Like it or not, convincing human resource professionals that Twitter is a valuable use of their time and resources can be a challenging endeavor. And although I’ve shared my thoughts on how Twitter has changed my life and it’s applicability during industry events, I had trouble locating a comprehensive guidebook for those HR professionals who would like to jump into the fray.
To their credit, the Northern California HR Association (NCHRA) decided to expose their members to the basic principals and benefits of Twitter in this morning’s webinar, Twitter 101 for HR Professionals. Preparing to present on this topic was more difficult than I expected given the need to look at Twitter through the eyes of the skeptic non-user. The end result is the following (far from perfect) presentation.
My goal in socializing this document is simple – I’d like to see more HR professionals add Twitter to their toolkit. I’d encourage you to beg, borrow or steal from the deck if you believe it will bring more of our peers into the fold. If you’d like a copy of the slides themselves, simply drop me an email and I’ll forward them along for your enhancement, modification and customization.
Finally, please share your thoughts on what you think is missing. For example, I neglected to include a slide on tools (TweetDeck, Twitterific, etc.) so help out by sharing those utilities that make your Twitter experience more manageable and accessible. And when you do you’ll be supporting the one thing that always makes me smile – keeping the conversation going. 
15 Comments
Mark
Thank you for sharing this!
There are so many slides that walk people through social media. This is one of the better ones! Heck, I would love to use them!
Fabulous! Thanks for sharing.
Nice resource Mark, thanks for sharing! One thing I’m starting to see more of on Twitter are chats – where questions are asked and answered via a hashtag. It’s interesting to watch.
Hi Mark,
This is a very good, straightforward guide to the value of getting involved in twitter. I am going to pass along to a coach I know who has been struggling to convince her colleagues it’s worthwhile. As good primer.
For other people who might be skeptical, I did a #BTR show the other day on the value of Twitter in Your Job Search and interviewed a director and a recent hire about the hiring process for a new position. Twitter was integral to getting the word out to quaified candidates, and it certainly helped the candidate that she had already been a known prospect when she applied. Both had very valuable perspectives to share, and the director talked about how the territory is kind of “uncharted” from the employer side and can therefore be intimidating…he “unfollowed” candidates he was already interacting with to be as ethical as possible in his interactions during the search. Let me know if you’d be interested in the link. I don’t want to be a link-spammer, so I figured I’d just offer to pass it along to anyone interested. They’d be good interviews for other bloggers and podcasters that cover HR or higher education.
Sean
Great job on the presentation Mark! And it doesn’t hurt that I make a cameo appearance…lol. You put a lot of work into this and it shows. I think that HR really needs to embrace social media and don’t truly understand why a lot of people leaders are afraid of this technology. Managed smartly, Twitter, along with other social media tools can be a valuable asset to the industry and to the company itself. I think your presentation was insightful, knowledgeable, and overall, a just plain great idea! I am sure Twitter will see its membership grow by at least a few more Tweeps because of it!
Thanks for putting this together, Mark. I hope to share the link with my HR students in the fall.
The one thing I would add is that Twitter requires mobile access. When I tried having students join Twitter last year, 2/3 did not like it. I followed by asking those students who disliked it if their cellphones were web-enabled, and a significant majority said no.
Thanks everyone for the kind words and comments. I’m wondering if perhaps a “Twitter 102″ deck would be warranted. So far, the additional items people would like to see include – a) the emergence of “chats”; b) third-party tools; c) the importance of mobile device access; and d) “what should I tweet?” (via an email to me). What else would you recommend?
@Sean – Feel free to send the link along as I’m sure it would be helpful.
Have a great weekend all!
Heres the link to the episode “The Value of Twitter in Your Job Search”
http://ht.ly/1UtPl
I think that Mike Severy, the Director in charge of the search, presented a good issue for exploration: what’s the proper and ethical way to handle who you follow on twitter if a “tweep” applies for a job and you are directing the search.
He unfollowed applicants for the duration of the search. I’d love to hear from more experienced HR folks about how they view this.
Sean
Great slide deck Mark – a really useful introduction to Twitter for the HR pro. I have linked to it here for readers of the XpertHR blog.
Mark, this is an excellent overview and step-by-step introduction. You clearly know your subject matter; thank you.
As for #102 I’m certain you’ll receive many ideas. Don’t hesitate to be in touch if I may help.
Best wishes, and thank you again for an excellent program.
Chuck Conine
Hi Mark,
Thanks for generously sharing this wonderfully created presentation! It is a valuable resource for anyone new to Twitter (and has great tips and questions for others who’ve been using it for a while).
Shahrzad
@Sean – Great job on this! Thanks for sharing.
@David – Thanks for the kind words (and the link).
@Chuck – So pleased to hear that this was valuable. I’m certain we’ll be doing another one given the appetite for more advanced techniques.
@Shahrzad – Glad to hear the veterans of Twitter are getting some value our of this as well. Hope you had a great weekend!
Just what I’ve been looking for! Thanks for sharing.
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