Using Social Media for Recruitment: Best Practices
A key part of recruitment is understanding where your potential candidates go to find jobs and engage in professional networking. You need to ensure that you are populating the right channels with information on your company and jobs to catch the attention of job seekers.
With so many social platforms available, it can be tempting to take a blanket approach and try to cover everything from LinkedIn to Instagram. However, your recruitment efforts will be much more effective if they are well-targeted based on the specific roles you are trying to fill.
Target the correct platforms
Where you choose to post your job should be determined by where you’re most likely to find your ideal candidate. If you’re looking for a sales professional, LinkedIn can be an excellent source of candidates. However, if you’re looking for a graphic designer or another type of creative professional, you may have better luck using Instagram.
Once you have decided on your platforms, you will also need to customize your approach. If you’re using LinkedIn, you may want to consider joining specific groups whereas, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram you’ll want to use hashtags to bring attention to your message.
Invest in your social presence
Yes, your number one goal is to find great candidates for your open positions, but you should also use your social channels to build awareness and engagement. Social media presents a great opportunity for you to engage in groups and conversations that can catch the attention of passive job seekers. Using your platforms to provide helpful resources, answer questions, and share relevant news will make sure you’re top of mind with all of the talented individuals that are a part of the same channels and groups. An active social media presence can cultivate a pool of talent to draw upon and can also be an excellent source of candidate referrals.
Measure your success
If you’re investing time in your social presence as a recruitment tool, you’ll want to know whether you’re getting a return. There are some basic KPIs that you can use to measure the effectiveness of your social media recruitment:
1) Traffic to your careers page or job application pages: How many people are finding their way to your careers page or job postings from your social media account? You want to reach people who are interested in learning more about your company and applying to your jobs. Understanding which social channels are driving this traffic lets you focus on the ones that are most effective.
2) Number of conversions: How many people are responding to your social posts about jobs and clicking through to complete applications? This number can tell you which channels are most effective at reaching job seekers who are actively in the market for new roles.
3) Amount of engagement: Keep track of how many likes, comments, and shares you’re seeing in response to your posts. With these metrics, you can see what type of posts are most interesting to your audience. You may find that your network loves to engage with posts about industry news, but that posts about jobs are falling flat.
An effective social media recruitment strategy starts with an understanding of your target candidate profile and your social channels. It’s important to always create a plan that is tailored to your target candidates, be an active participant on your chosen platforms, and measure success.
Sincron HR Recruitment Module – World Class Social Media Management for HR & Communications Departments
Sincron HR offers all clients purchasing our recruitment module (applicant tracking system | ATS) the option of including world-class social media management. Your HR and communication departments will have marketing agency-level capabilities to post to multiple channels (FB, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.), integrate video and photos, monitor traffic and engagement, and have access to content libraries.
- The platform allows organizations to integrate their strategic planning objectives and KPIs into performance management
- Sincron HR configures the platform to ensure organizations meet or exceed industry/accreditation standards
- The new HR Essentials platform is now available for just $2/month per employee
- Training and tech support (call, text, video library, etc.) is included
To learn more Contact Us Today!
Technology: Fear of Change
Technology, fear and change are not new words. But why do some people, or organizations, struggle to adapt to technological advancements? This article will try to break down some core considerations for CEOs and HR professionals alike.
Humans adapt in different ways, at a different pace, and amongst a myriad of variables. These are influenced by generational differences, cultural upbringing, and other life experiences. Sincron consultants recognize that user adoption rates to new technology are influenced by these variables. We also recognize that the psyche of social services professionals is to provide as much direct time with clients as possible; efficiency to administrative tasks can help increase this direct service delivery time.
Organizations move at a pace. This pace is set by many variables over time, yet the capacity for organizational change can often be metered by the culture of its team. Are decisions made by consensus? Is feedback collected and shared with new employees? Is the board involved operationally? Some may say the old ways are the best as social services organizations often face issues with complacency due to insufficient resources. Sincron HR can help solve this problem. Consultants at Sincron help organizations engage in planning and analyzing these topics and support change management with onboarding technology.
