How I irritated, scared and inspired the Australian recruitment glitterati…

In my last blog post I listed 25 things I said at the RCSA Conference that apparently inspired, concerned and irritated the audience in equal part. Read about those in Part 1. This week we tackle 26 through 50. I hope you enjoy Part 2 of the summary of my RCSA presentation.

26. Actually, the main game in social recruiting is about employer branding.

27. A great social recruiting strategy gives passive (non-ignited!) candidates a peek at your corporate DNA.

28. Social Media can build ‘corporate brand’, but it can also build ‘personal brand’. And by doing this, you build a talent community that is your “river of gold” for the future.

29. The future of recruitment depends very much on the ability of you, and your company, to build a brand and a community that resonates with your target talent market, and encourages them to engage with you.

30. Your social media strategy has to be driven from the top. And I mean the top. If your CEO is not active and smart on social media, you should change jobs.

31. Twitter is key. It drives traffic to all our social media platforms.

32. The amplification is enormous. The reach is something a job board or expensive PR campaign could only dream about. And the effect is instantaneous. Google analytics in real time tells us we can drive people to what we want them to look at, almost at will.

33. What you really want is a ‘social organisation’ not a ‘social plan’ run only by marketing.

34. ‘Marketing’ does not own ‘social’, just as accounting does not own ‘cash flow’. The CEO owns both. Or should, although it rarely is the case.

35. Despite all this, surprisingly maybe, only 30-40% of Firebrand staff have embraced ‘social’ themselves. We make it easy for them, but we don’t force anybody. It disappoints me a little, I have to say.

36. Social Media is not a ‘set and forget’ branding strategy. It’s not like paying for a billboard or a print ad, and then it’s ‘job done’.

37. Social Media involves engagement, and it’s very hard work. 39% of my tweets are REPLIES to what other people have tweeted to me.

38. Integration of your social media platforms drives amplification of your message. And when it’s working it’s mega-cool.

39. At Firebrand the recruiters are at the centre of our social media strategy. It’s the recruiter who is the social media rock-star at Firebrand (if they want to be).

40. The Firebrand website is social. Each recruiter has a personal URL. We encourage talent and clients to engage with a person not a number. We make it easy for people to talk to us the way they want to. So it’s not all about the technology. Not by a long way.

41. Weave social into everything you do.

42. We have reduced our Job Board spend at Firebrand by 90% since 2008.

43. Of the last 25 hires at Firebrand (of our own staff), 14 can be identified as having come via social media first.

44. Of course LinkedIn is important; we use it all the time. But, recruiters, hear this, and hear it good, LinkedIn is NOT your friend. LinkedIn want to replace third party recruiters.

45. We recruiters must be very articulate in explaining to clients that LinkedIn is just one channel. It is not the answer, and often it is not effective.

46. It annoys me hugely when recruiters defend LinkedIn. They promote it publicly. How thick are they? You do not want to bite the hand that feeds you, but nor do you kiss the hand that stabs you.

47. Social Media is not a solution. It’s a tool. Another channel. It’s faster. More immediate. Different. But “old school” recruiting skills are still critical.

48. Social Media promotes, identifies, engages and snares. So the technology is critical. But in the end it’s still about human interaction and influencing skills.

49. You want to know what the ROI on social recruiting is? Let me help you with that. The ROI on Social Media is that your business will still exist in 5 years.

50. Online, via social is where the seduction takes place… but offline is still where the consummation happens.

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Come on guys and gals. Up to 10,000 of you read this blog every week, and many thousands subscribe, but The Savage Truth Facebook page has a paltry 1,600 ‘Likes’. Jump on board The Savage Truth Facebook Page for real time comments, insights, rants and jokes about the wonderful world of recruitment.

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  • Posted by Greg Savage
  • On October 2, 2012
  • 13 Comments
Tags: RCSA, recruitment

13 Comments

Bob Walker
Good post but disagree to a certain extent re LinkedIn. Li is only as good as the person using it otherwise it simply becomes a list of names. It is another candidate stream and, to me, a very strong BD tool. As for LI putting us replacing us? I remember being told back in the around 2000 that Monster would put us all out of business. It didn't. 50 is a great summary point. Thanks!
    Greg Savage
    Hi Bob I agree LI will not replace us. But thats not what i am saying. In the LIN prospectus for their IPO they actually state that they see themselves as an alternative to third party recruiters.(ie US). So it IS their goal. What I am suggesting is simply lets not help them do that ! Cheers Greg
George
The last point is GOLD - as with everything, when you want to get down and get dirty you have to be face to face - how you get there another matter but you can't hide forever. I wonder how many web based dating sites are littered with stories of shattered expectations when the final face to face occurs? I suspect alot of new age recruiters will be the cause of their own demise in the same way.
Bob Walker
Apologies. Second paragraph should read As for LI replacing us? I remember being told back in the around 2000 that Monster would put us all out of business. It didn’t.
Julia Briggs
Hmm - LI is stabbing recruiters? Perhaps, just perhaps, the end is nigh? And a helluva lot of recruiters and recruitment firms deserve to be extinct. Truly appalling greedy, thoughtless, unprofessional behaviours are the norm. Have you seen the number of blogs by recruiters that bang on about how recruiters should behave - which comes down to a normal human being that treats other people with courtesy because 'it makes business sense'? Things change - Monster didn't do it, but perhaps LI and increasing numbers of internal recruiters will. As you said, social media is about employer brand. So is who you hire as a third party to manage your recruitment. Perhaps this is the beginning of a more professional industry.
Steve Bulman
If a recruiter can show a true "dashboard approach" to their client and how it will benefit their search, they will continue to be successful. The methods of research, first approach, online sourcing, social and candidate engagement and management are no longer dark arts that only great headhunters know. Clients will want to see that the recruiter uses every medium to promote their brand and source their talent. Greg's comment about some of his recruiters not using social amuses me given he is so active! Short answer, if you cannot show the client that you can do more than an internal recruiter there is no value. LinkedIn alone will not kill this industry but short sighted methods will.
David Reid
100% on the money Greg !! Your points on LI are very relevant. If you want to get ahead of the game then you need to really think about your strategy beyond Linkedin.
Michael Round
Hi Greg, I would disagree with #30 that you should leave an organisation if the CEO is not active and smart on Social Media. Shouldn't employees see this as an opportunity to engage with the head of their company and help them develop? Manage/educate up?
    Greg Savage
    Sure Michael you are right. Bit of a "sound bite" there. Exaggerated for effect. There are two main points I am trying to make. A great social media strategy comes from the top and the CEO should be active, but you are right, no need to jump ship until all avenues exhausted. best Greg
Mike Larsen
Hi Greg, I completely agree with #26 that the main game in social media is employer branding, and Gen Y naturally expects to be able to communicate this way while finding a new job. Not surprisingly, social media is generally not supported by the 'closed ecosystem' model of traditional job boards which necessitates keeping candidates on their own site. No doubt this is part of the reason the major boards in Europe and North America are struggling. More evolution to come here I'd guess. Mike
Accounting and Finance Jobs in London
Been waiting for part two. Agree with everything you've said, especially the last one. Great post. Thanks.
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Freelancing is a great way to be productive. i have tried to be a freelance writer and i must say that the experience is really great. Even though it was my first time to work as a freelance i really learned a lot and i very much willing to learn more so that i could be successful in this profession. thank you so much for the tips that you have shared.
Software Engineer Sarah
I've been waiting for this part. I'm agree with you. I've personal experience in what you've said in #31. Yes, Twitter is key. I use Twitter for traffic generation to my blogs and it works like butter.

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