An exploration of the role of social media platforms in the employee recruitment process

If the explosion of professional and social networking media has radically changed the way in which people interact and communicate with each other both personally and within the workplace (McFarland and Ployhart 2015), what does this mean for the business and practice of HRM and more definitively what is its role in the recruitment process? There has been a relative paucity of empirical research exploring the processes and procedures individuals and their organisations utilise with respect to employing social media in the workplace, and specifically within the recruitment process. This gives rise to a critical gap in knowledge and understanding about social media in HRM practice. Utilising Jeske and Holland’s (2017) conceptual framework which explores the legal moral and ethical tensions and dilemmas associated with the use of social media within the HRM context, this inquiry explores what the role of social media is within the recruitment process, and more specifically its use during the attraction campaign. It also addresses how individuals and their organisations use social media for the purposes of recruitment in the context of HRM practice? It questions whether individuals/organisations consider the use of social media in the selection process to be morally or ethically unfair? Finally it explores what meaning do those responsible for recruitment attach to their experiences when using social media for recruitment purposes and whether there are perceived as a consequences. Utilising an exploratory interpretivist methodology, the research analyses the meanings those individuals/organisations directly involved with the use of social media in recruitment, attach to their experiences. The findings confirm a dual use of social media by employers, connected with a belief that strengthened connections with potential applicants are possible, alongside the original intended use as an attraction tool. This research uncovered a haphazard approach by employers in controlling employee’s use of corporate social media accounts and a blurring of the boundary between what is public and private. The thesis concludes by highlighting a need for further research and recommendations for HRM practice