Executive, CEO, or board vision can be driven by innovation, sectoral requirements, or funding parameters. But ultimately the CEO with their designated authority is responsible for setting a plan to execute. We provide significant support to CEOs to take part of the burden off their shoulders. When implementing new technology, our integrated approach assesses risk, defines a plan to reach CEO expectations, and delivers in a way that reduces the stress of change.
The experience of onboarding technology is daunting in the best of situations. Most likely, internal staff or active external consultants do not have the tools and skills to properly set up a systems approach for onboarding technology. This is where Sincron HR helps you. Our subject matter HR and Tech consultants are actively working with Social Services Sector clients both in providing traditional HR consulting services (i.e.: policies, HR restructuring) but also can onboard technology that FITS your organizational goals. Our 1:1 support means we are here to help with the challenges of onboarding new systems for success.
Consider us your HR Specialists. Technology and Sincron HR software come into play when your systems are organized. We can help you do both. Technology and change can be good things. Let us take the stress out of the process. Customer Support is our Mission.
Parents for Community Living (Waterloo, Ontario Canada)
THE AGENCY THAT COULD The story of Parents For Community Living began over 30 years ago when a handful of visionary parents started a little organization called Parents for Community Living (PCL). The hero’s in our story are the dedicated employees who work at the agency today – most of whom are Direct Support Providers (DSP). With their help we offer meaningful services and supports to over 160 children & adults with exceptional abilities in the Region of Waterloo.
The Role of a Direct Support Provider at Parents for Community Living has many rewards including the privilege of playing an instrumental role in some very special people’s lives. DSP’s get a front row seat as they help our friends achieve independence, be part of the community and reach their goals. But as any Direct Support Professional knows, the job can also be very hard at times with risks of burnout. With this top of mind, PCL made it a priority to ensure that staff feel appreciated, listened to and supported.
Surveys were sent out to all Direct Support Professionals at PCL focusing on employee engagement, satisfaction and recognition. Valuable information was collected about the individuals who work for the organization including their interests, how they wanted to receive communications and how they would like to be recognized. It was also clear from the surveys that stress and mental health were of concern for a many of their staff.
With all this information in hand and guided by PCL’s core values and competencies, a small group of PCL employees made plans to address these concerns. Several different programs were created or enhanced to help focus on specific concerns and to engage as many people in the organization as possible.
PCL’s Health and Wellness in the Workplace Program is run by a small but mighty committee. In 2019 PCL created a customized wellness calendar featuring a new health focus and challenge each month. Challenges were created for both staff and the individuals supported to do together. PCL held a sleep challenge, spent the month playing mindfulness bingo, did a walking challenge, chili cooking challenge, a no junk food challenge and held Zumba classes. Prizes were awarded on a monthly basis to both PCL staff and individuals supported.
The Not Myself Today Program – “It’s ok, not to be ok”. PCL committed to promoting a mentally safe and healthy environment for their employees to work in. They partnered with the CMHA and the Not Myself Today Program to help reduce stigma and provide resources to reduce stress and anxiety in the workplace. PCL held a special launch event for the program and enjoyed a very exciting game of Family Feud! Materials and activities from the Not Myself today program were enjoyed at staff team meetings and trainings. PCL also started a new program to have a Wellness Ambassador at each home (Direct Support Professionals). The ambassadors were instrumental in promoting the program throughout the organization and ensuring that the importance of a mentally healthy workplace was not forgotten.
Leadership and Development – PCL listened when several employees shared an interest in developing leadership and professionalism skills so that they could grow in their chosen field. Together they created a Leadership from Within Training program and offered it to employees. 23 Direct Support Professionals attended and passed this training and have continued to learn and grow as mentors of the organization creating a culture of mentorship throughout.
