Sourcing Seattle

Using Social Media in Human Resources Management

April 8, 2008 – 11:25 pm

Read an article that discusses Blocking Social Media Sites at the Workplace .

My company is probably one of the few that will never block social media websites, primarily because we provide social media monitoring, analysis, and engagement tools for Fortune 500 companies.

Being a Human Resources Manager, these are are also important sites when conducting employee reference and background checks. I also use LinkedIn extensively not only for recruiting but also for professional social networking. LinkedIn has established itself as the premier professional social networking site. I don’t find much professional use for YouTube, Myspace, or Facebook although I have seen an increasing number of companies creating MySpace profiles especially if they are targeting a young adult / teen demographic.

There is increasing discussion around the legality of using social media websites when conducting background checks. You need to be very careful about disqualifying candidates because of what they posted on these types of sites. More on this topic to follow.

Posted in Human Resource Practices, social media | 1 Comment »

Hey! I didn’t know Open Networking Groups had Fine Print…

April 7, 2008 – 7:43 pm

Imagine that my surprise when I learned that Open Networking Groups actually have fine print. Once again, someone I don’t know sent an invitation to join their network on LinkedIn, which is fine, I don’t have anything personally against Open Networking. From a professional standpoint, I don’t believe this practice adds much value to my personal brand or my social network and therefore don’t participate in such behavior.

However, I am ever curious about people’s online social networking behavior so I studied the requestor’s profile and followed a link or two.

Here is a snipped of what I stumbled across from TopLinked.Com:

Did you receive an “I Don’t Know”?

Everyone who participates in TopLinked.com has agreed to never mark a LinkedIn connection invitation as “I Don’t Know” or “Flag as Spam” - if they do not wish to accept an invitation, they should instead just simply click the “Archive” button (or ask to be removed from TopLinked.com via an email sent to: toplinked@gmail.com)

If you come across someone who violates this agreement, please first contact them directly, remind them of this rule, and see if they are willing to remedy the situation.

If they are then unresponsive or unwilling to resolve the problem, please be sure to let us know via email: toplinked@gmail.com (thanks!)

Tips: To stay safe, only invite people by clicking over from the listings on this site and then look for BOTH the TopLinked.com group logo (the same as the logo of this site) AND the TopLinked.com wording displayed properly on their profile. That provides three levels of assurance that they are active TopLinked.com networkers who understand and play by the rules. It is also a good idea to mention TopLinked.com in your connection invitations to TopLinked.com people and remind them of the TopLinked.com rules.

We cannot help you if you receive an invitation from someone who is not officially part of TopLinked.com - and someone is officially part of TopLinked.com ONLY if they are linked to from this site or are part of the TopLinked.com group on LinkedIn.”

—————————————————– 

Whodahthunkit. They have fine print afterall. 

  

Posted in Adding Value, Open Networking, social media | No Comments »

The Many Hats of a Startup Human Resources Manager

April 4, 2008 – 9:06 pm

I was hoping to post more this week, but my many hats as a Seattle Human Resources Manager in a Social Media Web 2.0 Startup got the better of me.

Here is a breakdown of the various hats worn and exercised to their fullest this week:

1. Human Resources Manager

2. Recruiting Lead

3. Benefits and Compensation Advisor and Researcher

4. Chief Offer Negotiator

5. Facilities Keeper and Office Space Expander

6. Internal Management Consultant

7. Organizational Development Guru

8. Payroll Administrator

9. Counselor

10. International Vendor Relations Liaison

11. File Clerk

12. Corporate Social Responsibility Lead and Chief Enforcer of All things Green

13. Sales Commission Tracker and Reviewer

14. Legal Affairs Specialist

15. Company Pulse Keeper and in charge of “Fun”

16. FMLA, Pregnancy Disability, and Washington Familiy Leave Administrator

17. Part-Time Employee Policy Creator 

18. ADA hound

19. Corporate Trainer

20. Workforce Analyzer and Metric Pusher

21. Job Poster and Professional Social Networker

22. Classifier and Job Description Fanatic   

23. Succession Planner

24. Social Media and Company Evangelical

25. Search Engine Optimization Student

26.  Business Developer

27. Meeting Attendee

28. Contractor Handler

29. Blogger

30. Sleeper ……………

Posted in Human Resource Practices | No Comments »

Adding Value to Social Media Sites and Your Network

March 31, 2008 – 8:06 am

Why are current Social Network sites’ accessibility controlled a simple switch - an on and off switch of permissibility if you will? The major players in the field MySpace, Facebook, even LinkedIn - all have a common theme in whether or not you deem this person a connection / friend or not. If you do they have access to you - your information, pictures, posts in some cases or in others just communicating or networking with you (adding value to the network). 

