Attracting employees with social media

Recently, I spoke at a conference about using social media for attracting and retaining employees. I challenged the audience to question how they were currently communicating and to consider how social media could support them to do this better.

Social media is a powerful tool for a number of reasons and the statistics are extensive. The sheer volume of content exchanged every minute is incredible. With this, social media is disrupting the traditional ways of communicating creating seismic shifts in the way we connect and consume information.

The recent Sensis Social Media Report 2017 reveals there is a growing divide between the number of businesses using social media, and consumers. 79% of people with access to the Internet are using social media but more than half of the nation’s small businesses do not have a social media presence.

What does this mean for business?

Using Gen Y (as millennials, reported age between 15 and 34 and born 1981-2000) as an example of a group of current and future employees – they are using a variety of social media platforms to obtain their news, to connect and to communicate. There is no separation or distinction for them between the online and offline space when it comes to their lives – it is all one.

If your organisation is not tapping into this social media space to connect with this generation then your power to attract a pool of employees diminishes over time. If you are not engaging effectively in these social platforms then your organisation will be left behind.

Some key questions to be asking as an organisation:

• What is our role in leading a more effective best practice approach to using social media?
• And how can tapping into this opportunity support us to build a more sustainable workforce?

Millennials are an interesting group because they have a different mindset when it comes to their career and employment. They cop a lot of criticism and they are grouped in a way which evokes negativity and generalisations. However, each generation is different and so are individuals within the generation.

In today’s workplace, an organisation’s authenticity and passion needs to come through. Part of this involves businesses learning to sell themselves to potential employees and giving them a reason for being part of their organisation. It is not so much employees having to demonstrate what they can do for the organisation but the other way around; what can the organisation do for the employee? What is important is connecting and communicating in their language. And it is in this context that social media can be valuable.

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Tags: Social communication • social Media • social media for attracting and retaining employees • social media in the workplace