Sourcing Talent With Web 2.0

Since social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace are widely available to the public and free to use, all can serve as excellent tools to access untapped talent for the solar industry. This is especially true from small businesses and start-up companies, who may have resources scarcity issues concerning the recruitment of qualified prospective employees.

These social networking tools should be used as strategically as possible. Many argue that more social networking sites are leaning toward an open platform approach, so that numerous social networking tools can be embedded and shared across individual sites. However, some social networking sites—such as LinkedIn—are still taking somewhat of a walled garden approach, which allows for them to better control the security and quality of their content and retain an competitive pool of Fortune 500 employees.

Companies with a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation should focus on the active Twitter users—those who post relevant topics of what is happening today within the solar industry and how these changes and trends will impact the industry. Solar companies can reach out to these individuals directly, removing the need for a middle man and making it easier to identify candidates based on the number of followers they have and the quality and frequency of their posts.

Facebook should be used more so as a free marketing tool, by setting up a company page and gathering fans as the company gains more brand awareness. This page can also be used as a way to publicize employee benefits. This is especially true for smaller companies and start-ups who may not be able to offer competitive salaries but can offer unique benefits that a larger competitive company would not be able to. Lastly, once a significant pool of followers is retained, each profile can be reviewed to determine the demographics that the company is attracting.

LinkedIn, a professional networking site (PNS), is an excellent source to use for targeting individuals with specific skill sets and educational backgrounds. It can also give the company exposure to untapped talent that was previously inaccessible, by showing who within the network is already familiar with the prospective employee and provide an opportunity for a potential introduction to the third party. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, you can also view references from previous employers to confirm the quality of the candidate.

The social networking industry is changing rapidly, and solar companies should take this into consideration before relying on these sites for recruiting purposes. For example, Facebook has been signaling that it might expand into the PNS segment by offering a “tabbing” feature for current users so that they can access their social and professional networks simultaneously. However Facebook has been receiving a lot of push back as a result of privacy issues, which is something that LinkedIn has still been able to offer it’s users.

Leah Ben-Ami