ARTICLE SUMMARY: The Chartered Institute of Human Resources (CIPD) in the UK has recently published a discussion document on Web 2.0 and Human Resources. This article outlines my intial thoughts to the paper.

I was delighted to see that the CIPD had commissioned a paper to explore Web 2.0 and HR and that input is being sought from the HR community.

The stated goal of the CIPD, Web 2.0 and Human Resources research insight report is:

to encourage ‘personal reflection and debate among the HR community about the way newer web-based technologies are influencing people management.

However I the inital tone of the Web 2.0 and HR report as the authors stated convered me:

…we believe that specialists in people management, learning and development, work design and change management functions of organisations are likely to find themselves under increasing pressure to adopt Web 2.0 applications.

This for me feels like a disempowering way to explore Web 2.0 as it applies to human resources and people strategy.

I see the opportunity quite the reverse, that Web 2.0 provides an opportunity to truly deliver value against the people agenda and with little overhead - which we all know HR departments are being asked to control and reduce especially at a time of economic uncertainty - rather than the HR profession being ‘under increasing pressure to adopt web 2.0 applications’.

The report provides a somewhat narrow approach to looking at web 2.0 as it applies to HR. Yes it’s important for us to understand the different platforms, but we don’t need HR professionals to become geeks in te area of Web 2.0 and social media.

What might have been a more effective and engaging approach and easier for the HR community to get their minds around Web 2.0 and social media, would be to look at the employment life cycle and then explore the potential Web 2.0 applications that could be applied and be of benefit to each stage to ensure that people and organisation strategy objectives are met.

For example:

• the use of online video and employee blogs on a company’s career site to bring career opportunities to life when attracting talent and express the employer brand at the point of recruitment
• the use of podcasts to support embedding of learning and the sharing of information from town hall meetings to a distributed workforce
• the use of a wiki to provide accurate access to employment policies without the resources needed to print out hundreds of copies of literature
• the use of an enterprise social network to support the talent agenda and create a data base that can be used in management development reviews.

The report covers the features of Web 2.0 based on a model provided by Ross Dawson.

However the areas of work covered missed some critical enablers that Web 2.0 provides which are highly relevant for HR and it’s role in supporting the deliver of business strategy for example:

• empowering organisational learning and the development of a learning organisation
• embedding learning and supporting organisational development
• creating communities of practice, expertise and recording organisational knowledge
• facilitating employee engagement and communications
• encouraging and accessing innovation and rapid capability development
• managing and reducing controllable costs.

In the area that covered social networking, I was suprised not to read of the importance that social network LinkedIn plays in recruitment with many executive recruiters using LinkedIn to search for potential candidates and as I have written about previously how candidates are looking for the profiles of HR Directors, recruiters and talent managers on LinkedIn before they meet them.

It should be remembered that social media and Web 2.0 platforms should be considered in the context of the organisation culture and processes and that they are platforms that can be integrated into a broader communication programme. I’m not suggesting that they are the only solutions to enable employee communications.

The CIPD Wed 2.0 and HR report does provide case studies of Pfizer who use an internal wiki, three UK government departments who use message boards, management blogs and podcasts and T-Mobile who use social networking for recruitment.

Additional case studies I would recommend HR professionals explore would be those of BT, ebay, IBM and Microsoft as I covered recently when live blogging from the Ragan Communications and Simply Communicate International Employee Communications Summit.

In summary it is great to see that the CIPD is starting to consider Web 2.0 as it relates to HR. I’d really welcome the CIPD exploring Web 2.0 as it relates to how HR can enable the delivery of business strategy thorough social media rather than HR solutions for the sake of HR goals.

What I do know from conversations I have had at the IIA Social Media Working Group and from many other conversations at conferences and with business leaders, along with my own experience of social media in enterprise, is that it’s unlikely that HR will achieve a voice at the boardroom table on the subject of Web 2.0 strategies to enable the HR agenda without overtly making that connection.

Investment in company intranets, an area that HR and communications people alike should influence, falls far behind the investment in the external internet in most organisations. Investment in training and development and people related activities often gets cut at the time of an economic downturn.

Web 2.0 platforms can be applied quickly and cost effectively within the enterprise and the opportunity that HR has is that it’s one of the few functions in business that has a connection with every element of the business.

Applying HR’s knowledge and expertise to the agenda of organisational effectiveness, organisational development and the building and nurturing of a talent pool capable of delivering the growth strategy of businesses in a highly competitive and changing workplace is where HR can and should add significant value.

HR can not achieve this on their own. Reading the CIPD Web 2.0 and HR report is a start. Bringing groups of HR practitioners together for education sessions on Web 2.0 and social media strategies will help.

But the skills, opportunity and ability that many HR professionals have to facilitate and bring together groups of people from across the organisation to explore how Web 2.0 strategies can be applied to deliver the organisation’s strategic priorities - now that is the sweet spot.

In the UK and Ireland, many corporates are still at the education and familiarisation phase of understanding social media and how it can be integrated into the business to support the delivery of strategic goals.

The CIPD and the exploration of Web 2.0 and HR study could provide a catalyst for HR to play a much more significant role in influencing adoption of enterprise social media which by it’s nature can, will and should influence organisational culture and ways of working.

Perhaps the CIPD might consider creating a wiki as the IIA are doing for the IIA Social Media Working Group so that those with experience and insights in the area of social media and organisational development could contribute to this highly relevant and timely debate?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Employee engagement though a recession: a critical strategy for retaining talent

Why HR Directors and Talent Managers need to have their profiles on LinkedIn

Insights for the International Employee Communications Summit day 1 and day 2

Why businesses should appreciate bloggers

Podcast - How social media can help you ride the recession

Disclosure: I used to be SVP Human Resources for a global organisation in a number of markets across the world and write on the subject of employer branding and leadership and the intersection with social media so the response reflects my past and current experience. 

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