Because of the high visibility and ROI importance of social recruiting within the employee lifecycle, many HR social media efforts begin here. So where do classic issues of bias and disparate treatment fit in. The answer appears to be very clear and yet very murky. So I talked to an expert on the topic, Lisa Harpe, a PhD industrial psychologist who has spent the last year researching this topic at her employer, Peopleclick, one of the leading suppliers of talent acquisition software. Anyone who is considering the first few steps down the path of social recruiting should pay close attention to this whole topic as this area will continue to evolve quite rapidly in the years ahead.
Where should one start their efforts?
Lisa: Every company that is doing any type of social recruiting should make sure that they have a clear set of policies and procedures in place. Everything else flows from that. And without this foundation, you will be on the defensive if you have any charges against your company concerning bias and unequal treatment.
Any other tips to someone just starting out?
Lisa: Everyone should understand how they are using social media. You may use it to gather information about candidates. You may use it to solicit candidates. You may actually use it in the hiring process. Depending on the answer to this question, you will have to adjust your policies and procedures accordingly.
How can you avoid using readily available information on-line that can be the major source of bias in a hiring decision?
Lisa: I recommend that you setup a Chinese firewall between the collection of information and that those that make hiring decisions. If one person is responsible for collecting uniform information about everyone on-line, it eliminates the appearance of bias and favoritism if the hiring manager is doing on-line research about candidates.
What type of records should you keep?
Lisa: This goes back to the policies and procedures that you setup in the beginning of your effort. You should research the record-keeping requirements mandated by federal and state regulations and incorporate these requirements into your policies and procedures. And then you need to make sure that these policies and procedures are being consistently followed. Organizations can create legal challenges by failing to consistently record information laid out in their own policies.
What are the laws that are most relevant?
Lisa: In the U.S., the most relevant laws are Title VII which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion and sex. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination based on age and the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities. Federal contractors must comply with Executive Order 11246, which, similar to Title VII, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion and sex. If you do international recruiting, country-specific laws may apply. The over arching principle is that the same considerations of bias apply to social recruiting as they do to more traditional methods of recruiting and hiring.
What about the issue of references?
Lisa: Social websites provide a list of potential references that may provide insight into the performance of the individual prospect. Without proper rules and training, hiring managers may take things into their own hands and use potential references in a manner which hurts candidate relations or runs afoul of the law. You can quickly develop a wild wild west culture where anything goes. Reference questions must be limited to fact-based questions with specific applicability to the job.
Have legal precedents been set?
Lisa: To my knowledge, very little legal precedence has been set because these processes are so new. It will take some time for cases to make it through the courts providing some legal guidelines. For the time being, taking what you know about traditional hiring and applying the same principles to social recruiting will keep you safe from most legal challenges.
Any final “golden rule” suggestions?
Lisa: Yes, always treat everyone the same. If you have a well defined process for selecting candidates and reaching hiring decisions, you have already gone a long way towards keeping yourself safe from most types of challenges. The second half of this golden rule is keeping enough documentation to show that you have always acted in a fair and consistent fashion will be very valuable as well.
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