Smart Social Media Recruitment Strategies Andy Headworth Published by In association with
Smart Social Media Recruitment Strategies is published by Ark Group UK/EUROPE OFFICE Ark Conferences Ltd Paulton House 8 Shepherdess Walk London N1 7LB United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)207 549 2500 Fax +44 (0)20 7324 2373 publishing@ark-group.com NORTH AMERICA OFFICE Ark Group Inc 4408 N. Rockwood Drive Suite 150 Peoria IL 61614 United States Tel +1 309 495 2853 Fax +1 309 495 2858 publishingna@ark-group.com ASIA/PACIFIC OFFICE Ark Group Australia Pty Ltd Main Level 83 Walker Street North Sydney NSW 2060 Australia Tel +61 1300 550 662 Fax +61 1300 550 663 aga@arkgroupasia.com Editor Stephanie Ramasamy sramasamy@ark-group.com Head of content Anna Shaw ashaw@ark-group.com Managing director Jennifer Guy jguy@ark-group.com UK/Europe marketing enquiries Robyn Macé rmace@ark-group.com US marketing enquiries Daniel Smallwood dsmallwood@ark-group.com Asia/Pacific marketing enquiries Steve Oesterreich aga@arkgroupasia.com ISBN: 978-1-907787-81-2 (hard copy) 978-1-907787-82-9 (PDF) Copyright The copyright of all material appearing within this publication is reserved by the author and Ark Conferences 2011. It may not be reproduced, duplicated or copied by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. ARK1721
Smart Social Media Recruitment Strategies Andy Headworth Published by In association with
Contents Executive summary...vii About the author...ix Acknowledgements...XI Chapter 1: History of recruitment How recruitment has evolved... 1 Why is this so important to recruitment in your organisation?... 2 The different recruitment methods and how they will evolve... 3 Recruitment methods... 6 Demographic factors that are forcing the changes in recruitment methods... 10 The recession has changed the recruitment landscape... 10 The attitude of the job seeker has changed... 11 Employer branding... 11 Chapter 2: Recruitment by the numbers... 13 The employment-recovery paradox... 13 Attitudes towards social media... 15 How social is the workforce... 17 Chapter 3: Is social media the catalyst for recruitment process outsourcing?... 21 RPO defined... 21 Why is RPO becoming more popular?... 21 RPO is now global... 24 Problems and opportunities... 24 What lies ahead for RPO?... 25 The curve ball that is social media... 26 Chapter 4: What does social media mean to each generation?... 29 Defining the generations... 29 Why should we be so focused on the different generations?... 32 What happens when you add social media to this generation equation?... 33 Why should we be so focused on Generation Y?... 33 Conclusions... 36 III
Contents Chapter 5: Social media in business... 37 Speed of change... 37 Your employer brand is going to be important... 38 Levels of expectation... 40 Have you tapped into the power of user-generated content?... 41 The future of employer brands... 42 Chapter 6: Defining and measuring social media return on investment for recruitment... 45 Attitudes towards ROI and social media... 45 Example ROI calculation... 46 Reach and influence... 47 Where do you start measuring ROI?... 50 Chapter 7: How is social media being used in recruitment strategies?... 53 Introduction... 53 Getting started with a social recruiting strategy... 54 Where does social media fit into the recruitment process?... 56 How are different companies using social media for recruitment?... 57 Chapter 8: Will talent pools evolve into talent communities?... 65 What is a talent community and what is its purpose?... 65 How do talent communities differ from talent pools?... 66 Do jobseekers want to be part of talent communities or do they just want access to jobs?... 66 Should you create and build a talent community for your organisation?... 67 Talent community case study G4S Careers... 68 Chapter 9: The role of HR in social media recruitment... 71 How deep into HR does social media go?... 71 HR, recruitment and social media... 74 What are the negative implications of social media for HR?... 74 How can HR avoid potential pitfalls?... 76 What does the future hold for social HR?... 77 Chapter 10: Who is responsible for social media in recruitment?... 81 Should employees or external agencies manage your social media for recruitment?... 82 Finding an outsourcing partner for your social media... 84 Who should be responsible for social media in recruitment?... 85 Chapter 11: How to build a business case for the use of social media for recruitment... 87 The business case in context ROI revisited... 87 Setting objectives... 87 How to construct a business case... 89 Case study Redfox Executive Selection... 92 IV
Smart Social Media Recruitment Strategies Chapter 12: Which social media tools, platforms and applications to use... 95 Where do you start?... 96 Listening... 96 Social media collaboration tools... 99 Social networks... 99 How do you manage your social media activity... 104 Which social media platforms best suit the business need?... 105 How do HR and recruitment systems integrate with social media?... 105 Chapter 13: Where does mobile technology fit into the future of social recruiting?... 107 The mobile environment... 107 What does this mean for recruitment?... 108 Do you go for a mobile application or mobile website?... 109 What are the key features of a mobile career app?... 111 The future of mobile apps in recruitment... 112 PepsiCo uses mobile apps to recruit top talent... 113 Chapter 14: What does the future of recruitment look like and will it involve social media?... 115 Bryan Fuge, group head of recruitment for Al-Futtaim, United Arab Emirates... 115 Craig Morling, group resourcing and HR projects lead, Premier Oil plc... 116 Sue Adams, global head of internal resourcing at Alexander Mann Solutions... 116 Chris Taylor, talent acquisition manager, SABMiller Plc... 116 Hannah Watson, international HR manager (Biologics & Spine), Smith & Nephew... 117 Jeff Dickey-Chasins, the job board doctor, USA... 118 Neil Morrison, group HR director, Random House Group... 118 Gautam Ghosh, one of India s top HR and talent thought leaders... 119 Melanie Hayes, head of resourcing, UK & Ireland, Sodexo... 119 Emma Mirrington, head of talent, Mars Chocolate UK... 120 Greg Savage, global CEO, Firebrand Talent, Australia... 120 Colin Minto, head of resourcing, G4S Plc... 121 Shane McCusker, managing director, Intelligence Software, South Africa... 122 Paul Jacobs, Engage, New Zealand... 123 Peter Gold, CEO of Hire Strategies Ltd and author of Who Moved My Talent?... 124 Matt Alder, futurologist and founder of MetaShift Ltd... 125 Appendix: Social media policy template... 127 Index... 129 V
