The Relationship Revolution

Originally Posted to Unleash the Monster, a Monster Government Solutions blog

On Unleash the Monster, we have had ongoing discussions about the growing opportunity in the government workforce for seekers and employers. Where the Jobs Are identifies a number of openings within agencies in 2010 and our Keep America Working tour is going from city to city across this nation to bring together employers and seekers.

In the midst of the growing opportunity, government employers must realize that there has been a major shift in our workforce today and as a result, these employers have to change the way they interact with potential employees.

The digital age has quickly changed our mental models about the meaning of work. Let’s face facts. Work is no longer constrained to a physical location or time. As a result, people can work anywhere and at any time.

Best Buy for some time now has had a work environment where 45,000 of its workers can work wherever they want whenever they want so long as the work they do meets the standards and timeliness of the organization. And why do they do that? Because they get greater productivity with higher employee satisfaction.

Social networks have also crept on the scene creating new ways of collaborating and engaging in conversation. Our blog is a great example. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn are other platforms that have gained widespread use. But social networking isn’t just for collaborating between a dispersed workforce. It is also for recruiting and retaining a workforce.

Today recruiters have hoards of job applicants banging on their doors and are overwhelmed in finding the right candidates. But what will happen when the recession recedes? Recruiters will be faced with tough competition and fewer active seekers. That is why it is so critical to embrace the relationship revolution today and get involved in social networks to brand your agency and stay top of mind with the most qualified candidates.

Using social networks allows you to make trusted connections with candidates where you can engage in more frequent and informal conversations and showcase your organizations brand in a way that will stick with the candidate.

The bottom line is that social networking is a brand message reinforcement tool that recruiters need in the toolbox.