! Lasting change comes one action, one decision, one behavior at a time built up and strengthened through consistency.
With the new year comes a time to reflect and to then begin moving your ideas and plans to action.…a chance to begin anew. It also brings an opportunity for learning. Welcome the challenges that arise and embrace the future!
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I had the opportunity to sit down with Bill Vick for a virtual interview last April. We had a great time exploring ideas around the intersection of business and talent, the role of technology, and the emerging 2.0 world. I like how Bill framed this as the “collision of business strategy and recruitment”. Some of the other topics we touched on included “talent as customer”, evolution of communication and talent engagement in a 2.0 world, and the biggest problems facing recruiters today. Check out all of Bill’s video interviews on XtremeRecruiting.TV! If the video doesn’t appear for you below you can view it HERE.
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Welcome to the Talent Synchronicity Blog! I hope you’ve had a chance to explore some of the core content about Talent Synchronicity and my background on the other pages in the site to get a feel for my experiences and how I think about the business of Talent. In the blog section you’ll find me writing on a range of topics around Talent and business. My interests and passion revolve around trends and events that influence how we think about Talent, how organizations can develop and implement strategies that enable engagement and collaboration with Talent, and the inherent value at the heart of relationships between Talent and organizations. My perspective has been shaped from being on the front lines leading talent functions and multi-million dollar retail operations. It continues to be shaped daily through awareness, conversations, experiences and gazing over the horizon to envision how business and Talent will collectively define and transform the future of work.
On occasion, you may even find a word or more on yoga. Yes, yoga! I’m a dedicated practitioner and as my practice deepens through workshops and teacher training programs, there are a number of correlations to creating dynamic and collaborative workplace environments. Yoga is about nurturing, shaping and establishing “union”. Whether looking at the union of body and mind or the union of people and companies, it’s about how the pieces come together to create a stronger, more connected and solidified whole.
To stay up to date on new blog posts you can opt in to receive an email or subscribe via RSS. I look forward to the thoughts, ideas and conversations we can share!
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