Social Media Trends

Public

Discussion:

Katya,

Excellent forum post and excellent question. How and to what extent social media should be considered in employee reviews will be dependent upon the goals of the department, the individual, the organization, and the role social media plays in achieving those goals. For instance, if a Career Services department were to determine that a social media strategy should be used by each Career Advisor for employer outreach defined by increasing one's employer network (relationships) in niche industries, social media goals could be established that align with this objective.

Here is an example: A Career Advisor who does not have a LinkedIn account (who may also lack confidence with "social media") can have a goal to establish a LinkedIn account and to achieve a network of at least 200 connections by the end of the year with at least 60% of those connections being in the Medical field (or whatever niche fields make sense for the programs taught at a particular institution). One could track these quantifiable goals with LinkedIn statistics provided in the "Contacts" tab of LinkedIn that allows one to analyze their network, the industries to which one's network belong and other demographic information. This is merely one example.

In this example, this employee development goal would encourage an Advisor to develop in the following ways:
1. Develop digital media literacy with an important professional social media platform (LinkedIn) by establishing an account and using it with purpose
2. Leverage a social media tool to expand one's employer relationships in targeted industries that align with program offerings (Targeted Employer Outreach)
3. Track and quantify their results relative to established goals that align with department strategy with an easy, automated system provided by the platform further developing their skill in the use of LinkedIn and analytics
4. Take what is learned through this established goal so that the Advisor can begin to feel more confident in their ability to transfer the knowledge they will obtain to the students/alumni they help. Imagine after one year, this Advisor may become extremely confident with the strategic use of LinkedIn in developing employer relationships. This Advisor may develop an entirely new presentation to teach students and alumni in workshops on how to effectively use LinkedIn for employer engagement and relationship building because of their own experience. This would have a multiplier effect on the benefits this one developmental goal has on the constituents the Advisor and the department also serve. Imagine training instructors on what is learned so that they benefit from the information and become more confident in their ability to reinforce what is taught by Career Services in their classroom student interactions. Instructors may even begin making assignments from the information. The point is that there could be a "trickle" effect where the benefits become amplified.

This is merely one example of how a professional development goal could be incorporated into an employee's evaluation. Many people think social media is simply a communication tool or that social media is now a job. While social media certainly is a communication channel and certainly has resulted in job development, social media represents a new skill set under the umbrella of "digital media" or what has been commonly referred to as "new media" literacy. If managers consider social media a skill set that must be acquired to grow with the changing world, encouraging employees to learn these skills in a manner that also aligns with department and institutional goals would be a strategic employee development tactic and, as the Implications section suggests, should be considered in employee reviews. Implementing such goals in employee reviews formalizes the development and ties it to performance. Given the significant implications social media has on everyone, and for career services professionals in particular, formal development goals would be a reasonable and sound strategy to consider.

Katya, I thank you for asking such an excellent question and furthering the meaningful discussion in this forum. If you or anyone else has another example beyond the one I provided, please add it to the forum. If this does not adequately answer your question or if you feel another example would be of more help, please let me know.

Robert Starks Jr.

Katya, Excellent forum post and excellent question. How and to what extent social media should be considered in employee reviews will be dependent upon the goals of the department, the individual, the organization, and the role social media plays in achieving those goals. For instance, if a Career Services department were to determine that a social media strategy should be used by each Career Advisor for employer outreach defined by increasing one's employer network (relationships) in niche industries, social media goals could be established that align with this objective. Here is an example: A Career Advisor who does not have a LinkedIn account (who may also lack confidence with "social media") can have a goal to establish a LinkedIn account and to achieve a network of at least 200 connections by the end of the year with at least 60% of those connections being in the Medical field (or whatever niche fields make sense for the programs taught at a particular institution). One could track these quantifiable goals with LinkedIn statistics provided in the "Contacts" tab of LinkedIn that allows one to analyze their network, the industries to which one's network belong and other demographic information. This is merely one example. In this example, this employee development goal would encourage an Advisor to develop in the following ways: 1. Develop digital media literacy with an important professional social media platform (LinkedIn) by establishing an account and using it with purpose 2. Leverage a social media tool to expand one's employer relationships in targeted industries that align with program offerings (Targeted Employer Outreach) 3. Track and quantify their results relative to established goals that align with department strategy with an easy, automated system provided by the platform further developing their skill in the use of LinkedIn and analytics 4. Take what is learned through this established goal so that the Advisor can begin to feel more confident in their ability to transfer the knowledge they will obtain to the students/alumni they help. Imagine after one year, this Advisor may become extremely confident with the strategic use of LinkedIn in developing employer relationships. This Advisor may develop an entirely new presentation to teach students and alumni in workshops on how to effectively use LinkedIn for employer engagement and relationship building because of their own experience. This would have a multiplier effect on the benefits this one developmental goal has on the constituents the Advisor and the department also serve. Imagine training instructors on what is learned so that they benefit from the information and become more confident in their ability to reinforce what is taught by Career Services in their classroom student interactions. Instructors may even begin making assignments from the information. The point is that there could be a "trickle" effect where the benefits become amplified. This is merely one example of how a professional development goal could be incorporated into an employee's evaluation. Many people think social media is simply a communication tool or that social media is now a job. While social media certainly is a communication channel and certainly has resulted in job development, social media represents a new skill set under the umbrella of "digital media" or what has been commonly referred to as "new media" literacy. If managers consider social media a skill set that must be acquired to grow with the changing world, encouraging employees to learn these skills in a manner that also aligns with department and institutional goals would be a strategic employee development tactic and, as the Implications section suggests, should be considered in employee reviews. Implementing such goals in employee reviews formalizes the development and ties it to performance. Given the significant implications social media has on everyone, and for career services professionals in particular, formal development goals would be a reasonable and sound strategy to consider. Katya, I thank you for asking such an excellent question and furthering the meaningful discussion in this forum. If you or anyone else has another example beyond the one I provided, please add it to the forum. If this does not adequately answer your question or if you feel another example would be of more help, please let me know. Robert Starks Jr.