Employers Supercharge Talent Management Efforts with Social Networks

Employers are beginning to embrace corporate social networking and are using it to recruit, manage talent, create alumni programs, mentor, learn, and collaborate with people across their entire organizations. "Social networking represents various opportunities to help companies better harness and serve the talent and knowledge they already have within," according to Michael Wilson, CEO of Small World Labs. "Just to name a few applications, HR professionals can use online social networks to foster connections between employees, share information quickly and effectively across geographically diverse offices, and establish broad recruiting circles by keeping in touch with former employees."

In addition, social networks can create or expand talent management and mentorship programs by allowing employees to access a pool of executives and coworkers, rather than the one or two supervisors they'd otherwise interact with. "Social networking also makes the conversations and advice shared between a handful of employees available to a larger audience because it's archived in blogs and forums," Wilson explained.

Employers can take part in social networking in two ways:

Leverage existing social networks such as Linkedin and Facebook by using employees' contacts on those networks to recruit talent; or
Build an internal social network to be able to recruit and maintain talent.

"The most successful HR departments use both to their benefit," said Wilson.

HR's role. "At a certain point, it is critical for HR to be involved in internal corporate social networks," said Wilson. "The social network serves as a mirror for corporate culture and HR should ideally be its steward. On the other side of the equation, if conflict erupts or a need for cultural change is presented, HR has the unique skill set to help the online community."

However, social media clearly emphasizes the need for transparency, forcing HR professionals to walk a fine line between the free exchange of ideas and the sharing of privileged information. "An employee posting confidential information, such as salaries, could potentially gain a big audience," Wilson explained. "Regular monitoring and a clear policy for dealing with inappropriate content are your best precautions against the dangers of social networking. We often draw from existing e-mail and intranet communication policies when drafting social network governance policies for large implementations."

Rewards outweigh risks. However, Wilson believes the potential rewards that come from participating in social networking outweigh the potential risks. "A properly executed internal community can help increase employee retention, improve productivity, and can even serve as positive collateral for young perspective recruits," he said. "All of these attributes have significant impact on a company's financials and, when stacked up against potential risks, make a compelling case for social networks."

Expansion of social networking. Wilson sees a trend of more and more HR departments engaging in social networking. "We do see more HR departments deploying their own social networks, especially as companies diversify offices across greater distances and as talent pools shrink with the increasing retirement of Baby Boomers," he said. "At the end of the day, social networks represent one of the most cost effective means of engaging in a two-way conversation with your employees. More and more HR professionals are recognizing this importance."

Tips for employers. Wilson provided the following tips for employers looking to invest in social networking:

Make it relevant. People don't use a solution just because it is available --they use it because it helps them get something done or saves time or makes more money. How you structure the community is based on the value it can provide its users. For example, a corporate social network with the main purpose of connecting subject matter experts scattered around the world might include profiles that allow people to easily view all community members that share a job title. An IT manager would be able to quickly collaborate with several of his or her peers around the company who have been working on something similar. That type of value would lead the manager to rely on the network for more and drive more activity.
Consider demographics. If your organization is entirely populated by people in their early 20s, they're likely already users of social media. But for the majority, with staff varying in age and technological savvy, be sure to allocate time and budget to adoption and training in how to use the network. Once you launch, encourage novice-friendly activities like "best vacation photo" or "submit a caption" contests that will encourage participation and drive content creation by people who may not be all that familiar with social media. By empowering people to both use the solution and create content, you are seeding the potential for success.
Prepare the C-suite and coordinate with Legal. The true value of an internal social network relies on people using it. Nothing will quash employee interaction faster than an over-policed community. Work proactively with your executives to establish policies for openness and how occasions of inappropriate exchanges will be handled. Communicate those policies from the get-go, but also let them evolve with input from your members. Furthermore, involve the legal department in the policy review process to minimize risk, instead of trying to eliminate it all together. The end result may be a little more tame than your original plans, but it will likely make implementation much more comfortable for the entire team.

Small organizations, those with fewer resources and fewer employees, can benefit just as greatly from social networking as large organizations, according to Wilson. "However, building your own internal social network is not for everyone," cautioned Wilson. "The decision to build a network versus leveraging existing networks should be driven by the purpose and goals behind it rather than the size of an organization."

Future outlook. "Online social networking 10 years from now will be so ubiquitous that we will no longer be conscious of them," said Wilson. "We will navigate from website to website on any number of devices and take for granted that key pieces of information from our many social networks will influence our experience."

Source: CCH interview with Michael Wilson, CEO, Small World Labs.

Reprinted with permission. © CCH

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