Employee Recognition Opportunities – This past summer PCL introduced an Above and Beyond award which was peer driven. Employees sent in inspiring stories of fellow co-workers who had gone above and beyond the call of duty. PCL celebrated and recognized all the winners at a special event in the summer attended by staff, people supported and their families.
This isn’t the end of PCL’s story. There is an overwhelming need in the community for support and programs for people with exceptional abilities and there is a shortage of Direct Support Providers in the Province. Employee satisfaction and retention is going to be key to Parents for Community Living being able to continue to serve the community with excellence. We will continue to respond to the feedback we receive from employees, provide recognition, training and support as we build today’s workforce for tomorrow.
Sincron Social Responsibility
At Sincron HR Software we recognize the Social responsibility we have towards our investors and consumers who seek investments that are not just profitable but also contribute to the welfare of society and the environment. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR ) is to maximize shareholder value while providing benefits to the society.
Who Are We?
Sincron HR is in the business of caring for human resources, social capital of volunteers, essential workers, and board governors. Our mission is to provide social service organizations with tools to help decrease fragmentation, increase the effectiveness and efficiency of HR operations, as well the stress of regulatory issues. Social service organizations that we help are a broad cornucopia of community, health, education, faith, and overall social impact organizations.
Our Support
We are your software partners. Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) value is to hold your hand through every step of the change management process. This goes along with the fear, hope, and implementation of tools in a lean funding environment. This is why our CSR goal is to bring as much added value as possible to help organizations transition to paperless HR.
Accreditation
We are regulatory and accreditation experts! Whether it be employment standards, union collective agreement complexity, Worker health and safety, and CARF accreditation. Therefore, when you partner with us, you are receiving deep subject matter expertise to help you align your policies and procedures with international best practice. All clients receive free consulting services to help you streamline some of these related areas.
Education
Furthermore, staff, volunteer, and student training and development is critical for the short term on-boarding, and long term retention of competent staff. We are education experts and we give back by helping organizations design and onboard complex competency. This is based on leadership and staff development systems through an enhanced Learning Management System (LMS). We help the social services networks enhance their learning and thinking for industry education.
Change Management
As experts in change management we help you develop the best strategy for supporting your team to make change. Through our exclusive project management approach, we guide you through the steps to configure, train, implement, and optimize the use of our tools. Even after you are fully on-boarding we check in monthly to collect feedback, update the tools, and ensure your key administrators are competent in fully utilizing these tools.
More importantly, we help CEO’s implement strategic change. While our tools are not free, we minimize risk and enhance our services to you with many other free elements that cannot be bought. Subject matter expertise in all of these areas important to social servants is provided to you as part of our corporate social responsible investment with you, our partner.
Check out our currently free Work From Home Software for Social Services Sector.
Free HR Tool: Work From Home Edition for Social Services
Covid-19 has affected all of us. Organizations like yours have been busy adjusting policies and procedures for employees to work from home. We can help! Have you heard of our new Work From Home Software?
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Work From Home Software is a FREE HR tool for the social service sector during the Pandemic. Engaging your team while maintaining social distancing can be difficult. In addition, many employees may not even have access to the resources and supports needed to effectively complete their job duties. As a result, many employers freeze into inaction. Ultimately technology can help and the fear of change can be managed.
Technology is moving faster than ever and the bombardment of solutions can be confusing. Therefore, Sincron HR used change management experts that know the Social Service sector, including members of the Federation of Community Social Services of BC. Do you want to improve efficiency, keep employees safe, and ultimately change the way you do business? We can help you.
Let us break this down into core issues being faced by the Social Services sector.
STEP INTO THE DIGITAL AGE: BUT HOW?
