;)
I Simply Have Got To Know
Friday, December 5, 2008Laurie Ruettimann, Punk Rock HR, has a wonderful, straight to the point post at Cheezehead.com about social networking. "Times are changing and HR professionals need to learn what it means to identify and acquire talent in the 21st century."
I appreciate the post because honestly, I have a lot to learn. I don't know what it really means to identify and acquire talent in the 21st Century. Ahh, that felt good.
With Google Reader, this blog, and now Twitter, I am dipping my toes into a very big pond. Each and every day, I feel that I am so close to something very unbelievably powerful, yet I don't know how to get right into the midst of it.
As an HR leader, I want to know about "social networking, recruiting applications, and sourcing methodologies." I want to know how I can best mobilize my staff to "communicate with candidates using a mix of technology and old-fashioned recruiting skills."
I want to know about building relationships with people I can't reach out and touch (beware: my age is showing). Can I say that it is like jumping into the midst of new culture?
We are in the midst of a major transformation in how people communicate with each other. We have access to real time information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can get communicate with next door neighbor, the person we have yet to meet across the globe, and everyone in between.
It is simply amazing. I want to "get" it all but know that, literally, within minutes, what I "get" will be either be changed, improved, or replaced by something else.
So, my question to you is, "What do you do to keep your finger on the pulse?"
I simply have got to know.
Reader Comments (8)
Sadly, you are already swimming in deeper waters than a lot of HR professionals. Kris Dunn has written recently about trying to evangelize social media web 2.o etc, into his local HR group. Many HR professionals,and other managers are missing the boat by not picking up these tools.
I recently posted a list called “Seven Days to Being Neck Deep in Social Media”
outlining how to do exactly what you are doing: diving in and getting wet.
Michael
I'd argue by the fact that you're in the rare 8% or so of HR pros who truly care about social media that you already "get it." You may not fully understand how to unleash the power at your finger tips, but you certainly know its there and want to take advantage of it!
If I had to give you one piece of advice (and I recommend this to everyone), it's that social media is not about publishing content. It's about engaging in conversation. Blogs aren't about writing - they're about starting a discussion. Social networks aren't about gaining connections - they're about developing connections. Twitter isn't about getting followers - it's about engaging followers.
Simply by having a blog, you're leaps and bounds ahead of countless other HR pros. Keep up the great work!
- Chris
Hey Chris, thanks for the boost.
I believe that I am where you are re this topic. I have put only part of my toe in these waters and I'm not convinced that the time is worth the effort (it seems to me you could spend all your day networking). In the past, I recruited specialized technical types who were hard to find and hard to attract. How would I do this via social networking without spending hours and hours in an engineering chat room, or whatever. If you find out answers out there, I would love for you or someone to help me out.
Thanks, Ron
Finding 1) the mere idea of switching on the computer still represents a major learning curve.
Finding 2) the mere idea of actually developing a new skill set takes the same amount of decisional energy as volunteering for major surgery
Finding 3) the idea that there is someone anywhere who thinks any differently than the senior HR professional in question is a reason to hunt that individual down and stamp them out
With your expressed desire to 1) make use of the next generation of web 2.0 technologies; 2) learn new skills and 3) acknowledging different thinking, you are truly an exception to our research.
[that, or your simply so cunning that this is a veiled example of action arising from Finding 3]
Regardless, BadConsultant applauds your participation and would be pleased to provide a well-considered statement of work for your perusal.
In the meantime, please feel free to refer to our post: 'Distant Drums and Smoke Signals': http://badconsultant.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/distant-drums-and-smoke-signals/