Social media has already revolutionized the way in which we engage with others. The figures don’t lie. We Are Social claims that there are more than 38 million active social media users in the UK alone. This is more than half of its total population. 84% of the millennials in the UK are using some form of social media each and every day.

This is something no one could have anticipated just a decade ago, yet it’s the reality we live in right now. Social media is a big part of our lives and it’s now beginning to play a very important role for HR, especially when the time comes for recruitment.

When it comes to social media screening there are a lot of companies like FAMA who provide services centered around just this.

HR can make use of social media in order to attract all the right candidates. They can also use it to engage with them during recruitment and increase the promotion of their brand.

It can be quite a powerful method of bringing to life all the positive experiences employees have had at an organisation and also get potential hires excited about joining.

More importantly, social media can offer a sort of insight into the personality of a person, their interests and preferences. This can’t be gained from interviews or CVs.

Apart from making use of social media for sourcing the right people, HR can even use it as a part of the screening process. This process captures the activity of a candidate online and could reveal positives as well as negatives about them.

One key benefit of this is it helps you avoid making hiring mistakes by uncovering illegal, violent or anti-social behaviour which you are unlikely to find out at an interview. Experts estimate the cost of bad hires are between 4 to 15 times their annual salary. So, social media can actually help businesses save lots of money.

But, while there are some advantages to this some employers tend to tread carefully. This may just be because employers aren’t sure about what they can or can’t do while hiring someone based on information on social media. They are also worried about legal ramifications in case they are proven wrong.

This is exactly where the challenge is. If you’re doing social media searches for the people in your organisation, it is very important that you have a strong grasp on the type of information you are allowed to use while determining who you hire.

One main way employers can ensure they are protected is by never making hiring decisions on the basis of protected characteristics, including age, gender reassignment, disability, race, martial status, etc. Social media can reveal quite a bit about the behaviour of a candidate which you won’t find anywhere else. Some of it cannot be considered, though.

You may also be at risk of liability if you find the comment boasting of violence and choose to ignore this and hire someone anyway. If there is a workplace issue, later on, you will be held accountable.

Hiring decisions should always be made only on the basis of information which is relevant to employment. Overall, if the information does reveal that the candidate isn’t dedicated to their work, are unprofessional or discriminatory, it’s something which can certainly be taken into account.

Social media screening is a very complex area, so whenever there’s any doubt, it’s always wise to outsource this job to third parties. These companies know just what can and cannot be done. This is a great way for you to save time and money while also mitigating any risk that is related to social media screening.