Social Networks and Online Communities – The vision of social recruiting
In a previous post I outlined the differences between, and applications of, private and public social networks. Here I will look at the two broad types of social platform, online communities and social networks, and how they can be combined to maximum effect.
Circles represent communities, dots are people and lines are their personal networks - which can span communities
Type 1:Online Communities
Online communities are built around a common interest (business, social, geographical etc). The members do not necessarily know each other but they do know they share at least one interest. Communities often overlap and larger communities may contain several sub-communities. Online forums are the classic type of community but so are websites that use people’s recommendations, either directly (e.g. TripAdvisor) or statistically (e.g. Amazon). Relationships between users tend to be abstract or one-to-many.
Type 2:Social Networks
Social networks, by contrast, are built around relationships between people. These existed before any sort of technology – online social networks simply made people’s pre-existing interpersonal relationships visible and maintainable. Of course managing social networks online makes expanding these networks easier but in the end it all comes down to people connecting to each other, one by one.
Uses for Recruiting
Recruiting is about relationships and social platforms allow those relationships to be expressed and developed. Online communities develop a relationship with the organisation, social networks build and leverage relationships between individuals.
An online community offers a place for potential recruits to engage with an organisation, discover more information, participate in discussions, events etc. When managed well they can be a very effective talent engagement and marketing tool.
What a social network adds is the trust derived from a personal relationship and this trust allows high-quality (rather than high-volume) engagement. The personal relationships help to identify potential talent and also make it more likely that a candidate will consider an approach from an employer.
Employee Referrals
The clearest demonstration of the value of social networks is through employee referrals. The starting point for a referral is a pre-existing relationship – someone knows someone who might be of interest to the organisation. As well as identifying good candidates, the knowledge and trust between the two people makes it more likely that even passive candidates may respond to an approach.
Of course, employee referrals existed before online social networks and have been the number one source of hire in the United States for many years. What an online social network delivers are tools to promote, facilitate and manage referrals – thus increasing activity. The online social network also allows recruiters to easily develop and maintain relationships with key candidates over time, whether the initial contact was via an introduction or through the online community.
Conclusion
Social networks and online communities can both be used to enhance recruiting in different ways. Online communities are a great way to broadly engage with your talent pool and promote your employer brand. Social networks allow you to leverage the value in the networks that already exist in your organisation to identify and deliver top-quality talent.
Now imagine combining the two, on your own platform where you have complete control over the user experience. Imagine talent being identified through referral, engaged within an online community and then developed by networking with the recruiter. That is the vision of social recruiting.
Tags: business case, communities, networks