The Effects of Social Media on Employment - Essay Example

The Effects of Social Media on Employment Table of Contents Introduction 3 Literature Review 4 Data Analysis 8 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction Social media can be defined as social interaction activities among individuals in which those individuals develop and share ideas and information in virtual networks and communities. Adoption and implementation of social media in business operation processes can be considered as an effective business strategy for the employers. Employers can identify right and appropriate talent for their organisations through the use of social media networking websites. On the other hand, several graduates and job seekers used to follow several leading social media networking sites and processes in order to get effective employment or job opportunity. Therefore, it can be stated that use of social media can obviously benefit both employees and employers in their employment activities. This report will try to discuss how social media can help employees to display their talent and skills to the employers to get effective employment opportunity. On the other hand, this report will also discuss how employers can get benefited in recruitment of effective employees through the use of social media networking sites. Lastly, this report will also discuss how both employees and employers maintain a healthy relationship through the use of social media in workplaces. This report has considered the views, criticisms and thoughts of several literatures to meet the objective of the assignment. Due to limited time span, the report has considered reliable secondary data sources to analyze the gained data in order to meet the report objective. Finally, the report has summarized important facts that have come through data analysis in order to meet the developed assignment objective. Literature Review It is true that several leading organisations around the globe are trying to capitalize on potential business opportunities that have been developed due to globalisation and technological advancements. Each and every leading domestic as well as international organisation is trying to develop and implement unique business operation strategies in order to gain potential competitive advantages over competitors. Right after Second World War, types of adoption and implementation of recruitment strategies by the employers have changed across the globe due to the growing competition in job market. Each and every organisation tends to pool effective skilled and talented employees for specific job roles in order to enhance business operation activities to fulfil organisational objectives (Weber, 2008, p.9). Now-a-days, recruitment has become one of the important elements of human resource department as it has become quite difficult for the HR executives or employers to hire effective and skilled employees in this modern era of employee poaching due to growing competition in job market. Each and every skilled and potential jobseeker is trying to join prestigious and popular organisations as employee to enhance positive career growth rate. Therefore, the executives of human resource department in several domestic or multinational organisations are trying to consider different contemporary recruitment strategies in order to develop a skilled employee base within the organisation. Social media job posting and recruiting strategy has become an effective contemporary human resource strategy for the employers that is helping them to identify appropriate skills and talents for specific job roles (Yates and Paqutte, 2011, p.7). There are several professional social networking websites, such as Monster.com, Times job and naukri.com that can help the employers to post vacant job positions. In this present era of globalisation and advanced technology, the number of social media users is increasing significantly. Now-a-days, it has become common that each and every graduate student is trying to open an account with leading job portals and feel online bio-data or resume by providing their academic qualifications and internship details (Lampe, 2007, p.24). It automatically helps the employers to see the skills and area of expertise of each and every candidate for respective job postings. It is true that recruitment activities can be considered as time and cost consuming activities. Job postings, searching of right applicants and selection of appropriate job seekers for a particular job role can be considered as long time taking activity. Moreover, earlier several organisations used to invest a huge amount of their revenue in recruitment activities, such as selection of different job advertisement media and posting of advertisements as these require huge investment. Now-a-days, employers have able to cut down recruitment and selection cost through the implementation of social media recruitment strategies. Employers can post job advertisements in professional social media or online job portals in minimum cost comparing to other forms of job advertisements, such as magazine job postings, news paper job posting and digital media job posting (Kotler, 1971, p.29). Moreover, this online or social media job posting can be considered as an effective recruitment strategy comparing to other forms of contemporary recruitment activities, such as employee referrals and word of mouth marketing. Organisations can target a mass through these online or social media job portals as the number of social media and online job portal users is increasing at a significant growth rate. Social media job advertisement activities have eased the pressure on both employees and employers. Earlier fresher graduates or job seekers had to rely heavily on the offline or walk-in job interview. It was quite difficult for the job seekers to keep track of each and every vacancy in each and every preferable organisation. Introduction of social media and online job portals has helped the job seekers to identify preferable job openings. Now-a-days, applicants can get information about vacancies in preferable organisations through the online job portals and respective company websites. It is both time and cost effective for the job seekers to search preferable jobs through online. According to a survey conducted by Association of Graduate Recruiters, near about 19.5 percent fresh graduates in UK have stated that online job portals or social media job portals can be considered as effective recruitment tools for both employers and employees. On the other hand, 17.2 percent fresh graduates in UK have stated online job portals or social media job portals can be considered as effective recruitment development tool in which an organisation can identify skilled and potential employees for specific job roles (AGR, 2013, p.4). Employee poaching can be considered as a critical threat for each and every employer in this global business environment. Employee poaching has become a serious HRM challenge for the employers. It is highly important for the organisations to maintain a strong relationship with potential employees in order to reduce this type of HRM challenge. Therefore, taking care of both personal and professional needs of employees can help the employers to maintain a healthy relationship with the employees across the department. It is true that, effective communication between employees and employers can help an organisation to reduce the possibility of workplace conflicts as it can help to provide effective solution to the developed problems quite effectively (Wood, 2012, p.16). Establishment of social media networks in workplace as communication device can enhance the communication process among employers and employees. Through the developed internal social media process, employees can share their views and thoughts quite effectively to the top level management. In addition to this, it will also help the employees to share any kind of negative aspects to the employers that are happening with the workplace. Practically, it can influence the employees to work and perform