Currently, most organizations have adopted social media platforms to recruit, retain and retrain their employees, regularly complementing the traditional recruitment, retention, and retraining processes. However, the degree to which managers could rely on its use depend mainly on factors like nature and size of the organization. Socialract and share information. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media are transforming the way people interact and many companies are striving to respond. Even the organizations trying to evade social media altogether must accept that most of their employees and customers are utilizing it which can influence the organization directly. When social media is used correctly, it can benefit an organization. However, if it is not managed appropriately, it can produce many financial legal and personal risks. Given the probable risks and benefits of the social media in the place of work,it is crucial for managers to design policies and procedures regulating its effective use. The essay will critic the impact of the social media on the HR strategy in relation to the 3 R’s that is recruitment, retention, and retraining.

                                  Discussion of Impact of Social Media on 3 R’s of HR                                 

Social media recruitment process can be grouped in two ways. First, internet sourcing concentrates on social media profiles like personal profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and online communities to look for inactive information of the candidate as stated by Doherty (2010). Second, social distribution encompassessocial media networks and platforms as means of sharing job openings in their online communities and also their influencers. Madia (2011) found out that 90% of the organizations among 500 of the Fortune organizations are utilizing platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for recruiting, retaining and retraining their employees. In addition to these, there are a variety of other platforms like YouTube, Foursquare, MySpace, Pinterest, and Google+ amidst others that are utilized for screening candidates for recruitment. These platforms also help in the retention and retraining of the employees. Also, approximately 46% of the 500 Fortune companies encompass links to their career page of the official website. The three R’s of the human resource strategy are significant in the performance of the organizations.

Research shows that LinkedIn leads in the list of social network for recruiting, retaining and retraining. It is mostly preferred by many companies followed by Facebook and then Twitter. Approximately two-thirds of the recruiters agreed that they had made successful hires via social media as stated by Doherty (2010). Consequently, around one-third of the employers confirmed that they had rejected candidates because of the inconsistencies in their social media profiles. LinkedIn according to this research emerged as one of the most preferred social media for recruiting retaining and retraining employees in most organizations as affirmed by Stamper (2012). Another research revealed several methods in which social media are used for the process of hiring. These methods encompass searching for suitable candidates online and screening for suitable candidates using their social media profiles.

Process has significant impacts to the organization involved in the process as uttered by Madia (2011). These impacts can be positive or negative that is they can be beneficial or disadvantageous. These are some of the positive impacts of utilizing social media in the recruitment process. Using social media helps employers to reach out to candidates at a reduced cost as matched with others recruitment sources which require a substantial cost (Magazine, 2011). This comparison implies that companies prefer using social media for recruitment because it is cheaper than other media. It facilitates employers to pinpoint easily and engage with their pool of talent. It assists employers to target candidates for a job with a very specific set of skills at different levels across various geographical locations as stated Magazine (2011). A research done in the United States revealed that the use of social media as a tool of recruitment was the most effective in identifying candidates for jobs requiring specific skills in various job positions.

Social media play a vital role in helping the employers to reach out to a broader set of potentials by sharing information about the organization according to Stamper (2012). It also helps in sharing information about the job opportunities within an organization, hence, increasing the recognition and brand of the employer. A study conducted in China indicated that 85% of the employers accepted that social media enabled them to reach out to larger a larger pool of potential candidates (Doherty, 2010). The employers agreed that through the use of information found in the account profiles of various candidates, they were able to acquire the best suitable candidates for their job. It also assists employers to acquire candidates whom they would have certainly not sourced via the use of traditional methods of hiring. It also helps employers to obtain a faster and better response when applying social networks in the interaction with the prospect candidates (Magazine, 2011). Social media use Internet, a technology that ensures a quick response from the interaction of the employers and the candidate which make the recruitment process much simpler.

