Analysis of the influence of internet social networks on employee selection process in the Czech Republic

77 ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNET SOCIAL NETWORKS ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCESS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC Tomáš Ma ínek * Pe Hanzlík Czech Uni e si y o Li e Sciences P ague Facul y o Economics and Managemen Depa men o In o ma ion Enginee ing Kamýcká 961/129, 165 00, P aha 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic [email p o ec ed]zu.cz * Czech Uni e si y o Li e Sciences P ague Facul y o Economics and Managemen Depa men o In o ma ion Enginee ing Kamýcká 961/129, 165 00, P aha 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic [email p o ec ed] Abs ac The inc easing popula i y o social ne wo ks is cons an ly ex ending hei in luence, la ely e en o such speci ic ields as human esou ce managemen . The majo pa o he HR employees uses social ne wo ks o e alua ing job applican s. This a icle p o ides a s a is ical analysis o quan i a i e da a ga he ed om a a ge ed su ey desc ibing he cu en si ua ion in social ne wo ks use among pe sons esponsible o hi ing new employees in he Czech Republic. The esul s ob ained om his su ey will be a subjec o compa a i e analysis oge he wi h indings om he esea ch s udy conduc ed in o he de eloped coun ies se ing as a benchma k. The o e all esul s sugges ha he in luence o social ne wo ks on HR will u he inc ease in he nea u u e. In oduc ion The online social ne wo ks g adually gain new ac i e use s, which inc eases hei impac on a ious aspec s o ou daily li e. The sc eening o job applican s using online social pla o ms has become subs an i e in wo k o majo i y o HR p o essionals in he Uni ed S a es. They can hus e i y he u h ulness o he in o ma ion p o ided by job candida es, iden i y hei e e ences om o he pa ies, o c ea e an app oxima e image o a job seeke ’s pe sonali y. On he o he hand, ec ui e s who do so mo e on he edge o e hics, because hey can base hei decision on in o ma ion hey a e no legally eligible o conside . Gi en he g owing popula i y o social ne wo ks in he Czech Republic, a simila endency can be expec ed o be occu ing on he Czech Labou ma ke oo. The main aim o his a icle is o analyse in de ails he use o social ne wo king si es among Czech HR p ac i ione s in he p ocess o selec ing new employees. This a icle will also s udy a ailable esea ch da a om de eloped coun ies, and based on ga he ed indings p o ide a comp ehensi e compa ison wi h he ac ual si ua ion in he Czech Republic. This can be especially help ul in es ima ing possible u u e de elopmen . The main basis o esea ching he subjec was a a ge ed su ey conduc ed in he Czech Republic be ween 19 h Ap il 2013 and 22nd May 2013. I had a o m o an online ques ionnai e wi h key p o ec ed access a ailable a Do aznik.czu.cz. 15,744 pe sons om all he coun ies o he Czech Republic who demanded employees a he Labou O ice las yea and we e egis e ed on he job po al Nabidka-p ace.czin.eu a he same ime we e sen an 78 email in i a ion o join he poll. The ques ionnai e was ac ually a ended by 849 indi idual isi o s, 35 o hem howe e ailed o comple e i , and hei answe s we e no conside ed any u he . The ac ual sample hus includes 814 esponden s esponsible o hi ing new employees. O hese, 374 we e employed as HR specialis s, 210 wo ked ou side an HR depa men , 201 we e company owne s, and 29 we e employees o pe sonal agencies. The sample included a ious o ganisa ion sizes oo. 9 pe sons wi h au ho i y o hi e new employees we e om businesses cu en ly wi hou any addi ional s a , 151 wo ked in companies wi h less han 10 employees, 261 belonged o en e p ises ha ing be ween 10 and 49 wo ke s, 244 claimed o wo k o companies employing 50-250 people, and 149 esponden s came om an o ganisa ion wi h mo e han 250 employees. The su eyed HR p ac i ione s also co e ed a ie y o business domains: 27 pe sons claimed o wo k in anspo a ion, 38 in inances, 21 