social media a recruitment revolution?

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1 social media a recruitment revolution? shaping the world of work thoughtpiece series Technology is in a continuous state of evolution. The extensive advancements in communications technology over the last decade alone, have seen the globe shrink before our eyes or on our screens and the statement, it s a small world become ever more accurate. While each evolutionary phase is unique, it is clear some emerging trends set a new foundation for advancement that will affect us well into the future. Enabling people from around the world to communicate openly and efficiently at the press of a button, images to rebound from country to country, and news to spread like wildfire social media, is one such trend. While technology will continue to grow and change, the revolution that is social media will have an ongoing impact on many aspects of society for years to come. How it is used setting the scene With more than 500 million i Facebook users around the globe, and greater than 250 million people logging in on any given day, the social networking phenomenon, created by a Harvard University student in 2004, is a revolution that is truly taking the world by storm.

2 While the platform may have been developed as a means for students to meet each other, it has developed at an unprecedented rate, and become a primary mechanism for people everywhere to meet, communicate and stay connected. Gone are the days when networks of friends and business acquaintances were based on face-toface interaction and chemistry. With the average Facebook user having a network of 130 friends (many with far higher numbers) there is no doubt social media is the new method for connection. And if there is any question about its ability to promote interaction and dialogue, Facebook reports its users share 30 million pieces of content every month. With more than 70 translations available provided by more than 300,000 users through a translation application social media truly is the channel to bring people together from around the world, creating an ever more accessible global social scene. Like the rest of the world, Australia is no stranger to the Facebook revolution. With more than 9.8 million ii users, and 380,000 new users since August 2010 iii, close to 43% of the country s population are active Facebookers. In addition to Facebook, Australians also frequent a number of other social networking and media sites, with 6.7 million users accessing YouTube each month, 2.2 million Blogspot, 1 million on Twitter and 760,000 unique Australian visitors per month iv to LinkedIn. With this number of users and more spread across the social media realm, it is inevitable the phenomena will infiltrate many aspects of our lives. While the introduction and rapid occupation of social media was revolutionary, the evolution continues, as people discover and create more and more ways to use it. The Facebook corporate website promotes the use of the site as more than just a way to keep in contact with friends, family and colleagues, encouraging its application in all parts of life. The site exemplifies this, highlighting cases where social media has been used above and beyond expectation. For example, Facebook is used to solve missing persons and unsolved cases, reunite tornado victims with their memories and belongings, link medical patients and donors, purchase special offers, update on charity fundraising v, and screen candidates for potential employment. While all of these applications are different, of course, this revolution comes with its own set of moral and ethical challenges most significantly, where is the line? Where is the point where social media should be passed over as an option for sharing, learning and research, in lieu of traditional, ethically approved alternatives? Hiring and social media where is the line? This question introduces a hotly contested debate the use of social media in the hiring process. With Gen Y using social media as a modern-day scrap-book complete with captions and status updates and Gen X and baby boomers being the most rapidly growing group of users, lives are displayed for public consumption. And this audience includes employers. But is it right or ethical to research a prospective candidate using social media? And is it right or ethical to use the information you find, as the basis for recruitment decisions, even if it is combined with a resume and interview? It is estimated the cost of replacing an employee equates to 150% of their salary, and the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) estimates Australian businesses are spending close to $20 billion each year, replacing exiting employees. With these figures considered and many businesses still suffering reduced levels of consumer confidence, is it not logical employers and recruitment consultants do everything within their means to secure the right person for the job? And clearly, social media is within their means helping paint a clearer picture of a potential new employee. But is it effective? And what impact would this have on your business ethics? Seek Limited CIO, Carey Eaton says, You could argue it is public domain and there is nothing wrong with reading the information on these social media sites. But it is what you do with the information and the actions that follow, that strike up the debate as to whether you are then making judgements that are unfair, discriminating or even potentially illegal.

