To find that rare gem, more and more companies are exchanging public job offers for personal social networks. This collaboration between human resources and employees even has a name: collaborative recruitment.
It must be said that asking existing employees for references has many benefits for employers. Among these are reliability and speed. So existing employees become prime headhunters. According to the Undercover Recruiter website, the average employee has about 150 contacts in his personal network. For a company with 100 employees, its employees’ reference network therefore includes over 15,000 potential candidates!
The importance of social media
Of course, thousands now use the LinkedIn social media for professionals for recruiting of talent. In Quebec alone, 1.8 million people from over 150 industries display their profile on this network.
But it is important not to underestimate public social media, such as Facebook, that employees can use to post jobs or recruit acquaintances. “I personally got two very interesting jobs through my personal network on Facebook,” says Matthieu, who works in the publishing field. On the job in turn, the new manager also referred knowledge through his personal network. Internal referencing is therefore a first rate tool for employers and in the era of social media everything can happen very quickly.
Proven benefits
In addition to the speed of the process, relying on internal references provides statistically better reliability, since the employee wants to make a good impression and not break the bond of trust. This limits the chances of a failed recruitment.
In addition, letting current employees participate in the recruitment process improves their engagement within the company. By investing in its future, employees are rewarded. This also bonds the team, while helping integration of the newcomers. “I am proud to be able to contribute to my team, especially when I see that the application of one of my contacts has been accepted,” Matthieu confirms.
Employers are increasingly wanting to create a real community, both for the company’s image and for life at work. For this, human capital is fundamental!