Businesses ignore Web 2.0 employment potential

12/06/2008

Businesses are failing to recognise web 2.0 sites as a potential way of sourcing people with the right skills, a report has found.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), just 20% of organisations use web 2.0 sites to attract or recruit employees, while on 8% are planning to start using the technology in the next 12 months.

Yet, almost 60% of the survey’s respondents said they believe social networking sites such as Facebook or Bebo are useful for engaging potential job seekers, while more than half said they shed light on how they are perceived in the marketplace.

However, more than 60% said the reason they do not use social networking sites is because of concerns over damaging comments about their organisation could be posted.

Deborah Fernon, organisation and resourcing adviser at CIPD, said if organisations do use Web 2.0, it is important not to use it to vet potential candidates.

“In the quest to find the right person for a job, social networking sites could be at best irrelevant and at worst misleading,” she said.

“Good practice requires that every candidate is treated equally, which means all candidates would have to have similar profiles before information is used, and this poses challenges as not everyone has a social networking profile.

She added that social networking could help potential employees learn more about the job.

“Web 2.0 technology provides an opportunity to bring the employer brand to life and create experiences online that allow potential employees to experience what it is like to work within the organisation.

“Using technology like Facebook or Second Life, an employer brand can have a global impact,” she said.