Webcast - Thursday June 9th - The Social Referral

Tomorrow at 1:00PM EDT I will be presenting a webcast for the Human Capital Institute and made possible by support from the recruiting technology solutions provider SelectMinds titled - 'Referrals Powered by Social Media'. The basic premise of the presentation is that while source and quality of hire studies consistently demonstrate that referrals, (employee, alumni, even customer), are a high quality and important component of an integrated sourcing and recruiting strategy, than many organizations fail to adequately capitalize on their stakeholders' existing networks to further and enhance their referral programs.

Advances in technology, coupled with the rise of the extended networks of staff and other interested parties as a valuable and highly leverageable asset for recruiting, have given rise to a new set of tools, processes, and approaches to referral programs, and the most forward thinking organizations will sense these trends, and take steps to capitalize on them to enhance their sourcing efforts, power and challenge their employees to participate in critical recruiting activities, and augment and develop the unique employer brand and value proposition in the market.

I plan on talking about the importance of a healthy referral program as a key component of a robust recruiting strategy, some of the barriers to implementation and performance, (and ways to address them), and the increasingly important role new technology solutions play to help make these so-called social referral programs scale, perform, and impact the organization.

One of the points I will try to make is that technology-enabled social referral programs really share most of the same challenges as old-fashioned, paper or email-based, programs of the past. Communication, motivation, ease of use, responsiveness, and connection to the organizaton's important objectives are just as important today as they always have been. The new technology certainly makes the processes and the mechanics easier to administer, and the best new technology can even lead to better referrals, but if the fundamentals are not in place, then the program will prove ultimately disappointing.

You can register for the free HCI webcast here, and again the presentation is scheduled for Thursday June 9, 2011 at 1:00PM ET. 

I hope you will join me tomorrow!

Why Teachers should Twitter

There are dozens of good reasons for educators to get on Twitter, I am not going to try and re-hash them all again here, but rather tell a simple, quick story of the real power and strength of Twitter for classes and students.  One of the assignments in class is a presentation of a company or organization's application of technology to support or enhance a Human Resources process.

We had a series of excellent presentations on topics like employee self-service, onboarding, and corporate social networks.  We also had a great presentation on the use of technology for recruiting by the US Army.

The student, Jessica Wagner, did a fantastic job of discussing the challenges faced by the Army in meeting their recruiting targets, the makeup and psychology of the 'target' demographic for potential candidates, and the Army's application of innovative technology to bolster their recruiting efforts.

The next morning I sent out a Tweet with a comment and observation on the presentation, which led to the following exchange of Tweets between myself and Amy Lewis, Director of the Talent Acquisition Community on the Human Capital Institute.

 

After that last Tweet, Amy and I took the conversation to a few private Twitter direct messages and arranged a time to have a chat on the subject.  A couple of days and one really great discussion later, we arranged for my student and I to deliver an HCI webcast, 'Tell the Hiring Stroy with Technology' on May 14, 2009, which will be largely based on her original class presentation.

Needless to say, for a student (who is also a new HR Manager) to participate in delivering an HCI webcast presents a phenomenal opportunity, and I want to thank Amy for her interest and support.

The larger point though, is if you are a teacher part of your role should be to advocate and promote the work of your students beyond the four walls of your class, and even outside the boundaries of your school.   Twitter can be a fantastic avenue for that kind of recognition and promotion.  Jessica gave a great presentation in class last week, and now thanks in large part to Twitter, she will get the chance to share that presentation with a wide audience. 

Thanks Amy, thanks, HCI and thanks Twitter.