social networking: How social media is cHanging tHe world of worktodd wheatland

Page 3 Introduction

Page 4 01. TheDigitalWorldofWork

Page 8 02. TheRiseofSocialNetworking

Page 11 03. PublicVersusPrivate:ThePitfallsofSocialMedia

Page 15 04. WorkorLeisure:TheRealValueofSocialMedia

contents

2

Theadventofsocialnetworkinghasfundamentallychangedthewaypeople

searchforworkandexchangeinformationaboutcareeropportunities.Asinmany

sectors,thetechnologyisre-shapingthejobsearchlandscapeandthrowing

upintriguingchallengesforemployeesandemployersalike.

“Idon’tbelievesocietyunderstandswhathappenswheneverythingisavailable,knowableandrecordedbyeveryoneallthetime.”eric schmidt, ceo google

todd wheatland

introduction

3

the digital world of work

01 Howdidyoufindyourmostrecentjob?That’sthequestionposedtoover97,000globalrespondentsinthe2011KellyGlobalWorkforceIndex.

Itwasoncesaidthataprospectivejob-seekerhadtowearthroughseveralpairsof

shoesinthesearchforwork.

Whiletherearestillsomewhowillbeatapathtoanemployer’sdoor,thevastmajority

ofactivityistakingplaceinthedigitalneighborhood.

Onlinejobboardshavebecomethedominantwaythatpeoplefindworkinvirtually

allpartsoftheworld,outstrippingotheravenuessuchasdirecthiring,referralsand

traditionalprintadvertising.

Morethanaquarter(26%)ofglobalrespondentsgainedtheirlastjobbyusingonline

jobboards,thesinglelargestsourceofjobs,followedby“word-of-mouth”referrals

(22%),recruitment/staffingcompanies(17%),directapproachfromemployers(also

17%),“other”methods(10%),printadvertisements(7%),andsocialmediasites(1%).

Acrosseachoftheworking-agegenerations-GenY(aged18-29),GenX(aged30-47)

andbabyboomers(aged48-65)–onlinejobboardsconstitutedthemajormeans

ofsecuringwork,or,inthecaseofthebabyboomers,thesecond-mostimportant.

Overall,however,GenYismorelikelytofindanewpositionthroughonlinejobboards

thantheiroldercounterparts.

Thecontactcenter/customerservicesector,togetherwiththeITindustryareatthefore

whenitcomestotheuseofonlineplatformsforwork.Butemployeesacrosstheboard

havelargelyembraceddigitalrecruitment,formanyofthesamereasonsbehindthe

successofonlinerealestate,autolistingsanddating.

4

Onlinejobboardsenablepeopletosearchintheirowntime,tolearnmoreabout

particularjobchoices,andtosortandfilteraccordingtopersonalpreferencesand

careeroptions.Theconvenience,accessibilityandpersonalisationaffordedbyonline

recruitmentremainsasvalidtojobseekerstodayasitdidadecadeago.

Thereisalsoasenseinwhich“searching”onanonlinejobboardisnotnecessarily

seenassearchingatall,becauseitispassiveandnon-committal.Individuals

canbrowseandresearchjobalternativestoanextentnotpossiblewithprint

advertisements,withouthavingtosignalanyintentionwitharecruiteroraprospective

employer.

Anemployeewhoisconsideringanewpositionorajobswitchnowhastheabilityto

tapintoalargeamountofinformationaboutaparticularposition,wellbeforethey

needtomaketheirfirstcontact.Theycanevendiscussthemeritsofanemployer

withothersinonlineforums,andlearnbeforehandwhatothershavetosayaboutthe

positionandtheorganisation.

Thesurveyfindingsshowhowrapidlytheworldofjobseekinghasshifted,fromone

whichwaslargelybasedaroundadvertisinginnewspapers,toonenowdominated

bythedigitalspace.Employeesnowhaveagreatercapacitytoknowmoreabout

particularjobsandemployers;tounderstandexactlytheskillsneeded;tolearn

whatexistingemployeesthink;todeterminehowtheywouldfit;andtoassesstheir

bargainingstrength.

Muchismadeoftheroleoftheinternetinempoweringcompaniestoglobalizetheir

candidatesourcing.Thevirtualworldofrecruitmenthasnotonlychangedthewaythat

organisationslocatetalent,however,butatitsbestputsagooddealmoreknowledge

intothehandsofthoselookingforwork.

