1)Is social networking an effective recruitment source on strategy?

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In the not so distant past, recruiters and staffing managers pored through resumes, posted on job boards and hosted expensive job fairs in top markets to find candidates and fill jobs. Now, they might interact with social network site users by posting a challenging technical question, then contact individuals who provide the best answers to discuss a potential job. A growing number of recruiters and organizations are turning strategically to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and more obscure niche social networking sites to extend their global reach, speed recruitment sourcing and cut costs. Many such channels are largely free, but the process is not without its misconceptions and potential pitfalls. The most effective social media recruiting applies the elements of smart social media practice in general, said Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D., author of The Social Media Survival Guide. Madia said the key is not to limit yourself to one network; effective talent sourcing is about networking the networks to provide entries for talent across communities and platforms that allow recruiters to target pools of potential applicants with greater precision. Researching blogs, niche communities and groups within networks can give HR information to plant content seeds within these sites to attract morequalified applicants, Madia said. To remain competitive, companies that have not yet migrated their recruiting program to social media platforms should explore social media as at least one component of the broader strategy, she added. Many Strategies Are Aggressive and Ongoing Many companies already have opted for an aggressive and ongoing presence on large social networking sites as well as on some small, moretargeted sites, Madia said. One trend is to post top positions on a corporate blog with a link to the companys Facebook and LinkedIn pages. Each of these come with the added benefit of shaping a broader corporate footprint in the social media space, noted Madia, who is director of communications at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

In the past two years at Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat Inc., social media have moved from a peripheral part of the open source solution providers recruiting efforts to the central component, according to L.J. Brock, senior director of global talent acquisition. The company uses Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to build its employment brand and to raise awareness. In addition, it uses LinkedIn to source candidates directly. The strategy has significantly reduced our need for the use of traditional job boards, Brock noted. In the past, Red Hat had relied largely on outside search partners to supply top talent. But using the LinkedIn Recruiter platform, its recruiters have access to a growing database of more than 80 million members in 200 countries. Brock said 75 percent of Red Hat hires had LinkedIn profiles before they were hired, which he said is a leading indicator someone is right for our company. Red Hat identifies roles and regions where LinkedIn is most effective based on historical tendencies and job seeker patterns and uses that information to design targeted candidate sourcing strategies. For tough-tofill positions, the company might post questions in LinkedIn groups that only a truly qualified candidate could answer, then contact the person who best answers the questions as either a candidate or a source for other candidates, Brock explained. In Germany, the company uses a social networking platform called Xing to accomplish the same results, he added. Realizing Tangible Benefits Brock said that by using social networks for recruiting, his department has improved client satisfaction scores significantly and has improved the value that it brings to the business while reducing the cost of recruiting. A 2009 SourceRight Solutions survey of 306 U.S. HR managers found that controlling costs and hiring matters were top of mind. When asked what their top HR concern is over the next few years, 52 percent said it was keeping employment costs under control while 29 percent said it was finding qualified/skilled workers. Turnover/retention and recruiting top talent at all levels were cited by 23 and 22 percent of respondents, respectively. Red Hat recently re-launched its employee referral program to encourage employees to use LinkedIn to act as an extension of our recruiting team, Brock said. While historically referrals meant someone an employee could

