The Impact of Social Media on Human Resources

It is no longer uncommon for one to start their day off by checking their Facebook newsfeed or updating their status on Twitter. With that mentioned, it is without doubt that social media has turned into a part and parcel of our everyday life; making a huge impact on most of us. In a recent statistic report, it is stated by Daniells (2012) that on the average, there are 3.5 billion pieces of information being shared on popular social media Facebook every single month (para. 3). It demonstrates how frequently used are social media and how powerful social media is as a tool. In addition to affecting individuals, a recent research stated that among the fortune 500 companies, it is indicated that 58% have active corporate Facebook account and 62% having a Twitter account (Daniells, 2012, para. 3). Affecting almost everything that revolves around us, it is certain that social media would too have an impact on Human Resources, where human capitals are powered.
Social media now plays a major role in the hiring process. Citing a recent research by Society for Human Resources (SHRM), Doyle (2011) stated that companies using social networking site to hire showed a steady increase from 34% in the year 2008 to 56% 2011 (para. 1). This comes to show how much impact social media have on one of the key functions of human resources, the hiring process. Many might now question, so how major social media help in the hiring process? First and foremost, social media is able to reach out to the masses thus serving as a tool for major or minor companies to connect with the mass and hire. In a recent study conducted by Titlow (2011), it is reported that a whopping 89% of the companies in just America itself uses social media as a tool in reaching out to the mass to hire (para. 2). This comes to show how rampant and fast moving it is for companies using social media to aid the major function of hiring. Among all the social media available, LinkedIn is the most popular source used in