But it’s not just a matter of researching what the company is like. What about the co-workers, with whom he/she will share the day-to-day? According to Hubspot, “Each time is more important to know who you work with, instead of who you work for”. In other words, future employees will also look for who works in the company, what they do as a team, how they relate and have fun… And this is where the strategy of attracting talent in social networks plays a fundamental role.

How to attract talent

What is the basis of a good strategy for attracting talent through social networks? First of all, imagination and creativity are essential to share interesting content that shows how the day-to-day life of the company is, and that attracts talent. The second step is to identify the influencers, meaning, those people in our team who can become opinion leaders. In this sense, Hubspot proposes to encourage the use of social networks to share the day-to-day life in the company or workplace, to invent initiatives such as creating “Instagram Moments” for employees, visitors and inspired CEO’s, or to record funny stories.
The learning and opinions that are made in a workday can be good material, like the merits of some worker, the events they go to or participate in, the morning meeting, the improvised moments of laughter, disconnection, informal chat, a good coffee in the morning in the kitchen… But also the company’s commitments to equality, the conciliation, the flexible work, the environment, the society… The way it is structured, the decision making, the technological level… Would you be able to carry out any of these proposals in your company?
For all this to work, a good Employee Branding strategy must be followed. The more authentic fans it has, the better it will work.
And how important is Employee Branding for companies? Eurofirms has published, for the second consecutive year, the X-ray of Employee Branding in Spain’s companies, a reflection of the activity and trend of Spanian’s companies when applying this communication resource. 80% consider it important, but only 30% have developed a specific plan. You can download the full report here.

Influencers

What is the basis of a good strategy for attracting talent through social networks? First of all, imagination and creativity are essential to share interesting content that shows how the day-to-day life of the company is, and that attracts talent. The second step is to identify the influencers, meaning, those people in our team who can become opinion leaders. In this sense, Hubspot proposes to encourage the use of social networks to share the day-to-day life in the company or workplace, to invent initiatives such as creating “Instagram Moments” for employees, visitors and inspired CEO’s, or to record funny stories.
The learning and opinions that are made in a workday can be good material, like the merits of some worker, the events they go to or participate in, the morning meeting, the improvised moments of laughter, disconnection, informal chat, a good coffee in the morning in the kitchen… But also the company’s commitments to equality, the conciliation, the flexible work, tAnd what about brand outside influencers? We are referring to those people who stand out on Youtube, blogs, forums, and contact platforms. Is it useful to have a profile like this? Some companies are already working with them so that their opinion is favorable, they talk about the organization and recommend the brand. Experts, teachers, journalists, heavy users… people who value the impact of a company’s products or services on society.
Without a doubt, filling social networks with experiences is the most real way to attract talent. For people management departments, it is a way to discover influencers in the team, with whom they can support each other in their work. Are you prepared for it?

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada How to attract talent through social networks aparece primero en People first.

For you, training is key to the development of Employee Branding and that is why you launched the platform www.sinvueltadetuerca.com. What assessment do you make of this initiative that already has 2 years and what acceptance has it had among workers?

Social networks sin vuelta de tuerca is an initiative launched by the Communication, Human Resources and Social Networks areas, and is aimed at developing the social / digital skills of the entire IKEA team. The objective of this platform is to broaden the organization’s digital vision, enhance internal links and strengthen IKEA’s position as an employer brand. The objective of this platform is to broaden the organization’s digital vision, enhance internal links and strengthen IKEA’s position as an employer brand. Sin Vuelta de Tuerca it not only includes a series of recommendations that build a user manual for IKEA employees who want to link to the brand on social networks, but it is also an e-learning platform to contribute to the digital maturity of the workforce. Although we have been working on the project for more than 2 years, it was launched a few months ago, so personally, the assessment I make has a lot to do with my involvement in the project: I think the fact that co-workers have participated In the development of the platform, it ensures that it is designed by and for IKEA employees. Fortunately, almost 90% of the team are proud to be part of this brand, and this feeling of belonging has a lot to do with our willingness to link to IKEA on our social profiles. Many of us demanded from the company a clear framework in which to move on social networks and I think that Sin Vuelta de Tuerca it has turned this demand into an opportunity, contributing to the digital training of workers in the process of IKEA’s digital transformation in Spain.

Do you have KPI’s to measure the results of this initiative? What are the next steps after launching it?

Sin Vuelta de Tuerca it is not intended to be a static project but rather a living one, because one of the great advantages of internal digital tools is that they allow us to measure, continue to improve, and adapt projects to the needs of workers. For this reason, we have used a platform that allows the traceability of all courses to be measured and the user experience to be monitored. There are several KPI’s that we have marked: from the number of registered users or visits to the web, to the number of approved courses and average grades, through to the final satisfaction of the workers according to the number of evaluations or recommendations to other colleagues. Of course, we will also measure whether the platform has generated a greater social presence of IKEA workers on social networks. Our ambition is to get IKEA represented by the people who make it possible every day.

But the truth is that we are still in the launch phase of the platform and it is early to draw conclusions. On the following steps, in addition to continuing to promote the platform in stores, we would like to share this project, as good practice, with organizations that want to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the digital environment and wish to launch a similar initiative for linking and social activation.

You comment that it is a platform created by and for workers. How have the company’s workers been involved in the development of the platform? What tools or meeting points have you used?