specifically comment on or vouch for, the company now pays employees for leads from social networking sites, albeit at a lower level. Brock emphasized that companies should give people a reason to follow their social media beyond job listings. Among other things, Red Hat has a corporate and news blog, internal teams are invited to expand on their developments via blogs, and several internal groups at Red Hat maintain Twitter accounts. Measuring ROI Madeline Laurano, principal analyst for sourcing, recruiting and talent planning for Oakland, Calif.-based research and advisory services firm Bersin & Associates, said that about 70 percent of U.S. organizations use social networking sites for talent acquisition. But one challenge is truly understanding the value of the process and knowing how to find that ROI. She cited the following organizations as having best practice social media recruitment strategies: Novartis filled 40 tough-to-fill rolesmany in its vaccines and diagnostic departmentswhile reducing time-to-fill by 20 percent and ensuring that 40 percent of new hires were diverse candidates. Allstate officials said social media helped it shift from an outsourced recruiting model to a centralized recruiting model with eight internal sourcers and 30 recruiters. Invensys has saved $4 million in talent acquisition and aligned this function with the overall business strategy. Dos and Donts But Madia says plenty remains new and untested. Here are some dos and donts: Dont eliminate existing recruitment channels in favor of a strict diet of social media. Test the waters by turning on social media enhancements, then turn elements up or down based on initial learnings, Madia said. Do create an engagement process before launching any networks. Create a job-applicant process that directs the right people seamlessly from a Twitter stream, to a Facebook page to your corporate web site in order to download an application. Companies that fail to fine-tune the process risk letting qualified applicants slip through the cracks, Madia cautioned. Do use an applicants social media savvy as one indicator in your search, but dont make it the only criterion. Some companies require an applicant to have a web site for his or her resume or a minimum number of Twitter followers. Even if the job is specific to these skill sets, assessing a candidate

solely on his or her activity within this space is short-sighted and may cause you to overlook real talent, Madia said. Develop a Plan Madia said the key to developing a social media recruiting plan is to test as you go and to compare results with other recruiting strategies based on things like viable applicants, response rates and quality of candidates. She added that HR should work on its recruitment strategy with marketing, public relations, customer relations and internal communications to derive resource sharing in terms of content and results in the form of top hires and top PR for a company that knows how to position itself in the online space. In the end, SourceRight Solutions Director Dan Oakes said in a November 2010 webcast about the subject, that it all boils down to this: Social media is changing the way people find jobs. Are [recruiters] changing the way [they] find them?

In 2011, social media recruiting took giant leaps. Everyday more people find talent through social media. We live in a connected world. And tomorrow, the world will be more connected. The role of social media in the recruiting process process will continue to grow. Here are the ten best blog post of the past year on how to greatly improve your recruiting through the most dominant social media channels.

Twitter for Recruiting

Its no secret that Twitter is an information search engine. With more than 155 million tweets per day, it is now the place for breaking news. Even the raid on Osama bin laden was accidentally live tweeted by someone who was complaining about loud helicopter noises in a remote area of Pakistan. He later realized via Twitter once the news broke of the raid, how exactly he had been involved. Twitter may not be your sole candidate and recruiting solution but it can greatly help you. Recruiters and hiring managers can also leverage recruiting on Twitter as a Social Media candidate source in a number of different ways.

Hiring & Recruiting on Facebook

Facebook is now the most visited place on the web, outpacing Google late 2010. As candidates spend more time on the worlds most popular social networking site, it makes sense that recruiters would use Facebook for hiring and recruitment. As part of our Erecruiting series here at SmartRecruiters, Im focusing on differently recruiting and sourcing methods across the internet. Because Facebook is a relatively closed network it can make direct sourcing a challenge. Depending on the users security settings, visitors are allowed certain access making sourcing on this platform somewhat difficult. Even still, there are ways to grow your candidate pool, source, and fill positions recruiting on Facebook.

How to Recruit on LinkedIn

Last week LinkedIn became the second most popular social network on the planet, surpassing the once-upon-a-time-King of social media, MySpace, as the premier social network. LinkedIn is quite possibly the darling of recruiting and candidate sourcing for professional recruiters across the globe. Nearly 87% of employers, who hire through internet recruiting, go to the site first to search and source for candidates that fit their job requisition requirements. Like any job board or social network, finding top talent is the top priority of erecruiting. Companies often use sites as a means of sourcing for just in time to fill positions, which is fine, but there are many ways to skin a cat. Through connections, Questions and Answers setions, Groups, Job Postings on the boards and through statuses, and more, recruiting on LinkedIn is essential.

Recruiting on Google+ (Google Plus)

Google+, Googles social media platform is the fastest growing social network in the history of well, social networks. Since Google released it in beta July 26th, the new social media platform created a media frenzy as bloggers, social media influencers and the media covered the release of the platform like never before. It provides recruiters and hiring managers another wide channel to recruit, source, and search.

Google+ offers a unique opportunity for recruiters to blaze new trails and connect with candidates in different ways. Users add individuals they wish to engage by categorizing them into circles, which they create. Through circles, one can contact individuals or groups privately or publicly to recruit on Google+.

