1. Don’t just push information and roles out to candidates. Use social media to pull candidates to your organisation with information that is of interest.

2. Be targeted. Don’t try and be all things to all people. Invest time in those areas of your business where you know talent is scarce and you can have the biggest impact.

3. Close the Loop. Ensure your messages are communicated via all platforms to achieve maximum reach. People tend to prefer one platform over another eg. Facebook or Twitter.

4. Use your team. Encourage your team to use social media to keep up to date on industry news. Get them to “Like”, “Follow” and engage in discussions.

5. Be consistent. Social media recruitment may have sprung up overnight (relatively speaking) but it takes a lot longer to reap the rewards. Be regular and consistent with its use.

Jason Snell.

When I meet with clients I invariably mention my “push/pull theory” in relation to Social Media Recruitment.  At present, the vast majority of the recruiter market are pushing jobs out to candidates via newsletters, SMS, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and job boards which were a major leap in our industry 8 years ago.

These are all great and play a significant role in the way we do business, but the next step is to utilize social media to facilitate two-way communication and establish a working relationship. By doing this, businesses are actually pulling candidates in with relevant information that is of use to that individual candidate.

No more ‘post and pray’ but rather engaging with your candidates is the only way to truly get the full benefit out of social media. Easier said than done I hear you say and you’re right. Using social media to advertise roles and recruit candidates is the easy part. The hard part is the regular engagement and on-line relationship building.

LinkedIn is the master of this by not only creating the platform, but for also creating a cosy space for Groups to form, express ideas and engage.

A recent survey by Jobvite found that 89% of the businesses surveyed planned to use social media to recruit staff this year. Social media recruitment is clearly catching on but how you use it is the key!

(source: Jobvite.com)

My favourite graphic at the moment is by Bullhorn Reach that shows just how recruiters are using social media. It’s an impressive diagram and includes big numbers, brace yourself!

Here at nexthire we are about to embark on the next phase of our social recruitment plan.

Our Blog – hirethinking, is set to become a treasure trove with insights and anecdotes from industry gurus and will be linked with our Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin use. This is the start of our conversations with candidates.

Whether you “Like Us”, “Follow Us” or “Connect With Us”, we will be investing more time in social recruitment to deliver you your nexthire.

When you run an incentive or employee recognition program, care needs to be given to all details to ensure the individual and company gains maximum benefit and the participant is inspired by their reward to continue performing.

Cash incentives are often not the most effective way to reward staff and may actually hinder employee performance.

Goodyear Tyres in the US undertook an excellent example of the effectiveness of different rewards programs when they ran a sales incentive campaign to improve sales of tyres.

Two groups were formed; one was offered cash, and the other an equivalently priced selection of merchandise and travel-related rewards. The group receiving lifestyle and travel rewards outperformed the cash group by 46%.

Following this trial the research found that extra cash is viewed as part of a salary and is generally spent on bills and other household items.  Non-cash rewards however, were remembered more fondly by recipients and led to increased productivity and loyalty to the employer.

In order to attract and retain talent, smart employers will need to identify the ‘hot buttons’ for particular groups and gear their rewards accordingly.  While cash may well be attractive to Gen Y’s, Baby Boomers might prefer free financial advice, Gen X’s may appreciate subsidised child-care and men and women will likely enjoy different incentives.

If you are considering or are currently in the process of implementing an incentive program for your employees, it is critical to consider the needs and wants of individuals in order to achieve a return on investment for your program.

It’s pretty obvious the Labor party leadership is in a shambles at the moment – I don’t think anyone knows what Kevin or Julia are planning, or for that matter, if either of them will even be in the party come next week.  Accordingly I’ve decided to come up with the first of my shortlist series, based on who I think would be good candidates for leader of the Labor party (and Prime Minister).

1.  Geoffrey Rush – 2011 Australian of the year, fantastic actor, all round nice guy – the people’s champ, I think Geoffrey would be a great leader of Australia.  Americans know who he is (which would be a first for Australian politicians), and the Australian public widely respects his intellect, ability, and personality.

2.  Pat Rafter – I was trying to think of who the most widely liked person in Australia would be and I could only think of one man, Pat Rafter.  Rafter was a genuinely great tennis player, a very charitable man (he gave half of his US Open earnings to charity) and now leads the Australian Davis Cup team.  

3.  Gail Kelly – CEO of Westpac Bank, number 8 on the Forbes World’s Most Powerful Women list, she is a hard nosed businesswoman and if her profit record at Westpac is anything to go by, she’d figure out how to get Australia back to budget surplus (and Greece too for that matter).

4. Karl Stefanovic – Australia’s favourite breakfast host, the man isn’t afraid to have a bit of fun as well as make fun of himself on national TV.  Politicians these days have become far too stale and a bit of personality in the PM’s office wouldn’t go astray.

5.  Cate Blanchett  - consistently rated Australia’s most admired woman, and for good reason with her elegant manner and phenomenal acting abilities.  I think Cate would bring some much needed grace to the Lodge.