01. the digital world of work

5

01. the digital world of work

6

figure 1:

how did you secure your most recent job? (% by generation)

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

All Generations

Baby Boomers

Generation X

Generation Y

OTHER

RECRUITMENT/STAFFING COMPANY

DIRECT APPROACH FROM EMPLOYER

PRINT ADVERTISEMENT

WORD-OF-MOUTH

SOCIAL MEDIA SITE

ONLINE JOB BOARD

24%

31%

19%

26%

22%

23%

22%

22%

8%

4%

10%

7%

18%

16%

19%

17%

18%

16%

17%

17%

10%

8%

13%

10%

1%

1%

1%

1%

01. the digital world of work

7

figure 2:

how did you secure your most recent job? (% through online job board)

OIL/GAS

HOSPITALITY

CENTRAL/LOCAL GOVERNMENT

UTILITIES

TRAVEL/LEISURE

MANUFACTURING

EDUCATION

TRANSPORT/DISTRIBUTION

ENGINEERING

SCIENCE/PHARMACEUTICAL

RETAIL

FINANCIAL SERVICES

BUSINESS SERVICES

IT

CONTACT CENTER/CUSTOMER SERVICE

21%

22%

23%

24%

24%

24%

25%

26%

27%

28%

28%

28%

28%

33%

33%

02

Withtherelativelyrecentemergenceofsocialmediaintotherecruitingspace,thereis

stillaverysmallnumberofpeoplewhoattributetheirmostrecentjobdirectlytosocial

media.Ifitholdsuptoevenasmallpartofitspotential,however,thisseemsdestinedto

changedramatically.Almostaquarter(24percent)ofrespondentssaythattheysearch

forworkusingblogsorsocialnetworksitessuchasFacebook,LinkedInandTwitter.

Socialmediasitesallowcandidatestofocusexactlyonthejobtheywant,eventhe

companytheywanttoworkwith.It’snotjusttheyoungergenerationswhoareactiveon

thesesites.Olderworkersareusingsocialmediaandblogstoidentifyjobopenings.

ThepopularityofsocialnetworkingsitestolocateworkishighestinEurope,where

theyareusedbyonequarterofrespondents,slightlyhigherthanforbothNorth

America(23percent)andAsiaPacific(22percent).

ThemostpopularsocialnetworkingsitesforjobseekersareFacebookandLinkedIn,

preferredby33percentand32percentrespectively.Afurther23percentuse“other”

sites,10percentuseblogs,and3percentuseTwitter.Facebookistheoverwhelming

preferenceofGenYparticipants,whileLinkedInisfavoredbyGenXandbabyboomers.

Inessence,thedigitalrevolutionhasgivenrisetoaveryactiveandrobustsetof

conversationsaboutwork,occurringinanetworkofdigitalcommunities,basedaround

particularbusinesses,industrysectors,andinterestgroups.Thesearenotjustabout

jobsinanarrowsense,buttouchonsatisfactionwithwork,work-lifebalance,andthe

strategiesthatorganisationsareusingtoattractandretainthebesttalent.Forthemost

part,theyarealsodiscreetand“undertheradar”.

8

the rise of social networkingSocialnetworkingisoccupyingagrowingplaceintherecruitmentfield.SitessuchasFacebook,LinkedIn,Twitterandblogsareincreasinginprominenceforjobseekersaspeoplediscussjobs,viewsandopinionsaboutwork,good(andbad)placestowork,industryissuesandcareeroptions.

02. the rise of social networking

9

figure 3:

do you search for jobs on social networking sites? (% yes)

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

All Generations

Baby Boomers

Generation X

Generation Y

EUROPE

ASIA PACIFIC

NORTH AMERICA

GLOBAL

24%

23%

24%

24%

24%

21%

22%

23%

20%

24%

14%

22%

26%

22%

29%

25%

Justasthesoundsofmarinelifeareinaudibletothehumanear,thesediscussions

oftendon’tpenetratethewiderworld,buttheyhavemeaningandresonancetothose

listeningbecausetheyoccurwithinatrustedinnercircle.

Bothpositiveandnegativeviewsaboutindividualemployersandjobsreverberate

aroundthischamber,andhaveahighdegreeofcredibility.Itisrareforsomeone

consideringaworkopportunitynottoseekinputorsharecommentsorinsightwith

othersintheironlinenetwork.

Fromanemployerperspective,itmakessensetobeattunedtowhatisbeingsaidin

thesecommunitiesbecauseitcanhaveacriticalimpactonhowtheyareperceivedin

themarket,andhowattractivetheyareaspreferredplacestowork.

02. the rise of social networking

10

figure 4:

which social networking sites do you use to search for jobs?