 Is that old acquaintance from high school that you haven’t talked to in 5 years on par with your boss at work? Should they be given the same accessibility into your social network, your social media life as it is.

What about business partners who are at odds with each other, do you want them to see each other as mutual connections? What about the functionality of sharing more personal photos - such as your wedding pictures to your close friends but not to your co-workers?

Why do we use professional social networking sites for your professional connections but Facebook for your more peronably friend and why do they not overlap at all - it is your life and network isn’t it?

There should be an overarching social networking platform that address these issues. The Economist had a good article addressing the closed social media worlds based on proprietary standards and their historical precedents of AOL, CompuServe, and Prodigy (is history doomed to repeat itself?).

Social media websites should be as easy to setup as blogs and they continuing will exist if there is enough of a demographic who is passionate about the space to add enough value to warrant its existence. Social Media is a digital world shaping movement. The monetary prize in online ads which have fueled many of the big buyouts may be debatable in terms of future viability also discussed in the Economist, but the utility of Social Media is undeniable.

It is our networks, our lives that add value to Social Media not the proprietary systems that give us the platforms to connect. Sooner or later open social and digital portability will gain enough movement to achieve this and Social Media and the Internet will never be seperate again.

Posted in Adding Value, Open Social, social media | No Comments »

Warning: Social Media Can Be Hazardous to Your Job Search

March 27, 2008 – 8:25 pm

That cute, affable guy who brags of his drunken exploits on FaceBook.com may be meeting a lot of other partiers online, but he’s probably not getting added to the “friends” lists of many corporate recruiters. A recent study by the executive search firm ExecuNet found that 77 percent of recruiters run searches of candidates on the Web to screen applicants; 35 percent of these same recruiters say they’ve eliminated a candidate based on the information they uncovered.

“You’d be surprised at what I’ve seen when researching candidates,” says Gail, a recruiter at a Fortune 500 company who recently began looking up potential hires on the Web. “We were having a tough time deciding between two candidates until I found the profile of one of them on MySpace. It boasted a photo of her lounging on a hammock in a bikini, listed her interests as ‘having a good time’ and her sex as ‘yes, please.’ Not quite what we were looking for.”

“Another time I went to a candidate’s site and found racial slurs and jokes,” Gail continues. “And there was yet another instance where a candidate told me he was currently working for a company, yet he left a comment on a friend’s profile about how it ’sucked’ to be laid off, and how much fun it was to be unemployed!”

As the amount of personal information available online grows, first impressions are being formed long before the interview process begins, warns David Opton, ExecuNet CEO and founder. “Given the implications and the shelf-life of Internet content, managing your online image is something everyone should address — regardless of whether or not you’re in a job search,” he says. Because the risks don’t stop once you’re hired.

Twenty-three-year old Kara recently took a job as a management consultant at a high-profile practice in the Los Angeles area. An Ohio native, with no friends or family on the West Coast, Kara put up a profile on MySpace in the hopes of meeting new people.

Kara was judicious in how she set up her site: “I didn’t fill out that cheesy questionnaire many people post, where you describe your best feature and say whether or not you shower every day.” she says. “I used a photo that was flattering but not at all provocative and was even careful what music I chose.”

Within a few months, Kara met many others online who shared her interest in biking and water sports. One Friday morning, Kara decided to call in sick and go surfing with a few of her new pals. That weekend, unbeknownst to Kara, her friend posted some of the day’s pictures on her profile and sent Kara a message saying, “We should call in sick more often.”

Unfortunately for Kara, her boss happened to be patrolling MySpace to check up on her college-age daughter and came across Kara’s site and the dated photos!

