posted by Nicolette Beard @ 2:40 PM
My coworker and I presented a session at the Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM) Regional Conference a few weeks ago. The topic: Leveraging Social Media to Engage Employees. The thrust of our talk was that a company can engage employees throughout the employee life cycle. In order to do this, you need to understand how they consume social media and create a strategic plan based on that knowledge.
Our topic was based on feedback from human resource professionals wanting to know how to incorporate these tools into their already full internal communications day and how to encourage employee adoption and minimize CEO pushback. In all honesty, I cannot say that we converted anyone in the audience from skeptics to believers.
Key findings from the 2010 Social Media Survey conducted across internal communications practitioners globally may explain why.
- The profession is divided. Forty eight percent (48%) believe the business case for social media is “very clear” or “clear,” while 46% say it is “very unclear” or “unclear.”
- Clear signal that training is needed. More than 2/3 or all global internal communicators rate their team’s social media expertise as “very low” or “low” on average and 22% believe their team lacks the skills to make social media happen.
- Social media responsibility remains unclear. The profession is still largely undecided as to who and which departments should be responsible for its deployment with almost half (46%) unclear about the role they play.
- The majority of the companies surveyed are slow to make the cultural shift. Fifty five percent (55%) remain unconvinced are are undecided about how their organization’s culture could benefit from the use of social media.
- The majority of leaders (68.8%) prefer email and electronic newsletters to communicate to staff and employees.
One glimmer of hope is that a fair number of leaders blog regularly (24.3%), one third participate in closed company forums and Q&A sessions with employees and nearly 10% tweet updates on Twitter.
We made the case in our HR Branding: A Field Guide that having a strong internal brand helps companies recruit and retain the best, create long-term loyalty and empower your people as brand ambassadors.
Hmmmm. Sounds similar to my opening statement: Social media can engage people throughout the employee life cycle.
Perhaps if companies start looking at social media as an extension of their brand, then HR would gladly join hands with marketing and work to extend their brand message both internally and externally.
Source: Melcurm Social Media Survery 2010 – Detailed Findings, Press Release 26 May 2010.
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7.07.2008
posted by Robin Tooms @ 9:54 PM
HR.BLR.com, a comprehensive resource site for Human Resources information, is featuring a whitepaper on HR Branding using information from Savage’s HR Branding Field Guide.
Many HR pros, especially in small- to medium-sized companies, might say, “Oh, we don’t have an HR brand.” They may think they have yet to develop one. But that’s a misconception. Want it or not, you already have an HR brand. Is it a good one? Is it aligned with your business and recruiting strategies? Let’s look at what’s involved, according to Bethany Haley, president of Savage Branding & Corporate Design.
“HR Branding: A Field Guide” is the title of a booklet created by Savage to help organizations identify the essence of what they are as a place to work–a combination of culture, reputation, benefits, and internal relationships. As the booklet says, HR branding “is an emotional attachment that makes employees long-term partners in achieving your company’s goals.” In addition, the partnership only succeeds when the brand “rings true and is reinforced across all touch points that the employee encounters at your company.”
A strong HR Brand is essential for every aspect of the employee lifecycle: recruit and retain the best, create long-term loyalty, empower your people as ambassadors (both during and post-employment) and leverage their knowledge for the next generation. What’s your next step? Read the full whitepaper for tips on how to enhance your HR brand, or visit the our HR Branding site to see if your HR Brand is up to par.
