Social Media Dot VHA

I need your help! Check out the email I received yesterday. This is a first step and definitely a step in the right direction for Federal HR (insert happy dance here!).

Who would have thought the Government could be cool? The method: social media. Because that is where an important target audience congregates. Check this out: Facebook boasts more than 250 million active users, while 88 percent of Twitter users are 34 years old or younger. And all of them may be interested in a career or a career change. Do these sound like channels you'd like to share with your prospects?

Now you can. VA Careers has established a presence on both Facebook and Twitter. Our Facebook page features videos, links, advertisements, and the ability to have a digital conversation with those people we most want to talk to – the potential VA prospect. And our Twitter presence allows us to instantly update our followers.

The second step? Granting social media access to HR offices. Most specifically, my office, because it is all about me - isn't it?! And here is where I need your help.

What is the one BEST post, article, comment, reason or thought you can think of - off the top of your head - that supports the need for HR to have workplace access to social media?

Comments

[Bonita Martin]

Wow. That is so cool. If the VA is using facebook and twitter, that opens the doors for all organizations. I would love to see the policy that is behind the user, but that's a whole different story...)

If you are looking for a reason to justify to Sr. Management in a large, bureaucratic org (which I have work in as well), I would say to know what is being said about us - aka to spy on others. :)

If you are looking for a reason to sell it to Sr. Management as a positive tool, I think that it gives you, as a rep of the government, a face and a name. It's personal in a seemingly impersonal bureaucracy. Good luck, Lisa!

[Ben Eubanks]

Researching candidates (because they DO represent you even off the clock), monitoring outside communication about the organization, and spreading the company brand/reputation are three off the top of my head.

[Steve Boese]

Access to social media in its various forms can definitely assist HR, or for that matter almost anyone involved in knowledge work in the more effective administration of their jobs. HR professionals have become a vibrant and active community in social media. Need help with a benefits or compliance issue? Just ask for opinions, someone else is out there dealing with the same thing. Need to understand some better methods for performance management? There are scores of blog articles on the topic. Need to get an 'expert' opinion on any Hr topic? Chances are an expert is only a tweet away. Lastly, and probably most importantly, I learn something new every single day via social media that makes me better at my job. That 'costs' my employer essentially nothing, and both they and I reap the benefits. Good luck Lisa!

[Robert - RHHR]

I am not a historian on the subject but I recall email not really going mainstream until the 1990's and now companies can not function without it. Social Media will be the communication tool of choice in the very near future surpassing email. Companies and organizations that realize this trend will be in an advantageous position in the coming years. Leadership comes from taking the risk of transforming change into direction and purpose.

[jessica lee - fistful of talent]

this is so exciting, lisa!

the best article from off the top of my head... here's one from Wired mag that features John Berry from the OPM talking about Obama's mandate to make working for the Fed gov cool again and how they are looking to social media to modernize how the Fed gov recruits. if it's Obama's mandate, surely you should have your firewells brought down! good luck and i look forward to seeing how things progress for your office.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/what-the-obama-administration-is-learning-from-facebook-google-and-ideo/