Are you stuck at home knowing that the file cabinet in the office has everything you need? Sincron HR provides you with a digital e-file solution. In this HR software, your entire workforce records are securely managed with access to key users. The tools also help to manage expiry of credentials and recurring licenses and/or trainings. CARF accredited? No problem! The tools meet the CARF standards for notifications to staff, managers, and administrators to prevent expiry. One current customer stated that “physical connection to staff and ability to send/receive paper documents for processing” and that specifically for social services organizations, Sincron’s Free Work from Home solution provides a “reduction in time needed to process and file paper requests, ease of access to work schedules across the organization” (Nanaimo, BC).
MEMOS AND NEWSLETTERS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS, OH MY!
Emails, emails, emails. We never seem to be able to keep up! Email gets cluttered and is hard to manage the external and internal worlds of communication. Sincron HR provides a key intranet site that allows all staff, contractors, volunteers, and even non-profit Board directors to receive streamlined and curated content critical to their duties and responsibilities. According to a Nanaimo based social services agency, the Sincron tools provide an “opportunity for multiple leadership roles to access staff requests and respond instantly”. Work from Home provides pre-prepared information on Covid-19 resources to help all of your staff and related teams to keep informed.
DUE DATES, REPORTS AND NIGHTMARES?
Where are your staff? What are they doing? How can you sitting at home in lockdown help and direct your workforce to be productive? Sincron HR provides you a scalable solution for managing simple projects, schedules, and the collection of time sheets, for Time worked. The Work at Home edition gets you started so you do not lose this key data at a critical time. Stop chasing cats! A current Sincron residential services provider uses Sincron to “track staff who are getting training at all houses so they can go anywhere”. The scheduling tools provides them “the ability to track the reason for absence (i.e.: sick leave, Covid-19 isolation, employee injury, vacation etc.)” (Port Moody, BC). We can even support the transition through our paid version to move this data right into your accounting software. As us how!
I AM SICK!
Is your organization growing? Are you being asked to deliver more services but you have a tiny administrative department? Sincron HR can eliminate the need of hiring a second full time HR administrator. “Due to employees being diagnosed with Covid-19, or choosing to self-isolate, or take time off due to ‘perceived’ risk factors, such as physical symptoms or factors related to the work environment such as ‘exposure’” Sincron HR allows Pathway Community Services, a BC social Services agency to manage administrative leaves. Ultimately, the value of technology automation, machine learning and speed are at your fingertips. Using Sincron Work from Home can save your organizations thousands of dollars per month by using the advanced dashboards to monitor your team productivity, communication across projects, and collect timesheet data to efficiently pay your staff on time.
DID ANYONE SAY FREE?
All of this is available to you and your team for FREE during this pandemic. After the pandemic is over we have a nominal $1 fee per user/month to keep you connected and moving forward to develop Big Business efficiency at a Small Business price. All under one HR Platform!
Discover Sincron HR Work from Home Edition
Working from home has some definite upsides. However, working from home can create a multitude of problems for the Social Services sector. During this time, a variety of changes are expected including setting up workstations at home. This includes submitting reports, timesheets, internal/external communication, interacting with clients, and setting up remote meetings. These new circumstances ask for new measures, processes, and resources. The Sincron HR Software Work from Home package is a free tool dedicated to the Social Services sector to help organizations resolve their HR problems during the pandemic.
The Online HR Software Package for Remote Work
Sincron HR has analyzed the specific needs of the new remote work context and found ways to help Social Services Sector complete HR processes while working from home.
How does Sincron HR Work from Home edition help you?
- Allows HR personnel, employees, and managers, to connect on human resources issues, regardless of their physical location
- Meets team needs with a mixture of cloud-based HR functionalities, accessible from anywhere via the Internet
- Includes innovative self-service functions, dashboards that track team availability
- Offers a dedicated space for publishing materials such as articles, news, announcements, or libraries of procedures
- Basic scheduling and timesheets (coming April 2020)
Free Trial
In light of the current challenges faced by businesses due to Covid-19, we are offering free use of the Sincron HR Work from Home edition for social service sector. This offer is only valid until the end of the pandemic. Once the pandemic ends, organizations need only pay a small monthly fee ($1/month per employee with a $30 minimum/month) to cover the cost of maintaining the software and server.
