Social Recruitment in HRM A Theoretical Approach and Empirical Analysis

Over the past 20 years, we have seen amazing advancements in information and communications technology. From the advent of the Internet to social media and mobile technology, the ways in which we communicate and collaborate with others will never be the same. Today’s levels of connectivity mean that we are no longer restricted by time or location in our communications but can instead interact with others from across the globe from anywhere and at any time of day or night. Our social networks have grown exponentially and the shape of the working day has been revolutionized as we can now work (and play) from home, or while on the move. As such, the development of these new communication channels within the digital era has affected virtually everyone regardless of location, age, or social status. Along with these transitions have come equally dramatic changes to the ways that we attract and recruit new employees into organizations. Recruiters are faced with the need to engage with a workforce that now communicates electronically, is used to having access to large amounts of information at their fingertips and to receiving immediate feedback. Organizations are faced with a new generation of potential employees who not only use different modes of communication and interaction, but also have different expectations of how they want to build relationships with potential employers. Against this backdrop we have seen recruiters forced to develop online resources and to interact with both active and passive job seekers via social media. It is for these reasons that I am very pleased to launch the series “The Changing Context of Managing People” with a book that focuses on social recruiting. The aim of the book series is to examine the ways in which the context in which we are all working and living is changing and how this affects human resource management and the workforce. As series editor, I wanted to develop a series that would help those of us who undertake research, teach or work in human resource management keep up vii with how these changes might affect the ways in which we manage people. This text fits squarely into this theme and provides us with an exciting analysis of how new modes of communication are affecting the