LinkedIn gives head hunters easy access to your talent pool

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LinkedIn has become a phenomenon for professional networking, with over 100 million users worldwide and over 2 million users in Australia alone.  Used as a key business resource for not only strengthening relationships, but also for recruitment, it’s no surprise that staff are also attracted by the opportunity to build their career profile and open themselves up to  new opportunities.

Many business leaders are surprised to discover the vast majority of LinkedIn’s revenue is derived from recruitment agencies that pay for premium access to search for candidates – which could include your organisation’s key people.

So while LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to search for the perfect candidate for your vacancy, what about the flip side – when you lose a valued employee to a competitor as a result of headhunting on LinkedIn?

Head-hunters skilled in social media can now search by company, job title, university and a host of other criteria according the human resources requirements of their clients.

A recent Employment Office survey revealed that 83% of workers are open to receiving potential job offers via LinkedIn, however only 29% had actually been approached by rival companies.  This figure is on the rise though, as LinkedIn becomes a key element of an employer’s recruitment arsenal.

Employers need to be realistic about the risks that social media platforms like LinkedIn pose to their talent pool, however there are steps that can be taken to minimise the potential damage: 

  • Accept that some employees will leave, and in fact some attrition is healthy.  If the attrition rate is starting to hurt the bottom line, you may need to analyse the reasons employees are moving on.
  • Review your employer value proposition and retention strategies to ensure you are providing employment packages that are competitive.  Don’t limit the analysis to salary – more employees than ever are judging organisations on their work/life balance offering, corporate philanthropy programs and employee benefit schemes.
  • Evaluate your company’s talent management system to ensure staff are engaged and the potential of future leaders is properly developed.
  • Have a look at when employees leave as much as why.  If people are leaving within a few months of joining your company, there may be an underlying recruitment issue that’s attracting the wrong candidates.
  • Communicate openly with employees if head-hunters are pursuing your team.  Let employees know you are aware of the situation, and that it’s likely because your company are industry leaders.  Create an environment where staff can raise any concerns they may have about their role, in order to maximise job satisfaction and quell any disharmony.
  • Establish a company policy for employees using LinkedIn.  Our survey discovered that only 20% of companies do this.  Guidelines outlining the company information that can and cannot be disclosed through an online profile can help mitigate some of the risks associated with online headhunting, not to mention protecting the company’s online reputation and branding