in in o ma ion echnology, 3 in cul u e and spo , 113 in he ade and ou ism, 15 in de ence and p o ec ion, 4 in he law ield, 58 in he cons uc ion indus y, 9 in esea ch and science, 37 in educa ion and aining, 235 in manu ac u ing and ope a ions, 33 in he heal h sec o , 17 in ag icul u e and o es y, and e en ually 204 ope a ing ou side hese ca ego ies. The ga he ed esul s o his su ey we e consequen ly compa ed wi h he Uni ed S a es na ionwide esea ch s udy by Ha is In e ac i e om Feb ua y 9 o Ma ch 2, 20l2, which included 2,303 hi ing manage s and human esou ce p o essionals ac oss indus ies and company sizes [2]. O he conside ed ma e ials include a a ge ed su ey ca ied ou be ween May and June 2012 by he JobVi e Company, which analysed answe s om mo e han 1000 HR p o essional om all a ound he wo ld [3], and a simila s udy by T us edID Repple om Oc obe 2011, based on answe s om mo e han 300 US HR p o essionals [8]. I mus be no ed, ha bo h Repple and JobVi e a e po als ocusing p ima ily a he HR specialis s, and bo h o e se ices ela ed o u iliza ion o In e ne social ne wo ks in ec ui ing. A poll conduc ed among membe s o hese po als is he e o e likely o be signi ican ly biased owa ds he use o hese echnologies o p ospe ous employees sc eening. Independen esea ches om he ield a e howe e sca ce. The compa a i e s udies be ween he Czech Republic and he Uni ed S a es a e in a sense qui e uncommon, because o he comple ely di e en cul u al se ings and di e en pa e ns o he HR managemen . On he o he hand, he in luence o he ongoing globalisa ion and ac ual ca ying ou o employee sc eening h oughou online in e ne echnologies mi iga es he di e ences be ween indi idual coun ies. Ne e heless, all he majo online social ne wo ks ha e been ounded and sp ead o he wo ld om he Uni ed S a es, so logically he es o he wo ld sligh ly alls behind in hei use. While he usage o ce ain social ne wo ks (Facebook) has eached i s op and is cu en ly slowly on a decline in he Uni ed S a es, in he Czech Republic is he absolu e numbe o i s use s s ill g adually g owing [14]. Taking in o accoun ha Facebook is a ailable in he Czech mu a ion since 2009, while in he Uni ed S a es ope a es since 2004, i can be assumed ha ce ain de elopmen pa e ns in u ilizing he social ne wo ks will be simila . 1 Employee Selec ion P ocess Employee Selec ion is he p ocess o pu ing he igh men on igh job. I is a p ocedu e o ma ching o ganiza ional equi emen s wi h he skills and quali ica ions o people. E ec i e selec ion can be achie ed only h ough e ec i e ma ching. By selec ing he bes possible candida e o he demanded job, he o ganiza ion will mos likely achie e quali y pe o mance. Mo eo e , he employee u no e and absen eeism p oblems can be educed and hus ime and money sa ed. P ope sc eening o candida es akes place du ing selec ion p ocedu e, when all he po en ial candida es who apply o he gi en job a e es ed. [7] 79 1.1 Employee selec ion phases Koubek dis inguishes wo consequen phases o he employee selec ion p ocess – p elimina y phase and e alua ion phase. [5] 1.1.1 P elimina y phase The main aim o he p elimina y phase is o de ine he ee o po en ially acan posi ion. I consis s o h ee basic s eps: 1. De ining he basic wo king condi ions, and he de ailed and clea desc ip ion o he job. 2. Analysing he knowledge, skills, and pe sonal quali ies ha a candida e should possess o ill he acan posi ion 3. Se ing he speci ic equi emen s o quali ica ion, educa ion, leng h o expe ience, special skills, and o he cha ac e is ics. An applican who mee s hese equi emen s is a sui able candida e o a pa icula job. These equi emen s o en become pa o a published job o e . [5] 1.1.2 E alua ion phase The p elimina y phase is success ully concluded when a su icien numbe o p ospe ous employees’ esumes is ga he ed o choose om. The ac ual e alua ion phase ha closely ollows ypically consis s o se e al s eps; in p ac ice is he mos common a combina ion o wo o h ee o he ollowing op ions: 1. Examina ion o