Social media assist the employers to reach out to inactive candidates who might not be promptly accessible on the job entries. Reaching out to these passive candidates can prove to be almost impossible without the use of social media as affirmed by Doherty (2010). It also helps the recruiting managers to evaluate the social profiles of the candidates and thus filter them on the foundation of inconsistencies in their profiles. The filtering role help to make the recruitment process easier and thus the company is in a position of acquiring specialized and qualified candidates to fill various positions in the organization as stated by Madia (2011).This technology assists the job seekers to hunt for a job by directly connecting with the prospect employers and their human resource, hence evading the traditional process of recruitment. Traditional methods of recruitment were slow and time wasting which made the recruitment process to be difficult and challenging. It also assists job seekers in building a network that is relevant to their field, and this proves to be very useful in enhancing their field understanding and knowledge.According to Madia, (2011) san impact on making them specialize in their domain.It helps job seekers to present themselves in a more relevant manner to their potential employers. They add not only their educational qualifications and professional experience but also recognition and appreciation from their past employers hence adding value to their profiles. Hence, it is clear that social media has a significant positive impact on the recruitment process.

Despite the above discussed positive impacts of the social media in the recruitment process, it also has several negative impacts in the recruitment process as stated by Stamper (2012). One of these negative impacts is that employers are mostly unable to determine what information should be shared with the potential pool of talents. This confusion result in a lot of inappropriate sharing of data hence ending up with undesirable and even sometimes online boring presence (Magazine, 2011). Managers strive to search for an effective method of solving this problem as it interferes with the brand image of the firm in the market. Employers encounter issues in authenticating the information given by the candidates via these social networking platforms. Hence,itleads to wastage of time and efforts if the candidature emerges to be a dishonest post. Employers should never depend on one specific source while screening candidates (Magazine, 2011). Depending on one source, make them develop a preconceived idea about candidates before interacting with them in person. Recruitment managers should utilize the information accessible in the social media as a point of reference instead of using it objectively to assess the candidates.

Employees misuse the social media They publish posts and blogs that defame or criticize their bosses as stated by Madia (2011).Some use social media sites as a platform for expressing negative opinions, mostly putting the organizations’ status at a stake. Employees should realize that posting blogs employer relationship with social media can mostly have harmful implications for their careers. Employers oan effective social media policy to ensure that there are firm actions taken against such employees (Magazine, 2011). The employers could encounter employment tribunal trials if they refuse to interview a candidate on the foundation of a candidate a chance on the foundation of religious affiliations, race, gender, and age. is to have a clearly outlined policy of equal employment opportunity in the company. Another negative impact is that candidates are mostly unaware that their profile is being reviewed by the recruitment manager as part of the process of screening before the interview as stated by Magazine (2011). They may be searching for evidence of what is referred to as inappropriate language or behavior. Thus, candidates should be very careful in terms of their presence in the social media.

Social media has been shown to have significant impact on the retention of the employees in an organization. Employees’ retention is one of the three major strategies of the human resources. Social media has potential benefits on the retention of the employees in a firm. It helps the employees to develop greater organizational identity and commitment as stated by Ployhart (2011). The motivation of the employees has been shown to contribute a lot to the retention of the employees. Managers in many organizations use the social media motivate their employees. Some motivation can be done through the social media such as posting of incentives and rewards that help in boosting the morale of the employees as affirmed by Moynihan & Pandey (2008). This morale boost helpsIt also helps in reducing the employees’ turnover rate. Organizations that have well-laid policy and structure on how to communicate effectively using the social media experience low employees’ turnover. Open organizational communication acts as a source of employees’ motivation helps in improved employment compatibility and job satisfaction. Social media can help in increasing the employees’ job compatibility. If employees perceive that their job is compatible with their skills and knowledge, they get motivated and this increases their retention. It also increases job satisfaction which acts as a strong motivation to the employees (Ployhart, 2011). Research that was carried out in Japan proved that job satisfaction is vital to ensuring that employees remain in a certain organization. Hence, social media has many positive impacts in the retention of the employees in a firm.

