A large majority of companies have incorporated social media into their recruiting activities. That strategy puts them where the candidates—of all ages—are:

And a growing number of employers are checking personal Internet activities to vet a potential employee’s suitability, although a new law in Germany may place some limits there.

Companies including Taleo customer Hyatt Corporation link social networking tools directly into their recruitment system. Our upcoming webcast showcases:
Fluidity, Flexibility, and Focus in Executing a Social Media Strategy as Evidenced by DaVita.

As Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time online on social networking sites and blogs, up from 15.8 percent just a year ago (43 percent increase), the power of social media is not confined to talent acquisition. The use of social networking tools and technology for broader talent management—especially for training and development—provides unprecedented opportunities.

Social learning plugs into the power of community with coaches, mentors, and experts to help move the business strategy forward using informal learning situations for development.

Social talent management extends into recruiting to source and acquire talent, into performance management with mentoring and team communications, and into holistic talent management with Taleo and learning management.

Although a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) study found that over half of UK managers misjudge their strengths in the workplace and hinder business performance, there are organizations in which talent management and the performance review process is spot on.

The Wall Street Journal article, Performance Reviews by the Numbers, describes the transformation and results achieved by two Taleo customers: CDW Corporation and North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

In fact, with talent management technology and process optimization, North Shore-LIJ Health System improved employee satisfaction to 85 percent, achieved savings of $7.7 million, reduced nurse turnover to 13 percent, improved patient satisfaction to 86 percent, and boosted operating margin by $25 million. Read the Bersin & Associates case study, Hardwiring Performance Measurement, to learn how.

How can your organization hardwire performance to boost the bottom line and outperform the competition? Find out in a webcast presentation by North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System’s Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer Joseph Cabral on how to Streamline Your Performance Processes for High Potentials.

When thinking about new solutions for a new economy, make sure you take the opportunity to dive deeper into creating talent pools with a unified talent management approach.

Talking the Talk: Jeff Schwartz on Building Talent During a Downturn in Knowledge@Wharton explains why now is the time to develop your talent pools citing research from Deloitte: Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy: Where Are You on the Recovery Curve?

Strengthen Your Talent Pipeline Now from the Center for Creative Leadership in Forbes recommends three key moves to achieve success:

• Clearly identify your high potentials.
• Take a personal approach.
• Engage in the best strategy, reciprocity.

With the benefit of talent intelligence, you can create talent pools that tie into sourcing, development, succession, and leadership plans. You’ll boost engagement and bottom line results, while positioning your organization for consistent high performance.

Many talent management conversations build to the quantification question: How much does it cost? Here are two answers:

The Risk-Reward of Quality from staffing.org uses this general context for hiring risk:

• Cost per hire is typically only 8%–12% of first-year compensation.
• The cost of poor retention (high turnover) is typically around 50% of first-year compensation and can easily top 100%.
• Poor performance, however, is a multiple of compensation over the entire employee lifecycle.

According to Futurestep, a conservative estimate of a frontline / middle manager leaving after three months is $60k - The Real Cost Of A Bad Hire In 2010. Use that factor in a company with thousands of employees and it multiplies quickly. So the question is not simply how much ROI will you achieve from improved processes and savings. It’s mitigating the aggregate risk of losing $60,000 for every bad management hire.

Companies such as Sara Lee are taking a strategic approach to staffing with a focus on quality of hire.

Michael Whitlow, Human Resources Director, said that "although Sara Lee had an effective centralised and internal recruitment model within the business, our organisation is keen to take its sourcing strategy to the next level by maximising the use of leading edge recruitment technology (Taleo) and integrating best practice approaches to sourcing into the business.

Focus on process to reduce your costs. There are hard costs in resources and technology associated with proactive, strategic action. And there are calculable costs from poor process and lack of technology support for talent management practices. Make sure you are cognizant of both the costs and the quantifiable returns.

70% of respondents say that they are more focused on managing risk and uncertainty within their organization today compared to before the financial markets tumbled two years ago. According to The Report on Business Uncertainty: 2010 Survey Results, almost half of 1,048 global executives surveyed said they are taking bolder action.

One action is that more executives are intentionally linking talent intelligence to growth strategy. The survey found a positive correlation with growth.

• 68% of respondents who strongly agree that there is a clear link between their job and corporate strategy report that their company is growing revenue, while just 39% of those that strongly disagree report revenue growth.

• Just 27% of respondents who strongly agree that there is a clear link between their job and corporate strategy report that revenues are flat or declining, while 57% of respondents who strongly disagree note that revenues are flat or declining.

The Harvard Business Review blog, Making Your Strategy Work on the Frontline, cites the estimate that only 5% of employees understand their company's strategy.

As companies navigate the new economic landscape, adjustments in talent management practices and alignment of corporate goals and workforce execution can drive more than an increase in productivity. Alignment inside can make the difference between foundering and prospering.