ques ionnai es and o he documen s submi ed by an applican ., 2. P elimina y in e iew, aiming o supplemen some o he ac s con ained in he ques ionnai e and in w i en documen s, 3. Tes ing o applican s using employmen eligibili y es s o wi h he help o specialized assessmen cen es (diagnos ic p og am), 4. Selec ion in e iew, 5. Resea ching candida e’s e e ences, 6. Medical examina ion, 7. Decision on he selec ion o a pa icula candida e, 8. In o ming applican s o he decision. [5] Sc eening o applican s wi h assis ance o online social ne wo ks can be in eg a ed as a sepa a e s ep in he candida e e alua ion phase. I may suppo he applican s’ e e ences, and complemen in c ea ing hei pe sonal p o iles and hus enhance he quali y in ec ui men p ocesses. 2 In e ne social ne wo ks used o sc eening job candida es The su ey dis ibu ed among 7,944 uni e si y and college s uden s in 2012 in he Uni ed S a es disco e ed ha almos one hal o esponden s’ plans o use he social ne wo ks, like Facebook, Twi e , and LinkedIn, o look o a job. This means a ou old inc ease o e he pas wo yea s [1]. Acco ding o he esea ch s udy ca ied ou in 2011 on behal o he Job i e ec ui ing pla o m has abou 16% o employees in he Uni ed S a es ound hei p esen job hanks o In e ne social ne wo ks, compa ed wi h only 11% in 2010 [4]. 80 2.1 Facebook Facebook is he mos popula In e ne social ne wo k in he wo ld. I s use s can c ea e p o iles, which can be used o sha ing pe sonal in o ma ion, and communica ion wi h o he membe s o he social ne wo k, bo h p i a ely and publicly. Mo e han 3,900,000 egis e ed use s ha e a Facebook accoun in he Czech Republic [14], wha p esen s app oxima ely 37% o he Czech popula ion, compa ed o 158,800,000 egis e ed use s, app oxima ely 50% o he popula ion, in he Uni ed S a es [14, 13]. I is also he mos popula pla o m o looking o job oppo uni ies in bo h coun ies. Acco ding o he Job i es analysis om 2011, 48% o all job applican s sea ching o a job ha e used his pla o m a leas once. The same s udy shows ha mo e han 18 million o US ci izens s a e hey ound hei p esen job using Facebook. Index Kelly con i ms his ne wo k as he main pla o m o seeking a job among he Y gene a ion. Facebook has also g adually been wo king on es ablishing own ools o job sea ch and job oppo uni ies ad e ising [4]. 2.2 Twi e Twi e is a social pla o m, which enables i s membe s o publish messages o maximum leng h o 140 cha ac e s. I has mo e han 175,000 use s (app oxima ely 1% o he Czech popula ion), who publish hei pos s in Czech o Slo ak language [12]. In he US use he Twi e social ne wo k mo e han 141,800,000 use s (45% o he US popula ion) [9]. The as majo i y o Twi e use s in he Czech Republic a e IT o ma ke ing p o essionals, which p esen s aun ing oppo uni y o job o e ing en i ies. 2.3 LinkedIn LinkedIn is he bigges social ne wo k o p o essional use s. The membe s can w i e hei esumes, communica e wi h o he people wo king in he same domain, and p esen hemsel es o hei business pa ne s. Keeping he pe sonal p o ile on LinkedIn helps i s owne o be seen on he labou ma ke . LinkedIn pla o m has a module, which is dedica ed di ec ly o ad e ising job o e s. Mo e han 240,000 use s (app oxima ely 2% o he popula ion) om he Czech Republic a e cu en ly egis e ed [10], compa ed o mo e han 91,400,000 use s (29% o he popula ion) om he USA [11, 13]. 3 In e ne social ne wo ks use among HR p ac i ione s Recen esea ch s udies show signi ican a ia ion in he ela i e sha e o hose who use in e ne social ne wo ks o ec ui ing. O en quo ed 2012 s udies by Repple and JobVi e ag eed ha mo e han 90% o HR p o essionals sc een he job applican s on social ne wo ks o plan o begin wi h his p ac ice [3, 8]. The sample selec ion o hese s udies can howe e be ha dly conside ed andom, as was al eady men ioned be o e. In di ec compa ison s ands na ionwide esea ch conduc ed by Ha is In e ac i e in Uni ed S a es. Acco ding o i , 37% o HR p ac i ione s sc een candida es on In e ne social ne wo ks, and 