HR practioners and Web 2.0

I've just come across a research report that looks at whether HR professionals have grasped opportunities afforded by Web 2.0 technologies, such as social networking forums.

For more details see Conversations at your fingertips by CHA.

A HR practioner guide to social media

If you are HR practitioner in the UK (perhaps further afield too) and want to know what is happening in the field of HR and social media, Web 2.0, etc. then read on...

Social media sites continue to soar in popularity and this is changing the way we communicate.

You can now engage with us on all the main social networking sites as well as on our home-grown and highly valued community discussion boards.

Read on for details of where to find us and how to join in.

For more details click here.

Web 2.0: The debate goes on...

Yet another article appeared the other day on Management-Issues about the use and value of Web 2.0 communication technologies in the workplace.

A taster...

As latest research suggests managers are increasingly using Web 2.0 technology such as podcasts, Wikis and social networks to communicate internally with their workers, it has to be asked – are these tools, for now considered cutting edge, really going to change the world or will they just end up, much like email, as yet another way of avoiding face-to-face contact?

No definitive answer is given, but the article (based on a research report that doesn't appear to be online) certainly gives the impression that Web 2.0 is set to be a force in workplace, but perhaps far from being used in manner that suits senior managers.

See Hiding behind a wall of chat (Nic Paton) for more details.

Organisational twittering

According to a recent article in the CIPD's People Management magazine, employer organisations are increasingly getting into the idea that recent Web 2.0 developments, such as Twitter, can bring benefits for organisations.

However, as usual, not without an examination of the potential and pitfalls of such mediums of communication.

A quick summary of the benefits:

- keep HR users up to date with practice points and legal developments
- reduces traffic on company email systems
- avoid long-distance calls

A quick summary of the 'challenges':

- inappropriate comments
- criticism
- monitoring use
- headaches with privacy and data protection laws
- compliance with confidentiality, electronic security and anti-harassment procedures
- interference with 'employee engagement'
- scope for bullying and harassment

Of further note in the article is the discussion of case law to emerge from employee 'misuse' of such methods of communication in relation to employment - details:

Cases involving social networking sites so far include Hays Specialist Recruitment (Holdings) Ltd v Ions (2008 EWCH 745 HC), where a former employee copied confidential business contacts to his LinkedIn account, and PennWell Publishing (UK) Ltd v Ornstein (2007 EWHC 1570 QB), which examined who had the right to contacts made during the course of employment.

For more details see Why only twits would ignore the potential (and pitfalls) of Twitter by Julie Gorham (this article may not be available to non-subscriber two weeks after publication).

Web 2.0 and HRM

I think I've done a few posts with this title before.

It probably won't be the last by the recent level of attention given to Web 2.0 by HR practitioners - e.g. see recent post.

The latest article for me to come across is really entering into the debate about whether HR should 'embrace' Web 2.0 or not.

The result is a cautious thumbs up.

See Web 2.0 and HR: Ignorance is not bliss (HR Zone - may require registration) for more details.

Web 2.0 and HR management

I don't think this is the first post I have given the title of "Web 2.0 and HR"!!

This post relates to an article I came across the other day.

It's called HRTechnology: 'Mavens' and 'Connectors' by Wesley Wu of HR Executive Online.

I quite like the idea of using Web 2.0 in organisations for what Wu calls "tagging knowledge" (scroll down page to see).

This extract explains how tagging knowledge could work:

As employees find resources within the network, they also have the opportunity to tag them.

They may do this in employee blogs, entries on internal wikis, or participation in the network.

As employees in the network create blogs or post changes to an enterprise wiki, those entries can also be tagged to identify their content.

Network interactions in the form of blog comments and traffic to the specific Web page provide a measure through which popularity, insightfulness and expertise can be inferred.

A good article for any forward-thinking HR practitioner!

Web 2.0 and HRM

The CIPD has just published a discussion paper on the subject of Web 2.0 and human resource management.