Interested in a demo of Sincron Work From Home? Contact Us!
Working from Home: Four Helpful Hints
Covid-19 cases are unfortunately still on the rise, as a result, many of us are choosing to work from home. Furthermore, some of us have no other option than to be at home due to temporary business and school closures.
It’s a big adjustment to start working from home so it’s best to dampen your expectations of yourself. Working from home isn’t something you master in a day. Giving yourself and your family some slack as you find your new “normal” is wise. Change isn’t easy, and everyone is dealing with extra stress because of Covid-19.
Create a dedicated workspace
First of all, one of the most important things to do when working from home is setting up your regular workspace. Setting up wherever you feel comfortable and focused will better your at-home work experience. Finding a place to do your best work is important.
For people lucky enough to have a home office with a door they can close, the choice of where to work is easy. For people with little kids at home or who happen to live in small spaces, it may be that the best place to work is the kitchen table, on a couch, or at the coffee table in the living room. Find a place at home somewhere that you can make your own.
Stay (virtually) connected
Secondly, it is important to maintain our social relationship virtually, after all we are social beings! Social distancing and self-isolation take a psychological toll on people. Even die-hard introverts need to be around other people sometimes. Use technology to help you connect with colleagues, family and loved ones. You can kill isolation by switching from emails to calls and calls to video chats. Connecting with people through calls and video chats will help you feel less alone, especially if you live by yourself. Consider trying Netflix Party, virtual gatherings, or interactive live streaming events on Facebook and Youtube.
Find a routine
Third step is to ensure you have a daily routine while working from home! If you don’t work past 5 p.m. when you are in the office, keep 5 p.m. as a hard limit for working from home. If you don’t work earlier than 8 a.m., don’t log into work at 7 a.m. from your bed.
Blocking out time for lunch or mid-day dog walks will help you stay on track.
Help get kids on board with the routine by sitting with them to create a master schedule for the household. Helping create the schedule gives them a sense of control over the situation and increases the chances they will give you the time you need to get work done. Forming good habits early on a helps routines develop naturally.
Stay Organized and Use Your “Found Time” Productively
Finally, make time for things! There are probably tons of projects around the house that have been put off, and now you may have time at home to complete them. Consider dedicating the time you would have spent commuting each day to household projects, such as
- cleaning and sorting drawers (a great project to do with younger kids)
- having the family go through closets and sorting out unwanted items to donate
- working in the yard
- painting a bedroom
- organizing family photos (another great one to do with kids)
Making it Work
Most of all, while working from home be patient with yourself and your family. Most people spend months getting into the rhythm of remote work, so it’s not reasonable to expect yourself to slide into your new routine without some growing pains and bumps in the road.
HR Responses to Coronavirus
HR Responses to Corona Virus
Employers should observe all applicable pieces of legislation when responding to the threat of a pandemic. They should practice due diligence in ensuring their staff’s safety. Therefore, we have compiled the following HR responses to Coronavirus that your organization should watch out for.
Legal Concerns
HR departments should consider the provincial and federal legislation as they seek out workplace solutions to coronavirus. This includes occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation, employment standards, privacy, and human rights legislation.
Moreover, employers should consider their policies, benefit plans, employment contracts, collective agreements and the applicable legislation as the number of infection rises. Additionally, employers need to be aware of the potential legal consequences if the overall situation escalates into pandemic levels of infection.
