ten or even five years ago, one never expected to hear the answer “internet” when we asked anyone about how they landed any particular job. looking for a job almost always involved phone calls to references, hard copied cvs and face to face interviews.
enter digital and the hr equation got shaken up, disrupting and re-writing the hr code. like with every other part of business, internet has changed the way businesses hire and manage talent. let’s look into the key aspects of how digital has changed the hr spectrum in pakistan.

1. online hiring:
hiring is shifting swiftly in the digital realm. started as being supplemental to traditional mediums of hiring like print; it has now become the reverse for most big companies. digital enables an employer to see a wholesome view of an employee (interactions, behavior and of course skills); reach large networks of people in lower cost and enable them to run background/reference checks on employees when they hire. linkedin remains the most popular medium for hiring in pakistan. as of today, 307,000+ omanis are using linkedin while 2.76 million emirates and 3.35 million pakistanis are using linkedin. apart from that facebook closed communities and groups focused on aggregating job opportunities are also gaining momentum.

 

 

february, 2016

2. employer branding online:
just like employers are running checks on employees online; employees are also checking potential companies’ online. for employers, their current and ex-employees can become the best source to spread a good word for them out in the market.

just like employers are running checks on employees online; employees are also checking potential companies’ online. for employers, their current and ex-employees can become the best source to spread a good word for them out in the market.

3. blurring of private and public:

employees are now connected more than ever before. even during office hours, we are all well too present on our second screens. the challenge for companies is to help employees strike a good balance between distractions and real work.

4. new challenges:
challenges for hr have certainly taken a new dimension since the entry of digital in the equation. older challenges like sexual harassment and privacy disclosures need to be dealt in a smarter way that factor in digital.

digital has changed hr and like all other aspects, the change has to be leveraged positively to reap the best results for employers and employees.