Executive summary In a short space of time, the use of social media in recruitment currently being called social recruiting has increasingly moved up the agenda of business executives. The recruitment industry has always maintained a healthy relationship with innovation and change, and when the social networks, like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, started their exponential growth back in 2008, recruiters the world over immediately recognised the opportunity to use these fast growing people networks as part of their ongoing recruitment strategies. The immediate result of this global phenomenon was that business executives all around the world believed this to be a threat to their businesses, information security and workplace efficiencies. So they proceeded to restrict employee access to all the social networks in the workplace. At this stage there was no real evidence that social media could be used effectively for recruitment, so it wasn t even on the agenda. Technology evolved again the age of the smartphone arrived. These same business executives now had a problem. Previous restrictions on accessing the social networks became inconsequential as anyone with a smartphone now had easy access to all the social networks they wanted. Social media was now becoming a viable way to interact quickly with candidates, and a number of innovative companies immediately saw the potential of using social media in their recruitment strategies. Now, social recruiting case studies were starting to appear, as more and more companies accepted that social media was going to become firmly part of their business agenda. Smart Social Media Recruitment Strategies looks at why organisations now need to embrace the use of social media, the business case for such a move and a selection of new social recruiting case studies that finally prove that obtaining a social media return on investment (ROI) is now a measurable metric. This report examines why business has been slow in adopting social media in recruitment, and how the changing expectations of job seekers are now fuelling the need to adopt new approaches to recruiting future talent. There are numerous social media networks, platforms, tools and applications to choose from and this report will look at those being adopted by companies as part of their recruitment strategy, and provide advice and guidance on which ones would best suit companies starting out in the world of social recruiting. Some of the key areas covered are: Why recruitment has reached the crossroads and companies need to embrace change to maintain a competitive advantage in attracting talent. Has social media become the catalyst businesses need to consider recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)? VII
Executive summary The reality of what social media means for your company, and why stalling on social media adoption and integration will have major implications on talent attraction and retention. What are the generational differences of social media adoption in the workplace, and the myth that the Generation Y ers (also known as the Millennials) are the social media saviours for organisations. Where does the responsibility lie for creating and managing your new social recruiting strategy? What part if any should HR play in the implementation and management of using social media in the recruitment process? What are the legal implications of sourcing new talent via social networks? How companies like G4S, T.G.I Friday s, ITV, Staples and Unilever are successfully using social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs to attract and engage with their future employees. Is it now time for your existing talent pool to evolve into a talent community? What do these talent communities look like and how do you manage them for best effect? What is the return on investment (ROI) for social media in recruitment for businesses? What are the different levels of ROI in an organisation and how do you implement a strategy to monitor and measure them? How to build a business case for using social media in your recruitment strategy. How do you make sense of the huge number of social media tools and applications? Which social platforms should your organisation use to maximise the benefit of using social media in your recruitment strategy? Where does the future of social recruiting lie? Is your business ready for the technological and cultural changes that social media is driving within recruitment? Will you even need a career site in the future? Will the future be mobile? Throughout this report there are many examples, case studies and input from industry experts from all around the world, offering advice and insights into their experiences of how social media is changing the way companies recruit, both now and for the future. VIII
About the author Andy headworth has a wealth of experience across the recruitment industry. He is the managing director of Sirona Consulting Limited (www.sironaconsulting.com), a specialist consultancy that helps and advises companies about their recruitment strategy, recruitment process, online recruitment and social recruiting using the social media channels for effective recruiting. He is a big advocate of bringing social into the recruitment process, fostering true engagement and collaboration. Andy has successfully delivered recruitment projects and assignments over the last two decades for companies in the UK, Europe, Middle East and the US. It is the hands-on knowledge that makes Sirona Consulting Limited different from other consulting companies; while others may talk about the theory, Andy is able to demonstrate the reality of making the right decisions count in a company s recruitment strategy. As one of the UK s top recruitment and HR bloggers (www.sironasays.com), Andy enjoys challenging traditional thinking with regards to recruitment process, technology and social recruiting. A highly regarded public speaker, Andy enjoys sharing his passion for improving recruitment effectiveness through modern thinking. In 2009 Andy overcame his fear of heights by completing a 750-feet bungee jump from the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland. Making that step off the edge of the damn into the unexpected is Andy s favourite social media analogy; it may look daunting, but take the step forward and the feeling is enlightening. As you would expect, Andy can be contacted in a number of social ways: Linkedin.com/in/andyheadworth; Twitter.com/andyheadworth; Facebook.com/sironaconsulting; Blog www.sironasays.com; and Website www.sironaconsulting.com. IX
Acknowledgements The author would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed their insights, knowledge and expertise, along with those that provided case studies for this report. The crowd-sourced final chapter is a real testament to the power of social collaboration. This report is richer because of your participation. Thank you to Evie Serventi and the Ark Group for their help and assistance. In particular, a special thank you to Sara for her patience and help that made the writing of this report possible. XI