Develop an HR 2.0 strategy

Citation

Ingham, J. (2010), "Develop an HR 2.0 strategy", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 9 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2010.37209fab.002

Develop an HR 2.0 strategy

Article Type: How to … From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 9, Issue 6

Practical advice for HR professionals

The term social media refers to the still comparatively new set of internet technologies that enable people to connect, share knowledge, develop relationships and collaborate with each other in a way that has rarely been possible before.

The other name for these technologies is Web 2.0, where, the tag “2.0” indicates a new release rather than just a new version of technology. Social media is a “new release” because it is qualitatively, not just quantitatively, different from the technologies people have been using previously.

Many organizations see this new development as a threat and are focusing on managing or avoiding its negative impacts (by banning the use of Facebook, for example). However, social media provides some clear opportunities for business too. One is using these technologies to improve the focus on relationships and collaboration within HR processes. This is starting to be known as social HR, or HR 2.0. Follow these steps to develop your HR strategy in this new space.

1. Develop a vision of the future

The benefits of using social media are often “emergent” – they arise from people finding new and often unanticipated applications for the technology. However, this should not stop you planning where you think social media can and should be used.

Talk to your marketing and customer service colleagues about how these functions are using or are planning to use social media – it becomes a lot easier to introduce these internally if they are being used to support external communications as well. Talk to your IT function to agree which of the many platforms you will want to focus on.

Talk to the leaders of your business. Ensure you have their sponsorship for introducing change within your organization, and ensure they understand that HR 2.0 is not just about new technology, but will influence the development of your organization’s culture too.

2. Take your first steps towards this vision

It is important to know where you are going, but do not let planning delay you from taking action for too long. Your use of social media is bound to evolve over time, so there is little point trying to introduce a perfect solution. Try something out, see how it goes, and use your experience to improve it over time.

Focus on the areas of greatest opportunity – these are likely to be in the areas of recruitment, learning, internal communication or maybe the management of alumni. Learn from the rapidly growing number of case studies in which social media has been used. Think about the areas of your own HR architecture that can most easily be improved.

Ensure you set yourself objectives for increased effectiveness as well as efficiency. Social media can help you do things more easily and cheaply, but it can also help you do new things.

3. Provide governance and training

Although social media provides you with a range of potential benefits, there are a number of well-known bear traps too (including loss of reputation or intellectual property, and IT security, privacy and productivity issues).

Ensure you gain the benefits and avoid the pitfalls of social media use by developing sound governance around your use of the technologies. Set up a team to monitor and lead developments across the business – including, but broader than just, HR. Develop and communicate a policy outlining your expectations about how people should use social media in communicating within the organization; from within the organization to the outside; and on other, public social media sites.

Provide training to your employees. Social media is simple to pick up, but people still need to gain experience of it to be confident in its use.

4. Sponsor HR 2.0 yourself

One of the easiest and most effective ways of sponsoring HR 2.0 is to use social media yourself. Start using Twitter or set up a blog – for example, you could blog about HR in your organization. Doing this makes HR seem more transparent and hence more credible, and it enhances your own reputation and networking.

5. Monitor and improve

You can very easily measure the success of your HR 2.0 initiatives in terms of participation and contributions. But also measure progress against the objectives you set yourself in step 2, and in working towards your vision from step 1.

Keep clear of calculating the return on investment (ROI). The tangible (monetary) investments you make in using social media are likely to be small, and the main benefits, while large, are likely to be intangible. Focus on personal success stories instead.

About the author

Jon InghamWorked as an HR practitioner for 20 years. Most of this time has been spent in consulting but he also has experience acting as an HR director in the UK and Europe. He now works on a global basis as a researcher, writer, speaker and consultant. He focuses on helping businesses that already have well developed approaches to HR management gain further increases in the engagement of their people and the effectiveness of their organizations. Jon Ingham can be contacted at: jon.ingham@strategic-hcm.com