4 Ways to Recruit and Build Communities on LinkedIn

Think of LinkedIn as an online rolodex where a recruiter or hiring manager now has access to over 150 million professionals from across the globe. Some of these professionals are passive as well as active job search candidates. These professional databases are accessible on the web typically by increasing your social media connections and footprint. To attract talent, its essential to build connections and develop relationships. Within LinkedIn, maintaining a level of engagement with their connections is equally important. This requires maintaining a presence in their connections stream. The execution of yourLinkedIn recruiting strategy hinges on the development of this connections stream.

Recruiting with Facebook Ads

Facebooks ad network offers recruiters a unique opportunity to target job advertisements to Facebook users by keyword, education,

location, and even age. Its tools like this that allow recruiters to engage their prime audience for $20-40 per day and be effective. Facebook users are providing detailed information and news about their own interests, hobbies, education, and activities throughout the day and at staggering rates. The average Facebook user now spends 15 hours and 33 minutes per month on Facebook. Facebooks ads capitalize on their members and the information that is voluntarily submitted by offering advertisers very small and specific areas in which to target for not a lot of money. To keep up with the competition for top talent, companies must recruit with Facebook ads.

Driving Your Recruitment Efforts With Facebook Fan Pages

Like any website or profile page, a Facebook Fan Page is a marketing and communication channel allowing the company to directly connect with individuals who have opted into receiving a companys message. But a Facebook Fan Page is more than just a communication medium serving as a companys front porch and customer service platform to engage the more than 750 million Facebook users. A Facebook Fan Page can serve as a recruiting and sourcing tool just like a company blog or Twitter allowing you opportunities to directly engage and educate your target candidate market. In this social world, companies ought to advertise your jobs on your Facebook Fan Page. Its just how to recruit with your Facebook Fan Page.

5 Social Recruiting Alternatives to Facebook

After the rise of Google+, Facebook has fought back and reaffirmed its status as the social network. . In case you hadnt heard, Facebook launched some major changes in their social networking platform. I bet youve used your allotted two thirds of day every week alone understanding, learning, and organizing your Facebook timeline and group pages. There is more to recruiting than a Facebook Timeline. This post is about what Facebook doesnt have. Social Media is about diversity. Here are social recruiting techniques that go beyond Facebook and into forums, chat rooms, Ning Communities, member databases, Myspace, and more.

How to Recruit on Twitter with Hashtags

While Twitter offers a platform that allows for many types of search to increase the viral spread of content, even by non-members, hashtags in particular are one of the best sources to find engaged users by particular topic or interest. Twitter allows for users to be contacted with no prior relationship. Searching for candidates via hashtags can net you a solid list of job search and recruiting leads long before your candidate has responded to a resume-mining database like CareerBuilder or

Monster. Hashtag feeds on Twitter allow companies to go beyond their audience (followers) when posting, and when reading hashtagged Tweets, companies can target thought leaders in the industry. To recruit on Twitter, recruit with hashtags.

How to Build Effective Recruitment Talent Pools

Pools in themselves are small yet separate pockets of standing water and with the internet, these talent pools and pockets of isolated candidates do not effectively exist. Think of targeted talent within social media as your talent ocean Social recruiting is step one of gathering talent. This means building your online brand throughFacebook Fan Pages, Tweets, and your companys LinkedIn profile. Talent oceans are built on the foundations of establishing value, building relationships and having conversations. And that means understanding and knowing what your candidates want just as much as what your company and hiring managers do. Collaborative Hiring. Build Talent Oceans.

With the advice from these ten posts, your social media recruiting strategy will improve. In this evolving world, either you social media recruiting strategy improves, or the competition hires the best talent. Remember (and take note of the info graphic below) the role of social media in the recruiting process process will onlycontinue to

grow. SmartRecruiters free recruiting software offers integration with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Hiring Made Easy.