3 When it comes to hiring, social networking profiles are incredibly tempting, particularly as many are open to the public, with users often careless or unaware of privacy settings. In conjunction with resume, interview and psych testing, social media is the glue that brings a profile together, delivering an unconcealed insight into character, straight from the horse s mouth apparently. But does a social networking profile really represent a person s character? A social media profile is for just that being social. A person s decision to post online to a worldwide network, combined with their choice to upload personal photos, is fast becoming the norm. But do your Saturday night adventures really reflect how you would conduct yourself in the workplace? Are they relevant at all? And if you re basing an employment decision on someone else s Facebook page, should it not be a case of let he who is without sin cast the first stone? Consider your own personal and leisure activities are they reflected in your nine-to-five persona? While these questions raise further ethical dilemmas, the fact is, people willingly put details of their lives online. You are in control. As the owner of a profile, you not only have the ability to delete your own status updates, comments and photos, but also those which other people tag you in. With this in mind, people should be aware what they allow on their profile is public domain, and as said by Erica Albright to Mark Zuckerberg in the film, The Social Network, The Internet s not written in pencil, Mark, it s written in ink. Content can remain online permanently so your antics as a 20 year-old may appear on search engine results, when you apply for a position five, 10 or 20 years later. This could potentially, have an impact on your career, without your knowledge. But is this information really relevant to an employer? In this context, Social Media Expert Michael Specht, believes viewing of these profiles as a means for informed recruitment decisions really depends on the role being recruited for, and if it has any relevance to the digital space. It comes back to the context of the

4 role the candidate is applying for. If the employer is within the online space, and the potential employee is required to have an understanding of social media and all that is digital, then it might be acceptable. But by their very nature growing up in the online and social media era shouldn t all Gen Y and younger generations be intrinsically aware of the public nature of social media and just how accessible their personal details and stories really are? Shouldn t they consider the impact this might have in other areas of their lives? Regardless of their knowledge, University of Technology student Meaghan Kemeny points to the attitude of Gen Y when it comes to social media use in employment research. There is a strong belief among Gen Y that we are not providing information on Facebook for potential employers, and as such, it is not ethical for you to go out of your way to access this information. Today there is no longer an option of whether to be online or not. Social networking sites have been set up for personal, social networking. It is of great concern to me and my generation, that employers will obtain this information and make a judgement, without knowing the context of the information they re looking at. Despite this ethical stance, social media users need to acknowledge their profile may be viewed by anyone in the public sphere, and it is their responsibility to adjust the information they choose to share accordingly. With this in consideration, the question arises what if the profile was intentionally built as a means of professionally networking, such as those created through LinkedIn? The development of a networking site such as this enables people to create professional profiles, listing details such as previous experience, endorsements from colleagues or managers as well as linking with other relevant professionals. It is the ultimate online professional network and while growing at a less vigorous pace than Facebook its usership is steadily increasing. First Advantage Managing Director, Guy Cary, believes use of the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn could be considered separately. I believe there is differentiation to be made between MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. When someone posts to LinkedIn, they do so to be part of a professional network and may be actively looking for a job. Personally, I may not use the information I find, but I would definitely look. With such an array of opinion and heated debate on the topic, where does this leave us? Is social media a revolution for recruitment or a communication resource we should be wary of? The verdict When it truly comes down to it, the verdict in cases such as these, revolves largely around privacy and ethics. Unfortunately, like many cases relating to technology, the law has been unable to keep up with the rapid pace at which technology is advancing, and most regulation is derived from anti-discrimination law. Holding Redlich Senior Associate, Anna Elliot, says of the law, It s very risky practice to use information from social media sites to make hiring decisions. You need to be aware of the risks if you are making decisions based on attributes that someone may have that are irrelevant to the selection criteria nor actual credentials required to do the job. Legally, we have no examples to draw upon in Australia, so you really need to use a common sense approach to decision making. Consider why you are making the decisions you are? And what are you going to do with the information you find? While Australians are still debating this issue, research conducted by Microsoft in the USA,

5 showed 75% of recruiters and human resource professionals were required, by their organisation, to look online for information about a potential employee. It also said, of this number, 70% had not recruited an individual based on the information they had gathered through social media sites. In Australia, on a formal level, employers have not yet made this leap. Whether this is due to an ethical foundation unique to the USA, or just a lag in the evolution of our practices is, as yet, unknown. Speaking from the standpoint of a professional background screening company, Mr Cary says, From an organisational point of view, we don t use social media to check on candidates, we use the consented information we collect from various factual areas. Even with these avenues, there is an overall discrepancy rate of one third. practices, is an individual or company decision. General opinion concurs education is the key, and it will continue to be of great importance once laws are firmly in place. With social media itself evolving and becoming an ever-increasing influence on so many aspects of every-day personal and professional life, it is up to the company to draw the line in the sand and to educate people internally about the implications their policy has on the way in which new employees are recruited. Randstad is a Fortune 500 Company and one of the world s largest recruitment and HR services organisations. The Randstad Group employs more than 520,000 people every day with the aim of taking the lead by shaping the world of work. Visit for further information. At this point in time, without the luxury of laws to guide us, or cases that set precedents, the use of social networking as a tool to inform hiring i ii iii iv v