The paper is entitled - Web 2.0 and HR (by Graeme Martin, Martin Reddington and Mary Beth Kneafsey).

The basis for the paper is that such technologies appear to have created 'more heat than light', mainly because Web 2.0 in organizations has until now been explored mainly through descriptive accounts, and that there has been little analysis of what is actually going on inside many organizations.

The conclusion from the initial report suggests what is required now is:

- An understanding of the extent that Web 2.0 represents a new idea. Is it different?

- The development of a clear vocabulary and terminology

- A serious consideration of the potential for and drawbacks of the use of Web 2.0 in today’s organisations.

A more detailed report is expected later in the year.

This is are I am also interested in - see my questionnaire on Web 2.0 and work.

HR professionals take a fresh look at Web 2.0

Well, so it is claimed in an article released by Personnel Today, yesterday.

According to the article Using Web 2.0 technologies: talking about my second generation, it's time for HR professionals to take a fresh look at Web 2.0, and how it can help them tap into new talent pools, encourage staff to collaborate, and build their employee brand.

HR professionals, apparently, can exploit Web 2.0 communication technology in the following ways:

- new recruits can informally keep it touch with the recruitment team through Facebook
- Second Life can be used as a forum for career fairs
- employees can access information about job functions, competencies and skills gaps through Second Life too
- blogs and wikis provide an invaluable medium for the HR department to publish information to employees and allow them to respond to it
- HR networks can expand significantly with the help of blogs

Read my last posting if you are feeling just that little bit cynical of the above.

Should HR 'embrace' social networking?

This is the matter contemplated by James Brockett of People Management magazine, or more specifically: "Websites such as Facebook are growing at a rapid rate. So should HR resist the revolution… or join it?

The article looks at contrasting case studies - i.e. companies that are "enthusiastically joining in" and companies that believe checking out potential and current employees is akin to "going into somebody’s house and searching through their cupboards”.

The article goes off at bit of a tangent - considering whether employees should be allowed to access social networking sites on work time (people have computers at home!) - but is certainly worth a read if you are a student of or practitioner in HRM.

Personally, I believe social networking sites should be ruled out for recruitment purposes unless the applicant either gives consent to its consideration, or actively draws the attention of employers to it.

Just because something is technically available does not necessarily mean publicness.

Even if you disagree with this point it would still be fair to say that researching cyberspace activity, like all social activity, should involve being courteous, civil, and respectful of the privacy and dignity of the people you are researching.

The article is called Face to face with social networking and should be available without subscription for around a month after the date on this post.

Web 2.0 and human resource management

Broadly speaking, I wouldn't equate the practice of HRM with the latest technological developments.

If you consume popular literature it is often apparent that the HR function is as much about justifying its existence in the 'lean' or 'value-added' organization that emerged in the early 1980s, than as a trail blazer.

However, Rob Lewis, writing for HR Zone, suggests a few HR practitioner pioneers have seen the value of Web 2.0 (the Internet has become more community-based and collaborative, allowing people to consume on their own terms) and are slowly putting such technology to work in their organizations.

For instance, City of Edinburgh Council has set up 'an HR self-service centre where employers can do a number of transactions on-line with the centre or with their managers'.

More mundane enquiries such as pay enquiries, expenses claims, annual and special leave authorisations, and a training course register, will soon be achievable by employees over the Internet.

I'm sceptical of the extent to which Web 2.0 technology used by corporations can be compared to use of the same technology by individuals carving out an existence or identity in Cyberspace, but evidence from the article seems to point towards a new era of HRM and evolving Internet application.

For more details see The final frontier? Web 2.0 and HR (may require registration).

CIPD starts podcasting

The CIPD has recently started podcasting about a range of HRM-related subjects.

The subjects they have created podcasts about include managing change and leadership.

A further podcast is due in February that looks at talent management.

I listened to them on the way home and found them quite useful and insightful.

Aspiring HR/personnel professionals should certainly consider downloading them.

The podcasts can be downloaded here.