When you hear the word social, what comes to your mind?
For some it is the character trait that conjures up an image of a person who may be a social butterfly. Others may recall the word in the form of a noun and reflect on the last networking event attended and connections forged as a result.
I’m a marketer. Naturally, the first definition of social that comes to my mind is social media.
Today the term “social” has many facets which span a wide range of business units. Human Resources departments are no exception. In the context of Human Resources, it generally refers to Social Recruiting or Social Sourcing, where organizations are leveraging social networks to source active and passive job candidates.
Thinking about the widespread adoption of social media in today’s world, the exponential increase in social sourcing is quite logical. In North America, it is more common than not for an individual to have a Facebook account. The same is true for LinkedIn in the professional realm. For recruiters, the sheer number of social media users represents a massive talent pool. In 2015, 63% of recruiters had a higher hiring volume and 38% agreed that social professional networks represented a top source of quality hires over the past 4 years, according to the Global Recruiting Trends Report from LinkedIn. As social sourcing began to emerge, the HCM vendors in the marketplace innovated to meet the forecasted demand by creating social sourcing platforms, or rolling out additional modules to their existing platforms, and continue to release updates today.
So, it is now apparent that Human Resources departments should incorporate social sourcing into recruitment strategies in order to stay ahead in the war on talent, just as Marketing departments are expected to utilize social media to stay in front of target audiences. Now the question becomes, “How do I best leverage social sourcing to help win the war on talent?”
The answer to that is likely HCM technology, but not just any technology– the social sourcing technology you use should meet your business requirements and fit seamlessly into your HCM technology strategy. Beyond that, your system should be properly implemented and configured to fit the needs of your recruiting team who have been well-trained to use the social sourcing technology to its fullest extent. It is a tall order to fill, but is realistic to achieve if you have the appropriate resources by your side.
That is where HRchitect comes in. As a full-service HCM technology strategic consulting firm, HRchitect can assist you with evaluating and selecting the social sourcing technology (and really any HCM technology) that will be the best fit for your organization in 2016 and beyond.
About Samantha Colby
Samantha Colby is the Marketing Manager at HRchitect, the leader in HCM systems strategic consulting. Samantha has several years of experience in the payroll and benefits administration space. Samantha has B2B and consumer marketing experience in several industries including consulting, higher education, and sports and entertainment. When not preparing for upcoming trade shows or executing marketing campaigns, Samantha can be found following Boston-based sports teams or reading a good book from the local library.