Mortified, Kara says she learned an important lesson — not only about honesty, but about how small the world of online social networking can be and how little control you have over any information put out there.

Not all employers search candidates and employees online, but the trend is growing. Don’t let online social networking deep-six your career opportunities. Protect your image by following these simple tips:

• Be careful. Nothing is private. Don’t post anything on your site or your “friends” sites you wouldn’t want a prospective employer to see. Derogatory comments, revealing or risqué photos, foul language and lewd jokes all will be viewed as a reflection of your character.
• Be discreet. If your network offers the option, consider setting your profile to “private,” so that it is viewable only by friends of your choosing. And since you can’t control what other people say on your site, you may want to use the “block comments” feature. Remember, everything on the Internet is archived, and there is no eraser!
• Be prepared. Check your profile regularly to see what comments have been posted. Use a search engine to look for online records of yourself to see what is out there about you. If you find information you feel could be detrimental to your candidacy or career, see about getting it removed — and make sure you have an answer ready to counter or explain “digital dirt.”

This article is courtesy of Careerbuilder.

Posted in Personal Brand, The Lasting Tale of the Web, recruiting | No Comments »

Aging Demographics - A Challenge to Companies and Human Resources

March 25, 2008 – 9:09 pm

Aging demographics and the necessity of knowledge management and knowledge transfer practices is an area that has been getting a lot attention in the Human Resources arena. I read a good article today at the SHRM website summarizing the challenges that Human Resources Managers and Learning organizations will be facing in the coming years.

This year the first members of the baby boom generation reach age 62 and can qualify for Social Security benefits. 25 million baby boomers will hit retirement age by 2013. By 2018, the numbers will continue to increase dramatically. The baby boom generation is the largest demographic group in the United States, with nearly 80 million people.

Surprisingly,  research reveals that only 4 percent of Companies have adopted any formal procedures for transferring the knowledge and skills of older workers.

The workplace is not the only area where an aging American population is putting stress on business and society, real estate, social security, medicare, and pension programs all are impacted significantly with this shift. Although these are substantial issues facing American businesses and society, there are many international markets that face greater hurdles when combined with cultural and declining birth rate challenges as well.  

 If you are faced with an aging workforce, I would recommend instituting a formal knowledge transfer policy, this will ensure that organizational knowledge is not lost allowing adequating planning time and preparation of the next generation of thought leaders. This will position your organization well for the upcoming years and increase your national and global competitiveness, as studies have shown that this is a weak area in Human Resource Management.

Posted in Human Resource Practices, Knowledge Management | No Comments »

The Value of Your Network

March 21, 2008 – 7:41 pm

I had coffee at Zeitgeist with Brien Thompson from Haystack Creative. We were meeting after being introduced by a mutual connection from LinkedIn. I don’t accept invites on LinkedIn if I haven’t had at least one fairly substantial value added conversation with the requester.

I have thought much about Open Networking lately, there is a seductive lure of having thousands of connections at your fingertips, but the real question is what the value of your network? I am convinced that while there would be some value to having that many connections, for most professionals ,myself included, it would actually dilute the value of my network. For social media to be effective and actionable there must be a distinction between one’s contacts and one’s network, even though many use these words interchangeably.

Brien and I had a great conversation about the shortcomings of current social networking sites, the lack of specificity and this notion of dilution in social networking. He mentioned the need to be “superniched,” that is being radically different. I really liked that phrase and what it means. Most professionals understand the import of differentiation, creating a personal brand image that distinguishes you from your peer group. Are you radically different though. He asked me what my personal brand image was, I told him to my brand was being a subject matter expert of Human Resources in Seattle to include recruiting in Social Media and Web 2.0 companies. I am both passionate and skilled in this particular niche. We agreed that this is radically different from the traditional human resources manager mindset.

You have to embrace change, technology, social media and networking no matter what field you are in. Brien is an expert in his field, it is obvious by sitting down and talking with him. He humbly laughed at the notion and he added, all I do is this:

Say what you are going to do (clearly) (parantheticals are my emphasis)

Do what you say you are doing to do (well)

And tell people what you did (every chance you get)

If you follow these simple steps, become an expert, hone your personal brand, and always add value, you will be well positioned to take advanage of future opportunities as they arise.