As I was saying, the definition and development of the project has had the participation of workers since its inception and responds to a clear demand from employees who wanted to link to the brand on social networks, but who also had doubts about how to do it. For this reason, the working group began this journey with many questions and, above all, listening to each and every one of the answers: a survey or digital barometer was carried out to measure digital maturity and use of social networks within IKEA and two workshops were launched with employees with different levels of digital maturity and active in internal and external social networks, who were called “digital champions”.In these workshops our day-to-day at IKEA was analyzed, from the point of view of digital accessibility and convenience, and we built together what, after more than a year of work, various consultations through our internal social network as a forum and a phase end of testing with that same group of “champions”, ended up becoming Social Networks Sin Vuelta de Tuerca. Currently, our forum is an open group on our social network, Yammer, the channel enabled to continue collecting doubts, suggestions or possible incidents.

Last year, Eurofirms carried out the X-ray of Employee Branding in companies in Spain and one of the results was that 78% of companies are present on social networks, but only 20% invest in training. What is the main reason why you would recommend companies to invest in training their teams?

The way we companies have to communicate with our clients, suppliers and candidates has changed. There are numerous studies that reveal that employees are perceived as the most reliable and credible source when it comes to talking about any issue of the company itself and it is useless to have employees who are willing to do it, but who do not have the necessary tools and training. As I mentioned, with Sin Vuelta de Tuerca we also have the objective of inspiring other companies and, in fact, many of the contents of this platform are public for this reason: we want to share knowledge and learning with anyone who may be interesting.

What strategies or initiatives do you carry out from the Human Resources area so that the workers share their day-to-day life at IKEA and publish on social networks, following the company’s values?

In this sense, we feel very lucky because before the Sin Vuelta de Tuerca platform, we already had many employees who wanted to link to the brand on social networks, but had doubts about how to do it. It was just then that this initiative emerged. The demand from employees was clear, they wanted to increase their level of digital knowledge and now they have at their disposal a platform where they can learn to build a solid and coherent digital identity that defines them positively and differentiates them. In addition, for a time now, we use social elements in our internal communication campaigns, referring employees to the company’s external social networks as the main source of information, so that we involve workers and invite them to interact openly with the official profiles of IKEA Spain. Once this is achieved, it will be the decision of each one to enjoy in this digital environment the values ​​and interests they have in common with the company. For us, the strategy only resides in providing all the ingredients so that this happens organically.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Enrique López (IKEA): “Employees are the most reliable and credible source when it comes to talking about the company itself” aparece primero en People first.

“Being” and not “being” on social networks

The real potential of social networks is in helping to create the indispensable network of contacts that connects and supports the experience of a professional. The key is therefore to spend time getting to know and contact other professionals, to build relationships with them that add value. There are many job offers that are not published, but are covered by recommendations.

From asking questions about the work environment or about the company, to sharing information about professional developments, or knowledge of their own, the ways to participate in the global conversation are diverse, causing at the same time the construction of the brand itself. Always with a limit: don’t become a spammer.

Never do anything that you wouldn’t like to be done yourself, like contacting to sell something directly, for example. For the Human Resources and People Management departments, it is the best way to assess the reputation of a potential candidate. Social Media is also a showcase for communication skills.

The way you move inside them shows how you are socially. This is a growing value within the company, which is increasingly forced to start its digitalization process, counting on the employees. So when it comes to starting a career in Social Media, it is important to have a clear strategy of participation.

A seller’s profile

Which profiles are the most interesting on social networks? Those who are not afraid to sell themselves. Direct and motivating profiles, which give the employer the opportunity to know why he should hire them. The best examples on LinkedIn are those with a short but strategic description, with the right keywords to appear correctly in searches, and a clear statement of the value they bring as a worker.

In order to do so, it is essential for the candidate to do an introspective work or to get the help of a Human Resources or Coaching professional, who will help him discover his own strengths and what he is particularly good at.

In team leadership, creativity, project management, contact with suppliers… areas for which one was not always trained or did not have as a work objective, and in which one ended up being competent. This is a good time to ask former colleagues about these aspects through social networks and to get advice on new career opportunities.

It is also important to be clear about what you are looking for, to be consistent. The CV is a historical thread of the training and work experience but a profile shows who you are here and now. It must be changed as often as necessary according to new learning and professional interests. Without forgetting to add a personal image according to what is being sold.

Tools to highlight

Social Networks also offer various tools to contact and highlight in the professional field. Some profiles have been made relevant by selecting good information, sharing it and commenting on it with his contacts. Others have used their own blog to create an area of enriching experience for others. Both strategies require great effort and must be aligned with personal skills.

Participating in professional groups on LinkedIn is also an excellent way to generate interesting contacts and create a personal brand. So is the commitment to specialised online training (free or not) offered on various Mooc platforms, LinkedIn’s Learning section or even on specialised websites and portals.

Following the digital behavior of any candidate is undoubtedly the best way to know his personal brand, his social skills and his reputation. Social networks demand active participation from all agents in the labour market.

People first | A project by Eurofirms

People First es un espacio de inspiración donde compartimos contenidos con un eje común: las personas. Desde distintas ópticas y sectores, abordamos varios temas, tendencias y noticias de interés humano.

La entrada Personal brand: attractive candidates on Social Networks aparece primero en People first.