September 2015 – Renée Robson

Are you hearing this a lot?: “future of work…blah blah blah…. millennial… blah… technological shift”?

Yes yes, it is true, it’s real, and we do need to prepare for change in the world of work. But something I’ve noticed is that we aren’t so great at preparing for is what’s just around the corner.

No I’m not talking about Generation Z – I’m talking about the critical role of social and new media in how we manage our employment brand.

You’re reading this – so I know you can use LinkedIn, Google… maybe even Twitter? I love social media for professional development (and those that know me hear me wax lyrical about it all. the. time.) – but social media for PD is an option for business folk. You might use it, you might not, but it won’t really impact on your ability to do your job (yet).

Something that is right around the corner (and already here if you’re in a big market like the U.S.) – the proliferation of employer review websites and apps. The potential impact on employment brand from social and new media is huge.

You might have heard of some of these review and information sharing platforms: Glassdoor, Vault & JobAdvisor, and apps like Whisper and Canary. If you haven’t, you will.

The likelihood of your organisation getting reviewed or spoken about on one of these platforms in the next year? Growing exponentially.

The likelihood of most HR professionals and business owners knowing how to navigate this tricky topic? Not great.

These sites are to the world of work what TripAdvisor is to the travel industry: an incredible opportunity, but a force to be reckoned with. Just one negative review might dictate 100% of your organisation’s rating on such a platform.

So wait… what?

The platforms I’m speaking about are already common in the USA… and due to the global nature of technology and it’s impact on trends in the workplace it won’t be long until your CEO or investors are asking you why weren’t you on top of this?!

A bit of a rundown on the kinds of platforms I’m referring to:

Glassdoor
One of the most well-known of these sites, Glassdoor is a US-based site where employees (and former employees) anonymously review companies and their management and can post salary data. Glassdoor includes options for employers to pay for an enhanced profile.

Vault
Vault is all about ranking and reviewing companies, internships and schools. With a wider scope than Glassdoor it seems to be more focused on the graduate market.

JobAdvisor
This Australian based site is similar to Glassdoor (except I like the interface better) and has a few more Australian employers listed – similar to Glassdoor & Vault it uses a ratings system and gives you information from individual reviewers based on ‘pros’ and ‘cons’.

Whisper
Whisper wasn’t originally billed as a site to review employers – but it is increasingly being used in reference to user’s jobs, the base concept being it is an anonymous secret sharer where users post their secrets online. It is possible for workplaces to feel the heat from this app (as there’s nothing stopping users naming their workplace in their confessions).

Canary
Billed as ‘anonymous company chatter’ this app allows users to ‘share insider news, thoughts and rumours with your co-workers’. Aside from the potential intellectual property and privacy concerns Canary is designed to facilitate gossip, which, when it’s anonymous, is potentially an HR (and PR) nightmare.

Don’t panic:

Just start by getting familiar with these platforms, as well as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook along with any other collaboration systems your organisation uses if you aren’t already comfortable with them.
Conversations are going to happen, disgruntled employees are going to post damaging things online. We can write all the policies and procedures we want, but the idea of completely mitigating the risk in this space? Impossible.

What do I need to do?

Get familiar with these platforms yourself.
Asses whether your organisation is already being talked about.
Get out ahead: encourage your star staff to engage in this space – next to 20 stand out reviews, 1 negative review won’t look so bad. But if potential employees, stakeholders or customers just see the 1 negative one? Not good.

Repost from LinkedIn article published 6 September 2015

Wow!
What an incredible week at the 2015 AHRI National Convention – three days of non-stop learning, collaborating, meeting new people, hearing new ideas and being challenged on what is happening in the world of HR and how we need to rise to respond to it. A strong theme that came through many sessions was the changing world of work – due to globalisation, technological shifts and generational changes – and how the business world, and HR professionals in particular, are, and need to, respond.
A real highlight for me was Julia Gillard who, on top of having a great tale of becoming a laundry expert at school due to her ‘electives’, had an incredibly interesting perspective on the changing world of work and HR’s great opportunity in adapting to the new environment. The global rise of the Asian economies and the massive technological disruptors are becoming an increasingly important driver in the world of work. Julia challenged the attendees as HR professionals to take advantage of the opportunities and changes being presented to us and lead the way in how Australia responds to this change. Our economy is going to have to change in response to traditional sources of employment changing, and we have an excellent opportunity to help ensure that business is ready to adapt.

Dave Ulrich was an absolute star – I can see why he has been named as the #1 Management Educator & Guru by Business Week (along with a host of other awards and recognition). The message of relationships being much more important than structure hit home for many in the audience (it resulted in a flurry of tweets).

Speaking of tweeting – social media interactions at the convention were huge. A massive number of attendees were tweeting, sharing and collaborating online – being able to see what was happening in other sessions was great. There is also an incredibly nerdy part of me that loves it when a speaker I idolise retweets or responds to something I’ve shared online. Given the focus on the changing world of work, this was proof that HR professionals are leading the way with engaging online, expanding their personal learning networks and seeing the possibilities of interacting with employees and future employees was fantastic. Many conversations were had with both people I’d met online and those curious about the tweeting. Due to Twitter (and spotting the Soceroos account giving a happy birthday shout out to Ange Postecoglou) we managed to arrange Richard Morecroft lead the hall in singing Happy Birthday to Ange for his 50th. What a legend for turning up to give a keynote!

A summary article cannot be written without reference to my personal highlight of the Expo which was HROnboard’s genius decision to bring in Guide Dogs Victoria ambassadors Ariel and Sparky on Thursday. Many a photograph was taken with the honorary HR pros, who seemed more interested in cuddling attendees than engaging in strategic discussions.

Many speakers were really active on social media which was fantastic (loved Jon Ingram’s selfie with the crowd after the New HR session). I’m really interested to see how we increase the opportunities for this at next year’s #AHRINC to encourage more HR professionals onto social media and collaborative tools. It is going to become more and more critical for HR professionals to lead the way in engaging with employees (and potential employees) through social media, organisations are looking to us for leadership in this space and we need to take the bull by the horns and own our brand.
I attended the AHRI National Convention as a guest blogger. The post was originally published on the Official AHRI National Convention Blog.

Month: September 2015

ARHI National Convention Wrap Up