In speaking with colleagues and other HR professionals at various networking functions, it abundantly clear that many HR professionals outside of recruitment don’t seem to find value in social media.  I explain to them that I use social media to help me do my job better, which in turn helps the organization that I serve.  Many people give me blank stares, look at me quizzically and nod and say, “yeah.”  However, there are no follow up questions, and you can tell they think you’re speaking a different language.  So I thought I’d explain just a few reasons why I think those in management, generalist and specialist roles should pay attention.

1.  Your employees are using social media, and so is your marketing team.  Your marketing/PR team knows how to reach out to prospective customers, but you are still baffled as to how to communicate effectively with employees.  Find a way to bring people in.  Post your events on Yammer, a corporate style twitter site, and make contact with those aloof Gen Yers you’re always complaining about.   Have a launch party for your own corporate social media sites and use it as an opportunity to explain your social media policy and have employees sign up for your own social media site.  Have random drawings for those who sign up and stay involved on the media platform.

2.  The information highway has become about the length of your driveway (unless you’re Donald Trump).  You can use social media find out what people are saying in Congress about the legislation that affects your organization’s future, now, live! Yes, those people you elected are tweeting from Congress.  You want to show that you are involved in current legislation?  Pay attention while the laws are being drafted, not petitioning with letters after they have already been written and signed.

3.  Best practices are out there, and the best way to find out best practices is not by Googling “Best Practices in Subject X.”  It’s by networking and talking to people who have actually lived through the change that you are trying to move through.  Often publications highlight all the good things that became of a particular initiative or change, and there is always another side of the story.  Talk to people, get to know how it really worked, and try to learn from other’s mistakes.  You’ll save yourself time, your organization money, and you a few hundred bottles of Exedrine.

While these are just a few things I’ve had success in with social media, there are many many more.  Get out there, don’t be afraid, embrace the change because you’ll eventually have no choice in the matter.