In today’s digital-first world, social media plays an important role in how people find work and engage with employers. For HR executives, staying up to date with the evolving social media landscape has become essential.
More than three-quarters (79%) of candidates use social media in their job search, according to a Glassdoor survey. Social media is even more important for younger jobseekers, with generation Z the most likely to say they found job opportunities through social media.
Elysca Fernandes is director of McLean & Company’s HR research and advisory services. While she says the use of social media for talent acquisition is well established, advice on best practice changes constantly.
“Any guidance on what platforms to use, which have the best features and analytics, changes at such a rapid pace compared to most other things in the HR realm,” she says.
Social media continues to be essential for sourcing talent but where people focus their efforts is shifting. “Technical talent might not be on LinkedIn or entry-level talent might prefer using other platforms,” Fernandes says.
TikTok, for example, has become an important job-finding tool for Gen Z. Almost half (46%) of zoomers say they have secured a job or internship through the platform, with almost all (95%) saying a company’s social media presence impacts their decision to apply.
“Today, candidates, especially graduates, are not only researching companies for job opportunities but also using it to gauge the culture, values and authenticity of an organisation,” says Oliver Sidwell, co-founder of internship jobs site Ratemyplacement. “To stand out, businesses must ensure their online messaging is not only consistent but also transparent and engaging.”
Rise of the employee influencer
This has contributed to the rise of the employee influencer, with companies including Salesforce, KPMG and Cisco, sharing idealised videos of what working life is like at their businesses.
These videos are considered reliable sources of information by candidates, according to Fernandes. “Content from an individual tends to be more trusted than messages from HR or leadership about the organisation,” she says. “It’s one of the more effective sources that candidates actually engage with and trust.”
Content from an individual tends to be more trusted than messages from HR
Technology consultancy Cognizant frequently uses its social media platforms to promote its company culture. Recent videos include staff attending Adobe’s annual summit in Las Vegas, clips from the Cognizant Classic professional golf tournament it sponsors and updates from Bruno the dog as he “interviews” for a job at the company.
Cognizant’s chief people officer, Kathy Diaz, says the company updates are a collaboration between HR and the marketing and communications departments. “We want to make sure that we’re available to the widest possible talent pool. So we’re always concerned with how candidates view us,” she says.
Diaz has found that personal stories often resonate best with prospective candidates. “The stories that are authentic, that don’t sound corporate and have a personal point of view are the most effective,” she adds.
Boosting internal communications
Social media is not only useful for reaching potential new recruits. Existing employees are also increasingly using these platforms to stay informed about company updates.
“As businesses have gone remote or shifted to a hybrid setup, more companies are using social media for internal communications,” Fernandes says.
Cognizant employees are looking to company social media for updates before any internal platforms, according to Diaz. “We have almost 350,000 people – social helps us feel like a smaller company,” she says.
Workplace communication tools, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, have also blurred the lines between professional and social media, with many businesses encouraging employees to set up channels around interests or to share personal updates.
Fernandes says this can be an effective way to “sustain that use of the platform for socialisation and employee engagement, without a lot of resources or time management from HR”.
However, it is a fine balance to strike. The use of workplace tools for these purposes can lead to difficulties for staff in managing work/life boundaries.
Social media risks for HR
While allowing staff to share their stories on corporate social media channels can be an effective way to boost employer brand and recognise internal talent, it is not without its risks.
“Every organisation’s risk tolerance is different,” Fernandes explains. “Some organisations that are very collaborative allow employee takeovers of their social media and have much less say editorially over what gets posted. On the other end of the spectrum, employees may work with a key individual from marketing or HR on the content they’re sharing.”
There is a risk of being too punitive with social media policies, which could lead to staff not using it for work at all
Other organisations have even stricter policies that dictate what staff can and cannot share. Several Silicon Valley tech companies, for example, use non-disclosure agreements as part of their employment agreements to prevent staff from discussing certain aspects of their jobs publicly.
“It’s a fine balance,” Fernandes says. “There is a risk of being too punitive with social media policies, which could lead to staff not using it for work at all.”
In 2021, the CEO of online mortgage lender Better.com was forced to apologise after a video of him firing employees over Zoom went viral.
Similar episodes have highlighted the reputational risks social media can pose for employers too. There are more than 41,600 posts with the hashtag ‘layoffs’ on TikTok. Meanwhile, anonymous social media sites, such as Blind, also allow employees to vent their frustrations online.
However, Fernandes stresses that these are not entirely new risks. “It’s something we’ve known about since platforms like Myspace and Facebook emerged and it’s always been on talent acquisition and HR teams’ minds,” she adds. “There are multiple employer review sites, such as Glassdoor and Indeed, where employees have the ability to share their experience with an employer and that feedback sometimes is overwhelmingly negative.”
Responding to damaging social media posts
While Diaz says she has not seen many negative posts about the employee experience at Cognizant on social media, there have been “outlier situations”. “We want to enable employees to post and communicate rather than controlling their posts,” she says. “If people go out of bounds, we’ll deal with that on a case-by-case basis.”
Fernandes endorses this type of approach. “We’ve seen more companies introduce acceptable-use policies with social media and take a more proactive approach in responding to reviews and comments considering the feedback,” she says.
HR leaders are also taking a more proactive approach to stay and exit interviews, Fernanes adds, which can provide an outlet for employees to share their concerns before they snowball and the disgruntled employee takes to social media to vent their frustrations.
Overall, companies that have a strong employer value proposition should have little to fear from social media. “If your organisation is really investing in the employee experience, inviting people to share their experience at work on social media may work out well for you,” Fernandes says.
Companies that overlook these platforms will likely miss out on talent too. “If you’re not investing in social media or don’t have a presence on social media, you might be missing out on a lot of talent,” she adds.
Although HR leaders should not have to be social media experts, an awareness of its benefits and risks for talent acquisition, employee engagement and employer brand remains important.
In today's digital-first world, social media plays an important role in how people find work and engage with employers. For HR executives, staying up to date with the evolving social media landscape has become essential.
More than three-quarters (79%) of candidates use social media in their job search, according to a Glassdoor survey. Social media is even more important for younger jobseekers, with generation Z the most likely to say they found job opportunities through social media.
Elysca Fernandes is director of McLean & Company’s HR research and advisory services. While she says the use of social media for talent acquisition is well established, advice on best practice changes constantly.