Due Diligence
Employers are required to take all reasonable precautions to prevent injuries or accidents in the workplace and in this case responding to Coronavirus, for instance:
- Encourage good employee hygiene, particularly proper handwashing
- Maintain good ventilation of workspaces
- Promote cleanliness of any surfaces where the virus may hide
- Encourage employees to seek out accurate, scientific information on coronavirus from reputable websites
- Allow employees to work from home or in staggered shifts
- Have up-to-date leave policies that encourage employees to stay home when they are sick
Communication
Finally, a good communication plan is vital for your organization as your staff are likely to panic, in distress and insecure about the future. They might search for answers on their own and often rely on what they can find, as a result, they rely on inaccurate and sensationalized information. Therefore, maintain good communication with employees when your organizations’ HR is responding to Coronavirus information. Sincron HR helps drive such vital communication throughout an organization via a singular powerful employee portal. If you think your firm needs help in crafting a communication strategy, Sincron HR wants to hear from you. Use Sincron HR to build a better workplace.
Values Based Hiring (Part 2)
You are ready to hire the right staff to provide high quality, person-centered care and support services. You’ve made a short-list of candidates, and you want to move forward with values-based hiring. So now the question is: how does a values-based employment interview differ from a traditional one?
Traditional Interviews
In a traditional interview, the questions are typically generic ones that focus on the past, such as:
- Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your background?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- What are some of your greatest strengths?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
VBI Goes Beyond ‘How’ and ‘Why’
Meanwhile, a values-based interview (VBI) goes beyond the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of decisions made in the past. Yes, VBI might make use of a past-orientated question such as “Can you tell me about a time in the past you had a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it?” But unlike traditional interviewing, VBI goes a step further and tries to uncover the reasons behind the behavior, and the lessons learned for the future.
Some examples of VBI questions might include:
- What would be the main rewards you feel that you would get from this role?
- Can you tell me about a situation where it was important you worked as part of a team? How could you re-create that?
- Can you talk us through a situation where you felt you were successful? Why do you think it was a success? How could you repeat that success in the future?
Putting it all Together
When an organization uses VBI to select job candidates, it demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the values and behaviors which
- help create a safer environment for clients
- retain skilled workers
- improve worker satisfaction
- build strong teams
Build a Better Workforce with Sincron HR
Sincron HR’s processes save time and money by automating flows and tasks. Using such a tool, you can automate your recruiting process, making it much easier to manage candidate pools or access their history, manage approval flows and recruiting sources, or communicate using various online channels. Discover details here.
If you think values-based interviews might be a solution to the employee revolving door at your agency, Sincron HR wants to hear from you. Use Sincron HR to build a better workplace.
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Values Based Hiring (Part 1)
One of your “rock star” employees has given notice, and once again you find yourself struggling to fill the position. Filling that position—and filling it fast—is a priority.
Finding Valuable Candidates
There is a real and persistent challenge for social service employers to recruit, develop, and retain the right people. This is to ensure that high quality, person-centred care and support services are maintained. Often management teams will use a “spray-and-pray” approach, posting the position to every job website available, and hoping the right candidates will see it. This tends to result in frustrated managers, lowered staff morale, and an over-abundance of lackluster resumes.
Recruitment is complex problem, but you have options beyond the “spray and pray” approach.
Values-Based Hiring
What is values-based hiring? Simply put, values-based hiring involves attracting the right people, with the right values, behaviours, and attitudes.
While traditional hiring practices focus on a combination of formal education and work experience, values-based hiring involves finding staff with
- Right attitudes, behaviours and perspectives on life and work, and
- Willingness to grow and learn
Key to values-based hiring is the idea that skills can be taught but personal characteristics (such as kindness, compassion, reliability, honesty, etc.) cannot be. Furthermore, values-based hiring suggests that life experience is often more relevant than previous work experience.
Build a Better Workforce with Sincron HR
Sincron HR’s processes save time and money by automating flows and tasks. Using such a tool, you can automate your recruiting process, making it much easier to manage candidate pools or access their history, manage approval flows and recruiting sources, or communicate using various online channels. Discover details here.
If you think values-based hiring might be a solution to the employee revolving door at your agency, Sincron HR wants to hear from you. Use Sincron HR to build a better workplace.
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