Posted in Open Networking, Personal Brand | 1 Comment »

Create Efficiencies and Add Value

March 19, 2008 – 6:09 pm

Align everything you do in life. Evaluate how you spend your time and create efficiencies. If you can’t create any more efficiency, analyze how you can add more value to the process, your personal brand, or your company.

or example, I am a Seattle recruiter (one of my hats, along with being an HR Manager ). Part of my job is talking to candidates each and every day. I could just dial as many candidates as possible and pepper them with questions. Instead, at the very start of the conversation, I spend the time to passionately describe our company and what makes us radically different from what others in the Social Media Web 2.0 space are doing.  I am going to sell my company to them first and foremost. Why? Because I am not arrogant enough to think the position is lure enough to excite them, and if it did I am not sure if I would want them on my team. It also adds a lot of value to the recruiting process, I can recruit candidates that otherwise might not be accessible either due to competition or pay range. I want to hire passionate employees who add value to our mission and culture.

To many people, I am the first voice they hear of my company. This shapes my actions and my words drastically. Maybe they won’t get the job but if I am successful, they will go away an advocate of my company and my personal brand. This is my goal at the end of each and every screening interview.

Try to determine what cascading effect opportunities exist within a situation. Who knows what will happen in the future, who knows what social networks a person belongs too. Maybe, they are trusted friends with the perfect future employee. Or maybe, they will think about my company or me for future opportunities.

Unless you sit in a cube all day (and night), we all have the power to shape perception and therefore reality. Everyone one you meet has a neutral view of you and what you represent when you first meet them. Turn them into an advocate for your personal brand and your company.

Posted in Adding Value, Personal Brand | No Comments »

The Lasting Tale of the Web

March 17, 2008 – 8:39 pm

I had a lively chat with my boss today about “The Lasting Tale of the Web,” that is the immortality of sorts that one achieves through active or reactive life events captured on the internet through various channels. We were talking specifically about the fusion of generational effects of social media and its impact on future employees (and our own children) as it relates to HR Management and Recruiting, i.e. young people doing stupid stuff on their myspace page or writing controversial articles for their school newspapers (he would kill me if I perpetuated such effects by linking to said article).

As a Seattle Recruiting Manager, I research every qualified candidate passing muster during my initial phone interview in a variety of manners (google, Yahoo!, myspace, facebook, LinkedIn). I start to think of friends that post pictures of their newborn babies and in effect capturing their lives on the web. In 20 years, there will be a whole generation of people whose lives will be fully accessible to people like me. Decisions to hire will be made with a dashboard that will scrape these historical media files along with previously posted resumes (think they don’t exist?), transcripts, performance evaluations (more discussions around this topic in the future), criminal and credit checks. And oh by the way, companies are already connecting your username with your real life identity.  

In reseaching this fact that what is put on the web stays on the web.  I read  a very well written post by Mitch Joel called ”Your Blog - Your Personal Brand And The Big Long Beast That Is The Long Tail“ 

He is addressing Marketing, Communications, and PR professionals, but I strongly believe it applies to all of us including HR Managers.

“All of the content a Blogger creates is a reflection of their personal brand and, for most, the only reflection of who they are in everybody else’s eyes.

Blogging is still a relatively new channel. All of this content being created becomes part of your Personal Brand’s Long Tail. It will exist forever when somebody does any kind of search on you, and can be accessed by anyone looking for specific content that you Blogged about.”

 Be careful of the personal brand that you put on the web, I (or someone like me) may be evaluating it.

Posted in Personal Brand, The Lasting Tale of the Web | No Comments »

About this Blog

March 16, 2008 – 6:47 pm

Sourcing Seattle is about the transformation of human resources and recruiting in the social media and startup space. Traditional practices will fall short of the effective solutions that companies and professionals will need to be successful in today’s agile and chaotic workplace. Social Media websites and networks are all gathering more and more attention, functionality, and influence and are quickly changing the landscape in Human Resources and Recruiting functions. Companies and professionals will either embrace this new media and enable change management or they will be shaped by its whims.

Posted in Change Management | 1 Comment »