Why Social HR Technology is Here to Stay

Technology in our space, the human resources and recruitment industry, is moving at a rapid place.  For those individuals who are new to social media in HR, this proves to be a difficult and overwhelming task as later adopters have to work extremely hard to catch up in the ever-changing ways to communicate online.  While things like employer branding and social recruiting are important for our industry, it is even more important for the average HR practitioner to understand how their company’s customer base, which includes both the employee population and their manager counterparts in addition to their actual customers, are using the social tools and technology to communicate and engage in their every day lives.   Add the fact that HR teams must now go to battle defending their worth in the new economy, and most HR and recruitment departments have their hands full.

The Wall Street Journal published an article (“Moneyball and the HR Department”**) discussing how HR departments are using big data as an analytics tool digging deeper into  HR analytics and measurement formulas, such as the cost of hire and performance value.  It’s HR use of technologies and data analysis like these  – coupled with their understanding of social media – that can finally measure HR’s worth.  HR can tangibly justify their value to an organization, showing what we have known all along, that managers and senior leaders use HR as a scapegoat for their own unproductivity.

This fact is what I believe will leave organization’s managers grumpy and ungrateful.  You see HR has long had a PR problem with companies not truly understanding the value of the department and the average employee believing that the scope of HR’s responsibility is merely hiring and firing.  Now, by understanding technology, big data, as well as social media, our HR teams can now define and substantiate our real value, and that has our leadership teams scared out of their minds.  While big data and new technologies in our space are needed to help compete in this increasingly competitive talent and customer marketplace, only time will tell how our management counterparts as well as our HR peers will react to the new social HR and technology landscape.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a HR consultant, new media strategist, and author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. Jessica is the host of Job Search Secrets, an internet television show for job seekers. Photo Credit MichaelKeyesSite and SalesChallenger.

**Editor’s Note: “He gets on base a lot. Do I care if it’s a walk or a hit?”