effectively as it may act as conflict resolution. On the other hand, employers also can be benefited through the adoption and implementation of online workplace communication process. It can be identified in several multinational or domestic organisations that lack of proper communication between employers and employees before implementing a new change strategy has caused a serious workplace conflict. These are quite common issues in modern day business environment. Therefore, competitors of the organisations used to take the advantage of these issues by attracting their potential and de-motivated employees to join organisation through employee poaching aspect. Looking into these issues, several leading and renowned organisations, such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and IBM have adopted and implemented online communication tools within the workplace in order to enhance communication process between employees and employers. Implementation of ICT and Big Data software in workplaces has enhanced the communication process in these organisations (Walsham, 2001, p.12). Social media in workplace can help an employee within an organisation to enhance knowledge sharing process (Liebowitz and Frank, 2010, p.154). It is quite important for each and every employee within an organisation to gain appropriate knowledge about job role as it will help the employee in his career development aspect. Social media communication process in an organisation can help an individual within an organisation to communicate with each and every organisational member across the entire department. It will help to develop his or her skills. On the other hand, employers can understand the hygiene factors for the employees that can help the organisation to enhance strategy development process in near future. It is clear from the above literature aspects; the use of social media can benefit both employees and employers respectively (Bondarouk, 2013, p.129). In this present era of growing competition in global business environment, each and every organisation is trying to focus on healthy employer-employee relationship aspect. Therefore, the management of the organisations are trying to implement unique strategies and processes in order to enhance this aspect. On the other hand, social media and several online social media job portals are helping both employers and employees in recruitment process. However, qualitative research methodology has been adopted and implemented in the study due to the nature of the research work as the views, behaviours and thoughts of literatures and critiques have been considered in this study to meet the objective of the assignment. Moreover, qualitative research methodology can be effective in this scenario as the report has to meet the objective within limited period of time. . Data Analysis It is clear from the above literature review that social media can benefit employees, employers and job seekers in terms of employment. Due to lack of sufficient time, secondary data have been evaluated in this study. On the other hand, qualitative research methodology has been considered to analyse secondary data in order to analyze the criticisms, views and thoughts of the literatures that are have been mentioned in the literature review part. The data, information and thoughts of literatures that are provided in the literature review part of the report, are valid and reliable as these have been sourced from authentic website, text books and academic journals that are updated frequently. It has been mentioned that employers consider the emergence of social media networking sites in the recruitment process in order to find out appropriate and skilled employees in limited time period. It is true that online job posting requires limited time period comparing to other mediums as only single data traffic and a high speed internet network assist the employers to post job advertisements. This job advertisement can be visible within few seconds’ right after the posting due to rapid online sharing. It eases the job of the employers and recruiters to find out the skilled and preferable employees for specific job roles. On the other hand, it is true that limited operational cost in online job posting comparing to other mediums can help the organisations around the globe to minimise business operational cost. On the other hand, it has been mentioned in the literature review that social media can help job seekers or fresh graduates to find preferable jobs. The job seekers can fill up online bio data provided in the social media job portals. It helps the employers to examine and choose right applicant from the sources within quick period of time. This process actually eases the job application process for the fresh graduates and other types of job seekers. Last but not the least; it has been mentioned in the literature review that social media communication process within workplace actually helps an organisation to strengthen relationship between employers and employees. It is clear from above discussion that several leading organisations are using contemporary social media communication software applications in order to enhance clear and transparent communication between employees and employers. These evaluated and analysed data can help the readers to understand that social media have several positive impacts on employees as well as employers in employment activities. Conclusion Each and every student is seeking for a good and prestigious job after completing graduate studies. On the other hand, several organisations are also trying to source high quality and skilled employees for their organisations in order to strengthen their workforce. Social media has become one of the important mediums between these two mentioned aspects. Previously, organisations used to consider digital advertising, print media job postings and employee referrals in order to hire skilled employees. On the other hand, job seekers used to consider walk-in process to gain employment opportunity. Both the processes were time and cost consuming for employers as well as job seekers. But, emergence of social media and online job portals eased the job of recruiters and applicants. Moreover, social media job posting and online portal resume sharing activities have reduced time and cost of both employers and job seekers. It is highly important for the organisations to maintain hood relationship with the employees in this present era of competitive business environment to reduce the threat of employee poaching and other HRM issues, such as workplace conflicts between management and employees. Social media communication applications within workplace can help the employees and employers to maintain a healthy relationship among them. Most importantly, it will help the organisation to maintain a conflict free work environment in which the employment values are taken care off. References AGR., 2013. The AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2013. [PDF]. Available at: < http://www.agr.org.uk/write/Documents/Surveys/The_AGR_Graduate_Recruitment_Survey_2013_Winter_Review.pdf>. [Accessed on July 6, 2014]. Bondarouk, T., 2013. Social Media in Human Resource Management. London: Emerald Group Publishing. Kotler, P., 1971. Social Marketing: An Approach to Planned Social Change. The Journal of Marketing, 65(3), p.29. Lampe, C., 2007. The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer Networks, 54(4), p.24. Liwbowitz, J., and Frank, M., 2010. Knowledge management and E-Learning. London: CRC Press. Walsham, G., 2001. Knowledge Management:: The Benefits and Limitations of Computer Systems. European management Journal, 23(1), p.12. Weber, M., 2008. The business case for corporate social responsibility: A company-level measurement approach for CSR. European Management Journal, 1(1), p.9. Wood, M., 2012. Marketing: Social marketing. Journal of Social marketing, 8(1), p.16. Yates, D., and Paquette, S., 2011. Emergency knowledge management and social media technologies. International Journal of Information management, 17(1), p.7. Read More