It’s likely that you and your company will be interested in implementing a social staffing and collaboration strategy this year. Maybe you’ve done so already and kudos to you…you’re ahead of this ever changing curve.  It’s glaringly obvious how social media has changed the way that recruiters and staffing professionals do business.

Recruiting:  Here‘s how  a search assignment used to work:
Receive a search assignment. Next, scour your internal database for  qualified candidates with matching skills and appropriate experience. Then, search the hundreds of  job boards for qualified candidates “looking” for jobs. Rinse and repeat.

However, social media sites like Linked In can provide literally hundreds (and thousands) of qualified candidates that have or have not necessarily been proactively posting their resumes on job boards. In fact, direct social  recruiting is not only accepted it is expected. Social media recruitment and social media profiling  is not just another step in the search process, its a whole new  business process within the search process specific to online recruitment and engagement.

Client Collaboration and Communication:  Recruiters now have the ability to  collaborate with clients on a social platform which opens the door for a  social partnership rather than a vendor-client relationship. Not only that, but recruiters can share links, blogs and analytics via the social platform to establish subject matter expert status and become viewed as a trusted and valuable resource for industry advise and trends.

Social Media Profile Integration: Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) now have the ability to pull social media profiles directly into the system more efficiently than ever, so that a recruiter can develop a better picture of a candidate in addition to a comprehensive resume or CV. For example, a Facebook profile enables a recruiter to really get a sense of a candidate’s  online profile, which is increasingly more important in a day and age where transparency rules.  It also enables recruiters to communicate via a social platform, rather than just sparse  email communications.

The same goes for a client’s social profile.  A company’s social profile can help a recruiter to communicate a solid career opportunity  when the company’s mission, vision and social values are vividly expressed on their social profile.  It very well may be how a candidate first falls in love with a  future employer, long before the interview is even scheduled.

Here are a few pointers for your Social Recruitment and Communications Strategy:

1.  Your staffing firm must have a solid social profile on the leading social media sites: Twitter, Facebook and Linked In. It opens your world to new candidates and clients exponentially.  You knew that, right?

2.  Establish social communication guidelines within your company so that each recruiter understands and carries out those guidelines entirely.

3.  Encourage social communications with clients and candidates, but make sure those communications are being tracked in your database, CRM or ATS.  Fellow colleagues and recruiters should always be “in the know” of ongoing communications regarding job opportunity presentations, interview feedback, placement activity or fee and compensation notes,  just as any email or phone conversation content should be tracked.

4.  News, information, how-to’s, blogs, videos and resources for candidates and clients shows that you are invested in their success. Post them on social sites where they are easily accessible and don’t forget to use key word best practices!

In closing, we’d like to know how social media has changed the way you conduct your business. How has it enhanced your overall search and candidate evaluation processes? How have you used the social platform to leverage your relationships with clients as a true business partner and subject matter expert and how do you manage all of social platforms?  We’d love to hear from you!

Enjoy the growth of the social media recruitment revolution!  It’s here to stay and will play a vital role in the growth of your staffing business.http://www.targetrecruit.net/blogs/social-staffing-strategies/