The Role of Social Media as a Tool for Recruitment from the Perspective of HR Practitioners

The advent of social media has gained considerable attention in the world of work; particularly in the
field of recruitment (Masa’d, 2015). Recruitment is integral to human resource management and the
war for talent continues to be a topical concern for organisations. Due to the paucity of research on
this topic in South Africa, the key aim of the study was to explore the role of social media as a
recruitment tool from the perspective of Human Resource (HR) practitioners across industry sectors.
A qualitative approach was adopted, using semi-structured interviews with six Human Resource
practitioners. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that
using LinkedIn and Twitter led to effective recruitment. LinkedIn was favoured for filling senior
manager positions, while Twitter attracted graduates and entry level candidates. Results indicated
that social media recruitment in companies was more cost-effective and efficient. Recommendations
showed that HR practitioners were not optimally using social media for recruitment due to a skills gap,
as such upskilling was required. Future research was required on the use of social networking sites
for job seeking among postgraduate students, and the social networking sites that are used by HR
practitioners for recruitment.