We all know that companies and recruiters are using social media more and more to find candidates for their open positions. I found an interesting study that looks at the usage of the big three networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter) by recruiters.

http://www.slideshare.net/BullhornReach/2012-social-recruiting-activity-report

As expected, recruiters are utilizing the social media sites more frequently. LinkedIn was found to drive the most job views and recruiters get 9 times more applications from LinkedIn for a job than Facebook or Twitter.

Twitter followers however, were more likely to apply for a job posting on Twitter and recruiters receive 3 times more applications per contact via Twitter than LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has a more 'professional' reputation than Facebook or Twitter, which accounts for its popularity in job searches, but the study does feel that Facebook and Twitter are under utilized for recruitment and that will likely change in the next year or two.

This study reminded me of a story I heard last week from a colleague who made an offer to a candidate to fill a high profile position and then rescinded the offer after seeing their 'unprofessional' posts and pictures on Facebook. But that is a whole other topic for discussion...

Whenever I see an article about Gen Y and the changes that are needed to accommodate them in the workforce, I just have to read it. Being a Gen X, I continue to struggle with the fact that we as the leaders of business today have to change how we do things so the most talented Gen Y employees do not run to the competition. My entry into the workforce (which I don't think was that long ago) was much more about what I could do for the employer than what the employer could do for me. Regardless, by 2025, Gen Y will make up 70-75% of the workforce. So we need to put some serious thought in now about how our workplaces will change to meet the challenge.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0205-outside-opinion-gen-y-20120205,0,2120130.story

I have blogged a couple of times about telecommuting and flexible work schedules. The next step in the evolution of the flexible workplace may be Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE). The focus is not on time logged or even physical presence, but rather the results that an employee achieves. Makes sense. I certainly agree that as long as the work is getting done to the standards set, the time to do that work is less relevant. The tough part though is establishing what the goals are.

Stacy Swanson tackles this question in her blog found here http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/how-do-you-track-results-instead-of-time.

Stacy believes it has to be a two way conversation as to what needs to be accomplished and there has to be a transparent way to track results. This could be a weekly discussion about what needs to get done in a set period.

Quite a shift for those of us that are used to logging the time each week, and for certain industries (e.g. law and accounting firms), a completely different currency to evaluate performance.

For any of us who have tried to hire the right person with the requisite skills to fill the talent gaps within our organizations, knows how difficult this task is becoming. Those that would fit in nicely with the corporate culture often don't have the skills, experience, and education to do the job. Conversely, very qualified and talented people are often lacking the communication and business skill side needed to be effective in their roles.

And it looks like things are only going to get worse.

The World Economic Forum has put out a research paper titled ,'Global Talent Risk-Seven Responses', which contains some frightening statistics:

The talent gap is a challenge for employers everywhere. To sustain economic growth, by 2030 the United States will need to add more than 25 million workers and Western Europe will need to add more than 45 million workers.

There are an estimated 214 million international migrants worldwide. Collectively they would make up the world's fifth largest nation. 

Migration is not only a South-to-North phenomenon; in fact, 40% of the world's migrants move from one developing country to another.

Foreign nationals are authors of the majority of patent applications filed by many US companies:

65% at Merck and

64% at GE and 60% at Cisco.

Foreign-born workers with university or equivalent qualifications make up just 2% of the European labour market, compared with 4.5% in the United States, 8% in Australia and nearly 10% in Canada.

With 45 million new entrants in the global job market annually – most of them young – 300 million new jobs will be needed by 2015 to keep pace with the growth in the labour force.

Employability will continue to be a huge problem worldwide. Because of the uneven quality of education systems, only

25% of Indian and 20% of Russian professionals are currently considered employable by multinationals.

Even China faces long term talent shortages. The number of those aged 60 and older is expanding rapidly, already forming 12.5% of the nation's population.

WEF offers 7 responses to these challenges:

1. Introduce strategic workforce planning

2. Ease migration

3. Foster brain circulation (bring home skills that professionals/students have learned abroad)

4. Increase employability (revamp training and education programs)

5. Develop a talent 'trellis' (train for the jobs of the future)

6. Encourage temporary and virtual mobility

7. Extend the pool (older professionals, women, immigrants)

Check out the full study at http://www3.weforum.org/docs/PS_WEF_GlobalTalentRisk_Report_2011.pdf

HRPA joined forces with Knightbridge and produced a research paper titled "The Role and Future of HR: The CEO's Perspective". As mentioned in previous blogs, CEO's expect that HR not only know their area of expertise but also closely align it with the strategic direction of the company.

Here is a summary of what CEO's expect from HR:

1. Talent mangement and succession planning

2. Creating the employment brand

3. Managing four generations in the workplace (Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials)

4. Employee communications

5. Social Media

6. Trend analysis and forecasting

7. Change management

These 7 broad responsiblities in one job description is a bit overwhelming and certainly would take a diverse set of skills to manage. HR is supposed to do all of this while being the advisor to the entire management team.

Check out the full research brief here

http://www.hrpa.ca/Documents/HRPA_KB_CEO_Perspective_Research_Highlight.pdf

As it is still January, I thought I would post a link to one more set of 2012 predictions. This list comes from employment lawyer Daniel Schwartz and is titled 'What Does Magic 8-Ball Think about 2012?'.

Schwartz is based in Connecticut so his predictions are US focused but many of the issues he mentions are relevant in other parts of the world as well.

One that I found particularily interesting was the continued debate about social media and how to handle its popularity in the workplace.

Check out the full article here  http://www.ctlawtribune.com/getarticle.aspx?ID=40846