The only constant in today’s world of management is change but however the things that have not changed in Human Resources is ‘Human capital’. It still remains the most strategic asset of the company and HR’s responsibility is to ensure that the organization is the Employer of Choice. But with the evolution of technologies such as Web 2.0, a unique and new platform to practice these constraints with assurance has been created. In this post, we will discuss the impact of Web 2.0 on Human Resource practices.
The FREE Factor
The most significant thing about Web 2.0 is that it is free. Unlike yesteryears, when you needed to pay to create a web site, Web 2.0 works on the concept of free utilization of this powerful resource. Now anyone who has access to Internet can create a blog or website or open an account for free. This has helped to create a powerful and unified sharing space where one can interact with other and share his own views too.
Human Resources
- Latest happenings in HR: There are about a hundred good HR sites from where one can know more about HR policies and processes. One can easily discuss and share their HR knowledge. The recommended ones are http://www.citehr.com and http://www.hrguru.com
- Know your employees better: Most Gen Y employees create their profiles on social networking sites. By adding them to your network, one can know more about them, their activities and their latent talents which are not visible otherwise.
- SaaS: This is the acronym for Software as a Service. SaaS is a software model where the purchaser does not purchase or own the software; they just use it as and when required. SaaS replaces the traditional ERP approach where organizations used to purchase software, hardware and then hire the consultants to customize it according to their needs. Many organizations purchased software but never used them due to lack of knowledge and consequent hesitation. Some benefits of SaaS approach on traditional approach are:-
· Highly Affordable: SaaS applications are comparatively cheaper than heavy ERP systems like SAP, Oracle etc.
· Global HR practices
· Available Anywhere Anytime
· No Software Installation needed
· No IT Problems
· Immediate Installation
· Constant Updates
· Customization Available
- It gives company an interactive tool to strike relationship with candidates and increase visibility of the company on the labor market.
- Recruitment: This branch of Human Resource management is emerged as the main beneficiary with the development of Web 2.0. According to Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (RCSA) about 38% of recruiters were using the social networking sites before the Web 2.0 revolution started (2007). Since then recruiting has become more targeted at specific groups and thus, more efficient. It should become common practice that recruiters take advantage of various networking sites (LinkedIn, Goldenline, Facebook, Twitter) while searching for suitable candidates. Also, before inviting the candidate recruiters look them up in Google and the external social networks to obtain additional information about their activity outside workplace. These portals provide recruiters with a range of useful information about the candidate, from education, employment history, achievements and the communities they are in. In this way they know exactly whom to invite for the interview and if he/she is a potential match.
- Career Blogs: Many career-oriented candidates also set up their professional blogs in which they describe their career path, give links to their own publications and the articles they’ve read. Blogs contain downloadable CVs and the recommendations from the former employers. This solution also facilitates the selection process and makes the recruiters’ lives easier.
- Communication with the employees: Some companies focus more on the interaction with candidates and set up groups on different portals (e.g. Facebook) which allow them to actively communicate with their potential employees by answering queries that they have posted. The employees also have the ability to research the potential workplace. Bearing this in mind, many companies focus on presenting the human side of the organization and provide pictures, video-testimonials and internal blogs which give the overview of the real company culture. The emergence of company blog has also created a powerful communications channel. This is where the company and prospective employees can freely exchange opinions and get to know each other better.
- Other miscellaneous advantages:
· Wiki combined with intranet which serve as a knowledge exchange platform (also reduce the time spent at training and acquiring knowledge, lower training costs)
· Virtual universities and e-learning platforms
· Internal and external blogs (building positive reputation, quicker spread of information, developing the feeling of belonging and commitment)
· RSS feeds and social bookmarking to collect and share information
· Internal employee forums (knowledge share, smooth information exchange)
· Communities on social network websites which enable content adding and commenting the input of colleagues
· YouTube channels for uploading recruitment videos and job podcasts
· Twitter for questions and updates
· Online contact forms through which the employees can send their ideas on what changes should be introduced to improve company performance
· Online evaluation forms (enables 360 degree evaluation and feedback system)
http://blog.goyello.com/2009/06/05/how-web-20-influences-hr-20-trends/#
http://www.empxtrack.com/blog/07/web-2-and-saas-for-human-resource-managers-and-hr/
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