How to fit e-cruitment into your recruitment strategy
Integrating e-cruitment into your company's recruitment strategy is possibly not as prevalent in South Africa as it is in other countries. According to an SA HR Recruitment Trend Survey that MCI Consultants conducted in 2013, 58% of organisations use social media as an integral part of their recruitment strategy. People have differing views on the value of e-cruitment and the secret is to ensure that as you engage with the different mediums, you build a large network of potential candidates. Read on to find out more about what we learned.
Social media is a real-time tool
E-cruitment provides an excellent opportunity for potential candidates to market themselves and to apply online. Connecting with candidates via social media also allows you to build a network of possible workers for the future.
There are a variety of e-cruitment channels available
In the research study mentioned above, it was found that 69% of the organisations use LinkedIn, 18% uses Facebook, while only 7% uses Twitter and Google Plus.
LinkedIn remains an excellent recruitment tool.
We use this platform mainly for:
- Recruiting specialist positions, and
- Advertising management positions, especially in other African countries where we don't yet have a relationship with recruitment agencies there.
With LinkedIn, there are two options available when it comes to advertising vacancies:
1. You can either advertise on the platform's job function/tool, or
2. Your HR manager can publish vacancies on their own profiles. If the manager then connects with different and relevant groups in the industry, your advertisement will get much more visibility.
For example, you can connect with other HR managers in Nigeria for the period the job is advertised. It also helps to connect with universities if you're looking for graduates with specific skills.
Facebook isn't an effective platform for finding the skills you need
This is because people tend to publish more personal information on this platform. However, the site does have its own benefits:
- You can use Facebook to create a company page where you publish all your ads.
- Remember that you also need to consider if this platform is a tool your company wants to use in your recruitment strategy and it'll align with your company brand.
Twitter requires constant attention and maintenance
We don't really use this platform in our recruitment strategy because of this very fact. However, to get the best out of Twitter use a third-party service like JobVine, which is then linked to both your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
Remember to get a holistic impression of the candidate
Different social media platforms sometimes create different perceptions about a candidate. For example, you might not consider a person based on their Facebook profile, only to find that their LinkedIn profile paints a different picture.
Managers sometimes want to view a candidate's Facebook profile to gain insight into the individual's 'personal brand'. This is something students need to consider. How do you want to portray yourself? How would your character be judged by a stranger viewing your profile?
If your company engages in e-cruitment, it's important to ensure that – at all times - you portray the correct image of your company's culture on social media. A company's brand is enhanced through its presence on these platforms and potential candidates will definitely research your company's social media pages.
Be creative when looking for candidates
HR managers have to be creative and use different search techniques to find the right person. It takes considerable time and effort to develop this skill.
Always be careful of scammers and hackers - our world is full of them! For example, don't use your personal Facebook profile to advertise positions. A LinkedIn profile is the safer choice as you can specify how candidates can contact you and what personal information you wish to reveal to them.