11% plan o begin wi h his p ac ice [2]. I also poin s ou ha in 15% o US o ganisa ions is sc eening o candida es on in e ne social ne wo ks al eady o bidden by in e nal policies, mainly o e hical, and legal easons [2]. This p ac ice is on he e ge o dawn in he Czech Republic e en in 2013. In he conduc ed esea ch ha e 19.43% o esponden s con i med hey ha e ac i ely sc eened he job applican s on an In e ne social ne wo k. Ano he 18.61% o HR p ac i ione s ha e claimed o be planning o adop his echnique. The de ailed esul s a e ep esen ed in he ollowing igu e, wi h special emphasis o he ac ual posi ions o espec i e esponden s wi hin an o ganiza ion. 81 Sou ce: Own Fig. 1: In e ne social ne wo ks sc eening in he Czech Republic among he a ious pa ies in ol ed in hi ing new employees The esul s show he mos in e es ed in hei u u e employees’ beha iou on social ne wo ks a e he hi ing o ganiza ion owne s, na u ally unde he condi ion hey a e di ec ly in ol ed in he ec ui men p ocess. HR p o essionals plan o adop his p ac ice b oadly. The candida es’ beha iou on social ne wo ks is mo e likely o be examined when applying o a job in educa ion (78% o su eyed ec ui e s om his ield ac ually sc eens he p ospe ous employees), in bank and inancial sec o (52%), and in o ma ion echnologies (38%). The Ca e Builde esea ch sugges s ha he p ime posi ion among social ne wo ks used o job candida e sc eening ha e Facebook, used by 65% o hose who adap ed his p ac ice in he employee selec ion phase, closely ollowed by LinkedIn wi h 63% a Twi e used by 16% o ec ui e s [2]. When sc eening he applican s on In e ne social ne wo ks, Czech HR p ac i ione s use mainly Facebook; e en a a much highe a e han hei US coun e pa s. This is he logical consequence o Facebook being by a he mos popula social ne wo k in he Czech epublic, and ela i ely insigni ican use base o bo h s udied al e na i es. Popula i y o LinkedIn can be explained by i s p esen a ion as a p o essional ne wo k. Sou ce: Own Fig. 2: In e ne social ne wo k use by HR specialis s in he Czech Republic Va ious HR specialis s use he social ne wo ks o he i s ime a di e en s ages o he e alua ion phase o he ec ui ing p ocess. US HR assess candida e on social ne wo ks in 47% igh a e ecei ing an applica ion, in 27% a e he ini ial con e sa ion, in 15% a e a ho ough in e iew, and in 4% be o e making an ac ual o e o employmen [8]. Figu e 3 0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% HR employee Employee ou side HR Company owne Pe sonalis in agency Czech Republic in o e all 16,05% 18,78% 27,23% 23,33% 19,43% 23,42% 13,15% 18,32% 13,33% 18,61% Use social ne wo ks sc eening Plan o use social ne wo ks sc eening 0,00% 50,00% 100,00% Facebook LinkedIn Twi e 82,72% 40,74% 12,96% 82 desc ibes when Czech ec ui e s examine social ne wo ks o in o ma ion abou a p ospec i e employee o he i s ime. Sou ce: Own Fig. 3: The i s sc eening o a candida e on social ne wo ks acco ding o he s age o he ec ui men p ocess. The di e ence be ween HR gene alis s in bo h coun ies is signi ican , especially in he las phase o he hi ing p ocess. Tha means applican s a e ac ually sc eened on social ne wo ks mainly a e success ully passing h ough a de ailed in e iew in he Czech Republic. 65% o ec ui e s claimed o do so o ind ou i a candida e p esen s himsel /he sel p o essionally, 51% o e alua e i he candida e is a good i o he company cul u e, 45% o lea n mo e abou he candida e’s quali ica ions, 35% o see i he candida e is well- ounded, and e en ually 12% ac i ely look o easons no o hi e a candida e [2]. 