All Generations

Baby Boomers

Generation X

Generation Y

OTHER

BLOGS

LINKEDIN

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

30%

40%

22%

33%

36%

23%

39%

32%

9%

12%

9%

10%

22%

21%

27%

23%

2%

4%

2%

3%

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

a tale of 2 Platforms

Tellmewhereyouhangout,andI’lltellyouhowoldyouare

WithapologiestothemanyandvariedonlinecommunitiesthatareNOTFacebook

orLinkedin,Iwantedtocallouttheveryclearagegapthatthisresearchhasshown

betweenjobseekerbehavioronthoseplatforms.Whilstanalmost-identicalnumberof

respondentspreferredeitherLinkedin(32%)orTwitter(33%),therealstoryliesalong

agefaultlines.

Ifyou’reababy-boomer,you’renotlookingforworkonFacebook.Butifyou’reaGenY,

itseems,whywouldyoubeanywhereelse?

PuBlic versus Private: the Pitfalls of social media

03Aspeopleincreasinglyusesocialmediasitestoengagewithfriendsandcolleagues,thereisanundercurrentofconcernabouthowthisnewestformofinteractioncanadverselyimpactindividualsandharmcareers.

Manysaytheyareworriedaboutthenegativeconsequencesofpersonalcontent

causingembarrassmentandcareerfallout.Therearejustasmanywhoaredeliberately

censoringoreditingtheirpersonalprofilestoavoidthiscontenthavingcareerimpacts.

Morethanaquarterofrespondents(26percent)areworriedthatmaterialfromtheir

socialnetworkingpagecouldadverselyimpacttheircareer.Allgenerationsshare

concernsaboutthepotentialcareerfalloutfromsocialnetworkingcontent,but–

perhapsasaresultofhighsocialmediaadoptionduringschoolandcollegeyears-

GenerationYisthemostworried.

RespondentsintheAsiaPacificregionaresignificantlymoresensitiveaboutthis

materialthantheircounterpartsinNorthAmericaandEurope.

Thesensitivityaroundsocialnetworkingcontentisunderstandable.TVandprintmedia

inparticularseemtohaveaspecialabilitytodigupstoriesabouthowembarrassing

photosorcommentsonsitessuchasFacebookhavehurtpeople’scareers.

Whohasn’texperiencedthatmomentarypauseofthefingerbeforeclicking‘submit’

andpostingsomethingonline?Materialthatcanappearharmlessfuntosomecansend

analtogetherdifferentmessagetoworkcolleaguesandassociates.Itmayalsoremain

onlineformanyyearsafterbeingposted,andmaybeallbutimpossibletoerase.

11

03. PuBlic versus Private: the Pitfalls of social media

12

figure 5:

do you worry that material from your social networking page

could adversely impact your career? (% yes)

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

All Persons

Baby-boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

EUROPE

ASIA PACIFIC

NORTH AMERICA

GLOBAL

26%

28%

22%

26%

23%

22%

21%

22%

34%

35%

23%

33%

26%

27%

23%

26%

Onethirdofrespondentsadmittodeliberatelyeditingorcensoringcontentontheir

socialnetworkingsitesinordertoavoidcareerproblems.Allgenerationsareactivein

takingstepstocontrolthecontentoftheirsocialnetworkingpages,butGenerationY

isthemostlikelytobetakingdeliberatestepstoremoveoreditpotentially

damagingcontent.

Therealimpactofthismaterialonjobsandcareerprospectsisstillagreyarea.Indeed,

theusethatcanbeactuallymadeofsuchmaterialisproblematic.Inmanycountries

andjurisdictions,itisnotpermittedtodenyapersonajobordiscriminateagainst

themonthebasisofpersonalcontentontheirsocialnetworkingsite.

03. PuBlic versus Private: the Pitfalls of social media

13

figure 6:

do you deliberately censor content on your social networking

site in order to avoid career problems? (% yes)

All Persons

Baby-boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

EUROPE

ASIA PACIFIC

NORTH AMERICA

GLOBAL

33%

36%

30%

33%

32%

36%

31%

33%

33%

34%

26%

33%

33%

36%

30%

34%

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

Evenso,itwouldbearareindividualwhowaspreparedtosharetheirprivate,

unguardedmomentswiththeirprofessionalcolleagues.Forthatreason,thestandard

recommendationstendtogoalongthelinesofpeopleremainingvigilant,keeping

theirsocialandbusinessnetworksseparate,andtouseprivacyandsecuritysettingsto

protectthemselves.

