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Change is in the air
The growth of permanent staff placements is at its fastest since July 2007, according to [1] KPMG (2010), however, despite signs that the economy is picking up, businesses are still under pressure to keep operating costs low. This has prompted many HR departments to start using social networking as part of a new cost-conscious approach to recruitment (also known as social recruitment). Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. Popular online sites include LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. They are growing at an exponential rate, with most of the sites being free to join and, importantly, giving organizations an effective means of attracting today's Generation Y workforce.
Since the arrival of social networking sites many businesses have treated them with suspicion and often made it the responsibility of the HR department to police their use internally. However, the tide has turned and organizations are now embracing social networking with open arms as a way to attract and retain employees. This has led to a lot of organizations now creating online presences on the likes of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, in order to engage with candidates and give them the opportunity to interact with them on a more informal basis. Others are creating career microsites to allow them to start discussion forums to attract candidates and encourage them to look at potential vacancies and apply.
According to a report at the end of 2009 from Gartner, recruitment is an ideal starting point for social media usage in HR because key metrics, such as time to hire and cost of hire, can be measured and improvement can be substantiated ([2] Otter, 2009). In addition, as the workforce ages, businesses need to get more competitive in order to attract and retain the new generation of young, enthusiastic workers. This is because they make the organization's brand stand out from the crowd by showing that it is staying relevant and embracing change as technology and ways of communicating evolve.
There is no denying that social networks are here to stay, therefore it is important that organizations fully understand the potential benefits and pitfalls, so that they are able to use the right social networking tools to meet their recruitment needs.
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