Let me start by introducing myself… my name is Katie and I have just recently joined the HR.com team! We think it would be great to get all of our group members involved in some active discussions surrounding topics affecting the HR industry. I am going to do my best to have some new topics throughout each week and am looking to you guys for feedback, opinions, and even suggestions after all it’s no fun talking to myself!
If you’ve glanced over our site, which I’m sure you all have ;), than you already know HR.com is the largest social network for the HR industry. With this in mind and considering I am creating this discussion on a social networking site what better place to start than the phenomenon of social networking and the benefits its created and continuing to create for the industry.
Before Facebook and Twitter it was normal to meet face-to-face and update one another about the changes in our lives. Now you update your status or tweet those changes for friends to see. Doing this allows you to get news out to a number of people in one shot and its free – there’s no long distance charges to tell your Aunt in Idaho or $25 dollars out the window to meet a friend for lunch. Since all of us reading this discussion have adopted the social network way of thinking in our personal lives take a minute and think about applying it in your professional lives.
As an HR professional you can check out groups like this one and see what others are talking about. Maybe there is someone doing the same job as you Greece who has tips on how you can perform a certain task faster. Through social networking you can access that person instantly and maybe even get an answer before the end of your workday regardless of the time difference! Or maybe there is an HR professional in the US who has access to a particular product or service that is not available to us up here in Canada… they could be a great target for pointers and product review that could have your boss thanking you before they make a costly purchase!
As an HR vendor social networks have the ability to get your product/service/knowledge on the virtual desks of thousands of worldwide professionals in the industry. By heightening your audience you heighten your ability to generate leads, which at the end of the day is the main goal! This audience you now have access to didn’t cost you any extras on travel, long distance, or postage to mail local or international information packets.
I think the idea of social networking is similar to that of the nature versus nurture debate. For those of the conventional mindset it is natural to pick up the phone and talk to someone or attend a meeting in person. I think that people can be nurtured to reformat their way of doing business and see just what the social networking world has to offer. I don’t think they’ll be disappointed!