What’sclearisthatmanyyoungerworkersandeventhosenotyetintheworkforceare

probablyblissfullyunawareoftheproblemsthatsomecontentmaycausemanyyears

intothefuture.No-onecanbecertainwhetherornotafutureemployerwilldelveinto

anindividual’spersonalsitetomakework-relatedevaluations.

03. PuBlic versus Private: the Pitfalls of social media

14

InafamousinterviewwiththeWallStreetJournalinmid-2010,GoogleCEOEric

Schmidtsaid“Idon’tbelievesocietyunderstandswhathappenswheneverythingis

available,knowableandrecordedbyeveryoneallthetime,”hesays.TheWSJwent

ontosay:‘Hepredicts,apparentlyseriously,thateveryyoungpersononedaywillbe

entitledautomaticallytochangehisorhernameonreachingadulthoodinorderto

disownyouthfulhijinksstoredontheirfriends’socialmediasites.’

Itisnotjustanissueforemployeesandcandidates.Employersalsoneedtothinkcarefully

abouttheuseofpersonalcontentofsocialmediasites.Relyingtooheavilyoninformation

onFacebookorLinkedIncanbeatrap.Ifitcontainsglowingrecommendationsfrom

friendsorrelatives,it’shardlylikelytobeobjective.JustlikewithanyCurriculumVitae,

theremayalsobecontentthatisexaggeratedorjustplainfabricated.

Forallsides,theemergenceofsocialmediahasopenedupanewworldof

opportunity,butthegroundrulesarestillawork-in-progresswhenitcomestomaking

criticalemployment-relatedjudgements.

work or leisure: the real value of social media

04Inanagewherealmosteveryonehasanonline“profile”,itcomesasnosurprisethattheseidentitiesarebeingputtouseintheworldofwork.

Theinternet,andsocialmediainparticular,haveprovidedtheopportunityfor

individualstostandoutinacrowdedmarketplace,withtheirownpersonalprofilesor

“branding”.Itisbecomingacceptedwisdomthatanactiveonlinepersonaiscriticalto

careeradvancement.

Morethanaquarterofrespondents(28percent)believeitisessentialtobeactiveon

socialmediainordertoadvancetheircareers.GenerationYarethemostlikelytobe

activeonlineforcareerdevelopment,withmorethanathird(34percent)regardingit

asarequisite.

InAsiaPacific,thereisanextremelyhighrateofonlineactivityforcareerpurposes,

with53percentofGenerationYand41percentofGenerationXregardingitas

essentialforcareerenhancement.

It’sadifferentstoryamongbabyboomers,whodon’tsharethesameenthusiasmfor

socialmediaasacareer-enhancementtool.

It’salsoclearthatcertainindustriessuchasInformationTechnologyandBusiness

Servicesstandout,withapproximatelyonethirdengaginginonlinediscussions.

Maybeitshouldcomeasnosurprisethatsocialmediaisnowakeypartofcareer

positioningandconnectingforexecutives.Itmakesthetaskofengagingwith

professionalcolleaguesmoreconvenient-andperhapsavoidstheneedforthose

tiresomeeveningsocialengagements.Muchbettertodemonstrateyournetworking

prowessfromthecomfortofyourhome,atatimeofyourchoosing.

15

04. work or leisure: the real value of social media

16

figure 7:

do you feel it is essential to be active on social media

in order to advance your career? (% yes)

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

All Persons

Baby-boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

EUROPE

ASIA PACIFIC

NORTH AMERICA

GLOBAL

26%

34%

20%

28%

26%

30%

19%

25%

41%

53%

19%

46%

21%

23%

21%

22%

Butshouldthissamelevelofengagementbepermittedwhileatwork?

Manyemployershaveintroducedrestrictionsofsocialmediaintheworkplace.Almost

athirdofrespondents(30percent)saythattheiremployershaveasocialmediaor

socialnetworkingpolicythatregulatesuseatwork.Employerrestrictionsaremore

commoninNorthAmerica,affecting33percentofparticipants,comparedwith

31percentinAsiaPacificand27percentinEurope.

Thequestionofwhethersocialmediaisavalidworkplacetoolwillsurelydepend

onthenatureoftheworkandthepurposesforwhichitisbeingused.Manybusinesses

nowhaveactivesocialnetworkingsiteswheretheycommunicatewithcustomers

andstakeholders.