*)Indian organisations tend to neglect proper human resource planning when compare to MNC's
Human Resource Management is very important for the survival and prosperity of an organisation. Procurement of right kind and right number of employees is the first operative function of Human Resource Management. Before selecting the right man for the right job, it becomes necessary to determine the quality and quantity of people required in the organisation. This is the primary function of Human Resource Planning. Human Resource Planning Human Resource Planning is the planning of Human Resources. It is also called manpower planning/ personnel planning/ employment planning. It is only after Human Resource Planning that the Human Resource department can initiate the recruitment and selection process. Therefore Human Resource Planning is a sub-system of organisational planning. Definition Human Resource Planning is a strategy for the acquisition, utilisation, improvement and preservation of an organisations human resource Y.C. Moushell Human Resource Planning is a process of forecasting an organisations future demand for human resource and supply of right type of people in right numbers J.Chennly.K Features of Human Resource Planning 1. It is future oriented: Human Resource Planning is forward-looking. It involves forecasting the manpower needs for a future period so that adequate and timely provisions may be made to meet the needs. 2. It is a continuous process: Human Resource Planning is a continuous process because the demand and supply of Human Resource keeps fluctuating throughout the year. Human Resource Planning has to be reviewed according to the needs of the organisation and changing environment.

3. Integral part of Corporate Planning: Manpower planning is an integral part of corporate planning because without a corporate plan there can be no manpower planning. 4. Optimum utilisation of resources: The basic purpose of Human Resource Planning is to make optimum utilisation of organisations current and future human resources. 5. Both Qualitative and Quantitative aspect: Human Resource Planning considers both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of Human Resource Management, Quantitative meaning the right number of people and Qualitative implying the right quality of manpower required in the organisation. 6. Long term and Short term: Human Resource Planning is both Long-term and short-term in nature. Just like planning which is long-term and short-term depending on the need of the hour, Human Resource Planning keeps long-term goals and short-term goals in view while predicting and forecasting the demand and supply of Human Resource. 7. Involves study of manpower requirement: Human Resource Planning involves the study of manpower availability and the manpower requirement in the organisation. Objectives of Human Resource Planning 1. Optimum utilisation of human resources currently employed in the organisation. 2. To reduce imbalance in distribution and allocation of manpower in organisation for various activities. 3. To ensure that the organisation is well-equipped with the required Quantity and Quality of manpower on a sustained basis. 4. To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and resources. 5. To control cost of Human Resources employed, used and maintained in the organisation. 6. To provide a basis for management development programmes. 7. To ensure optimum contribution and satisfaction of the personnel with reasonable expenditure.

8. To recruit and retain human resource of required Quantity and Quality. Need for Human Resource Planning 1. Shortage of Skills: These days we find shortage of skills in people. So it is necessary to plan for such skilled people much in advance than when we actually need them. Non-availability of skilled people when and where they are needed is an important factor which prompts sound Human Resource Planning. 2. Frequent Labour Turnover: Human Resource Planning is essential because of frequent labour turnover which is unavoidable by all means. Labour turnover arises because of discharges, marriages, promotion, transfer etc which causes a constant ebb and flow in the workforce in the organisation. 3. Changing needs of technology: Due to changes in technology and new techniques of production, existing employees need to be trained or new blood injected into an organisation. 4. Identify areas of surplus or shortage of personnel: Manpower planning is needed in order to identify areas with a surplus of personnel or areas in which there is a shortage of personnel. If there is a surplus, it can be re-deployed, or if there is a shortage new employees can be procured. 5. Changes in organisation design and structure: Due to changes in organisation structure and design we need to plan the required human resources right from the beginning. Problems with Human Resource Planning 1. Resistance by Employers: Many employers resist Human Resource Planning as they think that it increases the cost of manpower for the management. Further, employers feel that Human Resource Planning is not necessary as candidates will be available as and when required in the country due to the growing unemployment situation. 2. Resistance by Employees: Employees resist Human Resource Planning as it increases the workload on the employees and prepares programmes for securing human resources mostly from outside.

