Exploring the Impact of Social Media on HRM Success-Challenges and Opportunities in Employee Evaluation

Exploring the Impact of Social Media on HRM Success-Challenges and Opportunities in Employee Evaluation

The use of social media in modern organizations has transformed various organizational functions, such as the human resource function. Many human resource managers are currently applying social media in the recruitment process and monitoring employee conduct to ensure that employees’ behavior does not create a bad image for the organization. The use of social media in the human resource management context also extends to monitoring employee actions outside the work setting. Although social media has played a vital role in ensuring that employees meet the organization’s expectations in terms of conduct and job qualifications, legal and ethical concerns create limitations in the use of social media in recruitment and employee monitoring. These concerns pose a challenge for human resource managers and put organizations at risk of legal issues that could impact their performance and reputation.

Influence of Social Media on HRM Success

Social media plays a significant role in supporting various human resource activities, leading to success in human resource management. According to Wild About Trial (2015), modern organizations use social media to assess whether a candidate is suitable for a job by reviewing the candidate’s social media posts. Human resource managers may also use a person’s social media posts to analyze their personality and lifestyle choices to determine whether they are fit for the job, thus reducing the time taken to select a candidate from a pool of candidates. Social media also reduces the time taken to recruit candidates because a human resource manager can post vacant job positions on social media platforms to attract qualified candidates, thus reducing the time taken to source qualified candidates. Using social media in the recruitment process also makes it easier for human resource managers to identify specific attributes about a candidate, such as religion, race, and disability, which can be used to determine whether the candidate is suitable for the vacant position.

Social media also influences the employee monitoring process. Organizations can access an employee’s social media platform to monitor what they do within or outside the organization. Employee monitoring is essential in ensuring that an employee’s conduct does not harm the organization and also ensuring that the actions align with the organization’s policies and procedures. Anthony Haller gives an example of how an organization can use social media for employee monitoring by mentioning a case where IBM fired an employee and took away all her benefits after seeing social media posts indicating that she was doing things that were not consistent with the disability she had claimed to have suffered to get a medical and disability leave (The American Law Journal, 2013). This example indicates that an organization can monitor an employee’s social media posts to stay informed about what an employee may be doing outside the workplace. Social media also allows employees to give feedback about an organization’s decision (Davenport, 2012). Employee feedback is vital in helping human resource management understand employees’ concerns, leading to improved employee relations.

Challenges of HRM Professionals Using Social Media to Learn about Current and Potential Employees

HRM professionals face various legal and ethical issues that pose a challenge in using social media to learn about current and potential employees (Wilkie & Wright, 2014). Human resource managers are concerned about the legal risks that arise from using social media screening, including the issues concerning protected characteristics such as religious affiliation, gender, race, and age. Social media use increases the likelihood of discrimination based on a person’s attributes, such as race, religious affiliation, and gender, leading to legal issues. Human resource managers may experience challenges determining whether to hire a person based on their qualifications or what they find out on social media platforms about the candidate’s gender, race, or religious affiliation because disqualified candidates can sue the company for discrimination if they find out that they were not hired because of their personal attributes.

The second challenge is determining whether the information shared by the candidate is correct. The information shared on social media may be hard to verify, increasing the likelihood of access to false information. For instance, some people may post false information, including photoshopped images, to portray the lifestyle they want others to believe they have. Employing an applicant based on wrong or false information extracted from social media platforms can result in hiring an underqualified candidate and favoritism claims. Unfortunately, human resource professionals cannot verify the information a candidate shares on their social media platform and are forced to assume that the information is accurate and focus on the most essential details, such as race, gender, work activities, and interests.

The third challenge is privacy concerns. Access to a person’s social media information may be considered a violation of privacy because the information shared on social media platforms is often personal. Privacy concerns may also arise when an employee claims that the information on their social media platform is irrelevant to their job. Therefore, human resource managers may face a challenge justifying why they accessed specific information on a candidate’s social media platform, especially if the employee claims that the human resource professional accessed too much information about them. Privacy concerns may also arise if the human resource manager accesses a candidate’s social media platform without their consent in the job screening process.

Private Sector Employers Using Social Media in the HRM Context

Various private sector organizations like Facebook use social media to screen job candidates (Wright,2014). The main application of social media in most organizations is in screening job candidates in the job application process. One company that uses social media in human resource management is Coca-Cola. The company uses social media screening to determine whether job applicants fit the selected positions by viewing social media posts. The second company that uses social media in human resource management is Target Corporation. The company uses social media to conduct background checks during the hiring process by focusing on what the candidates post about their lifestyle and what they like. Zappos, an online clothing and shoe retailer, also uses social media to conduct background checks by reviewing a candidate’s likes and lifestyle.

Conclusion

The use of social media in human resource management plays a vital role in enhancing the efficiency of the hiring process by reducing the time taken to select a candidate. Social media also plays a vital role in improving employee monitoring by helping an organization track what an employee is doing within and outside the organization. However, human resource managers must be prepared to deal with the challenges arising from using social media, such as legal and privacy issues. Human resource managers must also acknowledge that the information a candidate shares on their social media platform may be false and unreliable in making a hiring decision. Therefore, human resource managers must use social media screening alongside other employee screening methods to ensure their decisions are based on valid information and avoid legal issues such as discrimination cases.

 References

Davenport, T. H. (2012). Case study: Social media engages employees. FT.Com, Retrieved from the Trident Online Library.

The American Law Journal. (2013, January 2013). Facebook, Blogs & The Boss: The Intersection of Social Media & the Workplace. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/PRrJ9eINYZI.

Wild About Trial. (2015, September 11). Legal Smart with Alison Triessl—Social Media & Employment. [Video].YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d26eEzr5KuI.

Wilkie, D., & Wright, A. (2014). Balance risks of screening social media activity. HR Magazine, 59(5), 14. Retrieved from ProQuest in the Trident Online Library.

Wright, A. Nov., 2014). How Facebook recruits. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/technology/articles/pages/how-facebook-

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Module 2 – Case
SOCIAL MEDIA AND HR; BEHAVIORAL ANCHORED RATING SCALES; SIMULATION TRAINING
Case Assignment
After reading the required materials on social media found on the Background page for this module and your own library research, prepare a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following:

Discuss the influence social media has (or could have) on HRM success.

Exploring the Impact of Social Media on HRM Success-Challenges and Opportunities in Employee Evaluation

What are the challenges of HRM professionals using social media to learn about current and potential employees?

Wright’s article talks about how Facebook recruits. Bring in three other real-life private-sector employers (by name from your readings/research) and discuss their approaches to social media in the HRM context.

Use at least 5 sources from the Trident library.

Assignment Expectations
Demonstrate critical thinking and analysis of the relevant issues and HRM actions, drawing on your background reading and research.

Information Literacy: Evaluate resources and select only library/Web-based resources that provide reliable, substantiated information.

Give authors credit for their work. Cite sources of borrowed information in the body of your text as footnotes or numbered end notes, or use APA style of referencing.

Prepare a paper that is professionally presented (including a cover page, a list of references, headings/subheadings, and a strong introduction and conclusion). Proofread carefully for grammar, spelling, and word usage errors.