04. work or leisure: the real value of social media

17

figure 8:

do you feel it is essential to be active on social media

in order to advance your career? (% yes by industry sector)

CENTRAL/LOCAL GOVERNMENT

TRANSPORT/DISTRIBUTION

OIL/GAS

HOSPITALITY

CONTACT CENTER/CUSTOMER SERVICE

SCIENCE/PHARMACEUTICAL

FINANCIAL SERVICES

UTILITIES

RETAIL

EDUCATION

ENGINEERING

TRAVEL/LEISURE

MANUFACTURING

BUSINESS SERVICES

IT

23%

24%

25%

25%

25%

26%

27%

28%

28%

28%

29%

30%

30%

32%

35%

04. work or leisure: the real value of social media

18

figure 9:

does your employer have a social media policy that regulates use at work? (% yes)

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

All Persons

Baby-boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

EUROPE

ASIA PACIFIC

NORTH AMERICA

GLOBAL

31%

29%

28%

30%

36%

31%

31%

33%

33%

30%

31%

31%

28%

27%

23%

27%

Butincertainindustries,socialnetworkingbyemployeeswillbehardtojustify.This

willthrowupsomehardquestionsforemployersandemployeesalike:Whatisthe

differencebetween“tweeting”andapersonalphonecall?Isitpermissibletochat

withfamilyorfriendsforlegitimatereasons?Whatisareasonabletimetospendon

personalsocialmediawhileatwork?

Someemployersmayseeitasalegitimateformofemployeeengagement(particularly

iftheyhavealargeGenYworkforce),whileotherswillviewitasawasteoftime.

It’sprobablyworthrecallingthatrestrictionsonuseoftheInternetatworkwereonce

commonplace,butit’shardtoimaginemanybusinessesdoingsotoday.Socialmedia

mayevolvethesameway.

04. work or leisure: the real value of social media

19

figure 10:

how much time do you spend on social media sites each day?

All Generations

Baby Boomers

Generation X

Generation Y

NEVER

MORE THAN 2 HOURS

1 – 2 HOURS

30 MINUTES – 1 HOUR

LESS THAN 30 MINUTES

47%

41%

44%

44%

22%

29%

18%

24%

8%

12%

6%

9%

3%

6%

2%

4%

21%

11%

30%

19%

all generations

BaBy Boomers

gen X

gen y

Anddespitetheimmensepopularityofsocialnetworking,thevastmajorityof

respondents(68percent)spendanhourorlesseachdayonsocialmediasites,while

19percentspendnotimeatall.Only13percentspendanhourormoreeachday.

GenerationYspendthelargestamountoftimeengagedinsocialnetworking.

Some18percentofGenerationYspendanhourormoreeachday,comparedwith

11percentofGenerationXand8percentofbabyboomers.

04. work or leisure: the real value of social media

20

ThereisnodoubtthattheGenYpopulationiscomfortablewithsocialmedia.

Arguably,GenXisatleastascomfortable,butperhapsmorecautious,knowingthe

riskscontainedinanunguardedcommentorphoto.

Willpeoplebecomemoreskilledatquarantiningworkfromleisure?Orwillan

‘alwayson’blendofpersonalandworklifebemorethenorm?

It’squitepossiblethatobligationswillfallontheoperatorsofsocialmediaplatforms.

Whatrightswillanemployeewhoissackedbecauseofsocialmediaindiscretions

haveagainstthesite’soperator?Wecanbesurethatlawyerswillcontinuetotry

andfindout.

Theseissueswillspawnnewrules,protocolsandetiquette.Alreadytheemergence

ofsocialmediahasindeliblychangedtheworldofwork.There’slittledoubtthatit’s

justthebeginning.

kellyservices.com

Alltrademarksarepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.AnEqualOpportunityEmployer.©2011KellyServices,Inc.W0855

aBout the author

TODDWHEATLANDisHeadofThoughtLeadership&Marketing,KellyOCG.

With15yearsexperienceinthehumanresourcesandworkforceconsultingspace,

Toddhasoverallresponsibilityforthoughtleadershipandglobalmarketing

initiatives.HehasdegreesinCommerce(Economics/Marketing)fromUWAand

CommunicationfromCurtinUniversity.Linkedin:www.linkedin.com/in/wheatland

Twitter:www.twitter.com/toddwheatland

aBout kelly

KellyServices,Inc.(NASDAQ:KELYA,KELYB)isaleaderinprovidingworkforcesolutions.

Kelly®offersacomprehensivearrayofoutsourcingandconsultingservicesaswellasworld-class

staffingonatemporary,temporary-to-hire,anddirect-hirebasis.Servingclientsaroundtheglobe,

Kellyprovidesemploymentto480,000employeesannually.Revenuein2010was$5billion.