Despite some of the discussed benefits of using social media as a tool for retaining employees, it also has some negative impacts. Social media facilitate the spread of inappropriate or damaging information which has a negative impact on the retention of the employees (Moynihan & Pandey, 2008). It provides a platform where malicious and disgruntled employees can use to post negative information about the organizations or its management. These negative information about a certain firm leads to the reduction of the employees’ motivation, and this increases the turnover rate of the employees. Employees the spread of negative information leaveen pastures (Wu, 2013). Managers must, therefore, look for an effective strategy to apply to minimize the spread of negative information about the firm by malicious and disgruntled employees. It also leads to the creation of divisions rather than inclusion. Social media is sometimes used by some malicious employees to spread information that create divisions among the employees. Divisions lead to low employees’ motivation, and many leave the organization according to Ployhart (2011). Managers should look for effective ways to make sure that social media is not used to create divisions among the employees. Hence, social media has some major negative impacts that decrease the retention of the employees.

Retraining is s to make them more productive as affirmed by Sophia van Zyl (2009). Social media has great impacts in the retraining process. Some of these impacts are beneficial while others are negative. Some of the beneficial impacts include the following. Social media contributes to reduced retraining cost. Research has shown that retraining of employees using the traditional methods is very expensive as compared to retraining using the social media (Toole, 2011). It is less which is very expensive. Information is just posted in the social media and employees get online where they acquire knowledge about the besThe process of retraining is greatly simplified by the use of social media. It also leads to continuous skills enhancement and self-directed learning (Sophia van Zyl, 2009). Social media ensure that the retraining process facilitate independence and responsibility which enhances skills improvements. Social media has made the process of retraining easier and simpler.

 

Despite the benefits of social media in the retraining process, it also has some negative impacts in the process. It leads to no positive effects on learning and development (Toole, 2011). This scenario is caused by the fact that skills learned are not transferred to the job. Employees just learn but they rarely transfer the skills learned to the practice (Jackson & Schuler, 2000). Managers should come up with strategies to ensure that skills learned via social media are applied to the job. It also leads to unequal access and usage. Employees who do not use social media have fewer opportunities for retraining and development. Managers should ensure that their employees have an equal access to the social media according to Sophia van Zyl (2009). Social media has negative impacts in retraining, and it is the role of managers to ensure that they regulate these negative impacts.

Conclusion

Most modern companies have incorporated the application of the social media in the management of their human resource. Social media has significant impacts in the three R’s of human resource strategy. The three R’s strategies of the human resource have been shown to have an important role in the success of a business. LinkedIn has been identified as the most widely used social media by various companies. Social media has made the recruitment process much easier and simpler, but it has also led to increased dishonesty in the recruitment process.It has also increased the retention of the employees in an organization, but it has also increased the rate of spreading of negative information about a company by malicious employees. It has also increased the efficiency of the retraining process, but it has also contributed to unequal access and usage by the employees. The impact of the social media on the three R’s strategy of human resource is both positive and negative. Managers should, therefore, regulate the usage of social media in their organizations to ensure that negative impacts are minimized.

References

Doherty, R. 2010. Getting Social with Recruitment. Strategic HR Review, 9(6), 11-15.

Jackson, S. E., & Schuler, R. S. 2000. Understanding Human Resource Management in the Context of Organizations and their Environments. Strategic Human Resource Management, 46, 237-264.

Madia, S. A. 2011. Best Practices for Using Social Media as a Recruitment Strategy. Strategic HR Review, 10(6), 19-24.

Magazine, H. R. 2011. Job Seekers Get Boost from Social Media’. HR Magazine, 56, 12-14.

Moynihan, D. P., & Pandey, S. K. 2008. The Ties that Bind: Social Networks, Person-Organization Value Fit, and Turnover Intention. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(2), 205-227.

Ployhart. R. E. 2011. Social Media in the Workplace. Issues and Strategic Questions. [On-Line]. Accessed from:http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/documents/social%20media%20briefing-%20final.pdf

Sophia van Zyl, A. 2009. The Impact of Social Networking 2.0 on Organisations. The Electronic Library, 27(6), 906-918.

Stamper, C. 2012. Common Mistakes Companies Make Using Social Media Tools in Recruiting Efforts’, CMA Management, 84, 2. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, Viewed, 12, 40-41.

Toole, T. 2011. Social Media: Key Tools for the Future of Work-Based Learning. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 25(5), 31-34.

Wu, L. 2013. Social Network Effects on Productivity and Job Security: Evidence from the Adoption of a Social Networking Tool. Information Systems Research, 24(1), 30-51.

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