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
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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]
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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].
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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.
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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%

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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
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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%
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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%
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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%