Attracting Candidates Largely Affected by Online Corporate Image

 A survey conducted by Spherion Staffing Services has found that 47 percent of workers believe that the online reputation of a company is as important as the job offer while 45 percent say a company’s social media presence is an influential factor in deciding to accept a job offer. Additionally, 76 percent of respondents feel more satisfied with their jobs if their employer’s reputations are healthy compared to just 20 percent of those who are not satisfied with the online reputation. To the contrary, only 27 percent of employers feel that their social media presence influences how they are perceived by candidates though 44 percent place importance in having a great online reputation.

Employees are three times more satisfied with their job when they feel that their employers’ missions are clear and attained than when the mission is unclear. Also, 23 percent of respondents reported no clear mission from their employers. From the side of employers, 54 percent said they work hard to promote their cultures and missions online and 46 percent say their missions are clearly communicated. However, a mere 6 percent of employers are now using social media for employee motivation and retention while 28 percent use social media for recruitment purposes, a drop of 14 percent and 16 percent, respectively, from 2010.

“Organizations must become socially engaged in order to drive key business outcomes, such as talent attraction, engagement, satisfaction, and positive brand awareness and reputation,” Sandy Mazur, division president of Spherion Staffing Services, said. “Decisions, including whether people want to work for your organization, whether to stay with your organization, whether to sing your praises socially or not, are all highly dependent on your ability to be socially-engaged and socially-adept.”