3. Inadequacies in quality of information: Reliable information about the economy, other industries, labour markets, trends in human resources etc are not easily available. This leads to problems while planning for human resources in the organisation. 4. Uncertainties: Uncertainties are quite common in human resource practices in India due to absenteeism, seasonal unemployment, labour turnover etc. Further, the uncertainties in the industrial scenario like technological changes and marketing conditions also cause imperfection in Human Resource Planning. It is the uncertainties that make Human Resource Planning less reliable. 5. Time and expense: Human Resource Planning is a time-consuming and expensive exercise. A good deal of time and cost are involved in data collection and forecasting. Guidelines for making Human Resource Planning effective 1. Adequate information system: The main problem faced in Human Resource Planning is the lack of information. So an adequate Human resource database should be maintained/developed for better coordinated and more accurate Human Resource Planning. 2. Participation: To be successful, Human Resource Planning requires active participation and coordinated efforts on the part of operating executives. Such participation will help to improve understanding of the process and thereby, reduce resistance from the top management. 3. Adequate organisation: Human Resource Planning should be properly organised; a separate section or committee may be constituted within the human resource department to provide adequate focus and to coordinate the planning efforts at various levels. 4. Human Resource Planning should be balanced with corporate planning: Human resource plans should be balanced with the corporate plans of the enterprise. The methods and techniques used should fit the objectives, strategies and environment of the particular organisation.

5. Appropriate time horizon: The period of manpower plans should be appropriate according to the needs and circumstances of the specific enterprise. The size and structure of the enterprise as well as the changing aspirations of the people should be taken into consideration. Factors affecting Human Resource Plans External factor: They are the factors which affect the Human Resource Planning externally. They include:1. Government policies: Policies of the government like labour policy, industrial policy, policy towards reserving certain jobs for different communities and sons-ofthe-soil etc affect Human Resource Planning. 2. Level of economic development: Level of economic development determines the level of human resource development in the country and thereby the supply of human resources in the future in the country. 3. Information Technology: Information technology brought amazing shifts in the way business operates. These shifts include business process reengineering, enterprise resource planning and Supply Chain Management. These changes brought unprecedented reduction in human resource and increase in software specialists. Example: Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided technology (CAT) also reduced the existing requirement of human resource. 4. Level of Technology: Technology is the application of knowledge to practical tasks which lead to new inventions and discoveries. The invention of the latest technology determines the kind of human resources required. 5. Business Environment: Business environment means the internal and external factors influencing the business. Business environmental factors influences the volume of mix of production and thereby the supply of human resources in the future in the country. 6. International factors: International factors like the demand and supply of Human resources in various countries also affects Human Resource Planning .

Internal factors: 1. Company Strategies: The organisations policies and strategies relating to expansion, diversification etc. determines the human resource demand in terms of Quantity and Quality 2. Human Resource policies: Human Resource policies of the company regarding quality of human resources, compensation level, quality of working conditions etc. influence Human Resource Planning. 3. Job analysis: Job analysis means detailed study of the job including the skills needed for a particular job. Human Resource Planning is based on job analysis which determines the kind of employees to be procured. 4. Time Horizon: Companys planning differs according to the competitive environment i.e. companies with stable competitive environment can plan for the long run whereas firms without a stable environment can only plan for short term. Therefore, when there are many competitors entering business/ when there is rapid change in social and economic conditions of business/ if there is constant change in demand patterns/ when there exists poor management practice, then short term planning is adopted or vice-versa for long-term planning. 5. Type and Quality of Information: Any planning process needs qualitative and accurate information about the organisational structure, capital budget, functional area objectives, level of technology being used, job analysis, recruitment sources, retirement plans, compensation levels of employees etc. Therefore Human Resource Planning is determined on the basis of the type and quality of information. 6. Companys production and operational policy: Companys policies regarding how much to produce and how much to purchase from outside in order to manufacture the final product influences the number and kind of people required. 7. Trade Unions: If the unions declare that they will not work for more than 8 hours a day, it affects the Human Resource Planning. Therefore influence of trade unions regarding the number of working hours per week, recruitment sources etc. Affect Human Resource Planning.

8. Organisational Growth Cycles: At starting stage the organisation is small and the need of employees is usually smaller, but when the organisation enters the growth phase more young people need to be hired. Similarly, in the

declining/recession/downturn phase Human Resource Planning is done to retrench the employees.