Top 5 tips for using social media effectively in HR

Monday January 22, 2018

Written by Simon Morgan, HR Dept South East London and North Kent

Companies are increasingly starting to appreciate the value of social media when it comes to connecting with their customers. However, fewer are harnessing its benefits to engage with an equally important audience – their own employees, current and future.

Here are five ways that social media can help your HR function:

  1. Attract talent

Social media is a great way of telling your organisation’s story, building your brand through photos, blogs and posts. A strong social media presence helps you to shape the way that potential candidates will perceive your brand, helping you to attract the right kind of people for your firm.

  1. Find talent

As well as posting vacancies, platforms such as LinkedIn allow you to reach out to potential candidates directly – including passive ones who may not necessarily be searching for a new role. And you can encourage employees to spread the word about new roles on their own social media networks; a personal recommendation of you as an employer is invaluable.

  1. Engage employees

Messaging apps like Google Hangouts can let you talk to employees, wherever they’re based. Encouraging employees to chat about company events on Twitter can help raise awareness of your brand. Discussing corporate changes on social media can facilitate question and answer sessions that everyone can follow.

  1. Deliver training and development 

Trying to corral everyone into a room at a set date and time to deliver training is a thing of the past thanks to social media. Social media platforms allow students and instructors to share and discuss knowledge informally, at mutually convenient times. Platforms like LinkedIn also provide a great opportunity for you to speak to HR professionals for tips, advice and industry news.

  1. Obtain feedback

 Searching social media platforms for company mentions can give some useful insights into how you’re perceived. While many mentions might be about your products or services, you may find some valuable nuggets from candidates and employees.

Social media is a fantastic tool for HR professionals, but it must be used properly. Ensure that you have a formal social media policy in place that covers not just how you expect your employees to use it, but what employees can expect from you too.

Don’t have a social media policy yet? Get in touch – we can help. Contact Simon Morgan at The HR Dept: simon.morgan@hrdept.co.uk. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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