HR TIP: Facebook Still Kickin’ And Working

Dawn Burke Dawn Burke, Driving Productivity, Employee Engagement, Employee Referrals, Employment Branding and Culture, Engagement and Satisfaction, Generations, Good HR, HR & Marketing, HR (& Life!) Advice, Recruiting, Social Media, Social Media and Talent

I had an HR Pro who totally “gets it”—whom I really, really like and completely respect—tell me he doesn’t do Facebook. Hmmm. Actually, I get it and don’t hold it against him. And I imagine many of you HR pros don’t do Facebook either. I don’t judge.

In this conversation I quickly told him I’m addicted. Well, in many ways I really am. But not for all the reasons you might think (You know the favorites: Narcissism! Self-Gratification! Daddy-issues! Boredom!).

Reason: It’s engaging. And for that reason, it makes me a better HR Pro.

Facebook doesn’t get as much HR love as it used to from the blogging community. You likely will see more about Periscope and Snapchat, which you should. But I had a recent, unexpected reminder about the power of reach, connection and HR engagement through social media, including … drumroll please… Facebook.

At a recent Daxko retreat one of our millennial (yes, I said millennial) team members told the group,

“What I love about Dawn is how she connects and engages with me and Daxko team members on Facebook and Instagram. Whenever she sees me or other people in the hall, she is always able to talk to us about “real things.” She gets to know others quickly and what they like. That makes me feel good.”

Dare I say, Snap?

What are the implications of this Facebook reminder?

  • Millennials are on Facebook. Get over the “it’s only for old-people thing.”
  • Social connection is typically front and center of employees’ minds.
  • Connection helps HR “approachability.”
  • Social media is a great way to engage lots of folks on one platform. In other words, a better return on your time investment to engage.
  • Social presence and branding impacts recruiting.

Here is the deal. I’m not the only adult on Facebook. 72% of all adult Internet users and 62% of the entire adult population are on Facebook. Click here for more sweet stats.

Also, social connection is front and center for employees. It is for all humans. Let’s be clear. You can be a “high-performance” HR team and choose not to engage. I mean, if you are measured on ACA compliance, for instance, and you kill it, you may still be considered a results-driven team. However, if that team chooses not to connect and relate, or gives the appearance of not caring, they will pay the price of low employee partnerships and the possible negative perceptions on HR’s ability to empathize, partner or work in a modern workforce. That always bites teams on the booty at some point.

So, if your HR team is charged with change management, coaching, facilitation, retention—which most modern ones are—building trust through connection (connecting on Facebook and other mediums) is a no brainer.

Your personal and HR team’s brand is important. Notice I put those two categories together; you really can’t separate the two on social media if you want to build trust. If you need to have a “business” reason to use Facebook, then social media gives you reach. Mass reach is a better ROI on your time investment. You need to look at Facebook and other sites as another HR technology platform. You’ve heard of those, right? One of the biggest enhancements to high-performance HR teams is the use of technology to help engagement. It never replaces human connection, but it helps you administrate it better.

Naturally all of this helps with recruiting. If your team members trust you, they are more apt to refer their network to your recruiting team for job openings. And if you get the swing of social interaction on a personal level, you’ll be better prepared to use social media, which are all embedded in recruiting tech platforms.

Rules of Facebook from a HR standpoint:

  • No politics
  • No religion
  • You must on some level be vulnerable by sharing some personal info. For instance if you share “Hey I went to this concert!” be prepared for someone to say, “Wow, that band stinks!” Personal doesn’t have to be deep all the time.
  • You must be yourself.

So, don’t count out Facebook just yet. It may be middle-aged, but it is still kickin’.

NOTE: This post is fueled by the recruiting professionals at Jobvite. Each month, Dawn Burke will write a featured post on a topic designed to help recruiters raise their games… stay tuned for the accompanying video series, No Scrubs!