Recruit where the people are: Facebook

Sometimes hype has a way of backfiring.  The social networking phenomenon is at a media zenith as businesses large and small try to figure out how to take advantage of it and monetize it to improve results. Innovators and traditionalists alike are writing about it, reading about it, leading it or piloting it as the case may be. Ironically, it is this very interest and excitement that has the skeptics digging in. I see it.  Information Technology leaders scoff at it.  Senior Executive eye roll it.  And–of all people–  many marketing executives still shy away from it.  The cynical Exec think goes something like this:  Anything, that gets so much hype couldn’t possibly live up to the promise. And while we are getting close to the era that it ain’t even new anymore, the potential business value of social networking applications has barely yet made its mainstream mark.  Which is really amazing when you look at the numbers.  In the HR arena the data is especially compelling.  Let’s look, at the most obvious example:

Facebook and recruiting

Almost everyone we know here at Switch HR has a Facebook page.  Hell, says my colleague, even my 86 year old Grandpa has one. And since recruiting is, you know, about people,  using Facebook for recruiting would seem an obvious application. Yet there are still the skeptics. Just a fad not worth your company’s time to invest in? Here are some stats on it that may make you think otherwise:

• More than 400 million active users
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• More than 35 million users update their status each day
• More than 60 million status updates posted each day
• More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 3.5 million events created each month
• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

Go where the people are

Given all of these mind blowing numbers there still seems to be some reluctance to use Facebook. Why?  In true conventional HR-fashion, the first corporate reaction to the Facebook craze  was to try to stop it and regulate it, at least in the workplace.  Okay, I don’t want my employees engaging in mindless, non-business conversation with friends and family  all day whether  on the phone, at the water cooler or on Facebook.  On the job absenteeism is a no no , regardless of the media used.  But that’s not the point.

HR would serve the company cause far better by focusing less on getting employees off Facebook and more on getting the company on it!  Regardless of what the HR-police think, if this is where your potential new talent spends their time online, isn’t this the one site you need to be on? Stop thinking with that old school HR mindset and start thinking more like an advertiser – GO WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE! Facebook can be used by the company to create  a Talent Pool and develop it as part of a longer term Recruitment Strategy.

It is about forming relationships.

Simply put, Facebook is a great way to engage with existing staff and also lets people find out about your company and culture. It is never what you say, it is what you do that counts in forming a company culture. Showing possible job candidates what a great place you have to work at is a lot easier if you engage with them and they can see it first hand. It is almost impossible to convey this on a static closed off web site by stating we are an “honest company and a fun place to work”. Simply stating these things is not the same as being these things. By being on Facebook you are showing your values.

What it ultimately comes down to is business is about relationships, it is about people. Social media is a tool that can help with those connections – why would you not want to connect with talent, with your staff? Social media has taken hold because the communications is genuine and in a world where everyone’s website says they are great people want authenticity.

Where do you go from here? Well we have included a few of our favorite tutorials to help you get started. So quit wasting time telling everyone what a dynamic workplace you have and show them:

How to Create a Facebook Group You Can be Proud Of
How to Make a Facebook Fan Page
40 Great Examples of Facebook Fan Page Designs

SHAMELESS PLUG – While you are on Facebook be sure to become a fan of Switch HR.