Guest Post by Don Flora | The Effects of Social Media on Human Resources

As companies today increasingly outsource and contract employees, the core talent of an organization is more important than ever. Today, HR in forward-looking companies has evolved to help attract and retain star players.

The term ‘Talent Management’ was first used by David Watkins of Softscape back in 1998. It encompasses the recruitment, integration, development and retention of key employees in today’s competitive landscape. Recruiting is one area in which Human Resources has increasingly leveraged social media. The tools? Social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter of course, but also industry blogs and community sites of interest to the pros a company pursues. This organic strategy of attracting top talent is often referred to as “Passive Sourcing.”  When it is successful, prized candidates who may not be actively seeking a new position at the time are brought on board. This means you can get the best talent regardless of whether the stars happen to align where a person is actively looking for a job at the same time you have one to be filled.

Talent Management does not end once the new hire is made. Again, we see social media innovating solutions to help improve the employment experience. Software like Rypple, for example, helps reinvent team interaction. Public recognition of accomplishments is one Rypple feature that adds value to the employee experience. The software also allows for social goals, anonymous team feedback and more effective 1-on-1 meetings. Another company for example, Socialtext, has a mobile version of their software that brings teams together. The latest version of their collaboration software uses metadata search to help users to process and navigate to the information most relevant to them.

As HR continues to adapt by utilizing emerging social media tools, we should expect to see employees who are more productive and happy and also ones that are better matched with their employers.

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