34% o he US ec ui e s con i med o ejec an applican because o wha hey saw abou hem on social ne wo king si e [2]. Only 25.3% o he Czech HR p o essionals, who ac ually use he social ne wo ks sc eening, e used o hi e an applican based on he in o ma ion hey ga he ed on social ne wo ks. Thei main easons o doing so a e p esen ed in ollowing o e iew. Czech Republic 36,42% 22,84% 12,35% 28,40% A e ecie ing an applica ion A e ini al con e sa ion A e de ailed in e iew Righ be o e making an o e 83 Sou ce: Own Fig. 4: Reasons o ejec ing a candida e based on he indings om social ne wo king si es In he USA HR p ac i ione s penalize a job candida e he mos when hey ind ou ha hey ha e a di e en quali ica ion hen claimed o ha e eached [8]. When asked o name he ac o s ha can jeopa dize he chances o an applican o be hi ed, 49% o HR gene alis s men ioned p o oca i e/inapp op ia e pho os/in o, 45% candida e d inking o using d ugs, 35% poo communica ion skills. 33% bad mou hing p e ious employe , 28% disc imina o y commen s ela ed o ace, gende , o eligion [2]. In he Czech Republic he mos abundan eason o ejec ing an applican is a demons a ion o poo communica ion skills on In e ne social ne wo ks. 29% o he US ec ui e s on he o he hand claimed o accep an applican based on wha hey lea ned abou he /him on an In e ne social ne wo k [2]. When asking hose HR p ac i ione s o ma k he main easons o doing so, 58% selec ed a good eel o he candida e’s pe sonali y, 55% candida e’s p o essional image, 54% backg ound in o ma ion suppo ing a candida e’s p o essional quali ica ions, 51% he o e all candida e’s well- ounded, 49% g ea communica ion skills, 44% c ea i i y, 34% posi i e e e ences abou he candida e [2]. In he Czech Republic a p ospec i e employee has been accep ed because o wha hey saw abou hem on social ne wo ks by only 19.3% o HR p ac i ione s. The ac ual easons ha made he Czech HR o hi e an applican based on he indings om social ne wo ks a e p esen ed and quan i ied in he ollowing g aph. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 44% 44% 20% 37% 32% 54% 22% 39% 24% 84 Sou ce: Own Fig. 5: Reasons o hi ing a p ospec i e employee based on he indings om social ne wo king si es When hi ing based on in o ma ion om social ne wo ks, e e ences om o he use s, awa ds, badges, ce i ica es, and simila ac o s honou ing he po en ial employee’s wo k a e impo an bo h in he USA and he Czech Republic. Bo h coun ies’ ec ui e s also alue posi i e imp ession om a p o ile, which complemen s he p o essional quali ica ion, and demons a es c ea i i y and communica ion skills o i s owne [8]. O ac i e social ec ui ing p ac i ione s, 89% ha e made a hi e h ough LinkedIn, 26% h ough Facebook, and 15% h ough Twi e acco ding o he JobVi e wo ldwide su ey [3]. The In e ne social ne wo ks can also se e as a pla o m o publishing job o e s. The answe o he ques ion whe he he ec ui e s and HR specialis s publish o plan o publish some job o e s on an In e ne social ne wo k is add essed in de ails by he nex igu e. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 42% 45% 48% 42% 55% 26% 6% 85 Sou ce: Own Fig. 6: HR use he In e ne social ne wo ks o publishing job o e s in he Czech Republic The igu e 6 shows ha pe sonal agencies a e he mos common use s o In e ne social ne wo ks o ec ui ing. Dissemina ing he awa eness abou an o e ed wo k posi ion on he social ne wo ks is howe e mo e common among ac ual company owne s. People, who ha e al eady published some job o e s on In e ne social ne wo ks ha e in as majo i y used Facebook, ollowed by LinkedIn, and Twi e . The de ailed o e iew o he In e ne social ne wo ks used among he 20.64% o su eyed HR p o essional, who con i med o use his p ac ice o p esen ing wo k o e s, is shown in Figu e 7. Sou ce: Own Fig. 7: The p opo ion o social ne wo ks used by ec ui e s o publish job o e s in he Czech Republic Besides p e iously men ioned In e ne social ne wo ks, Google Plus and Lide.cz ha e also been used, howe e , hei absolu e impac was minimal, and hus does no appea in he g aphical o e iew. 0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% HR employee Employee ou side HR Company owne Pe sonalis in agency Czech Republic in o e all 18,45% 16,19% 26,87% 37,93% 20,64% 22,46% 13,33% 18,41% 17,24% 18,92% Publish job o e s on social ne wo ks Plan o publish job o e s on social ne wo ks 0,00% 20,00% 40,00% 60,00% 80,00% Facebook LinkedIn Twi e 77,38% 22,62% 10,71%