Social Network Suicide

by Paul Gatling

Northwest Arkansas Business Journal - 7/11/2011

There was a time when job seekers need only concern themselves with a sharp resume, neat appearance and fresh breath.
 

Looking good on paper and in person are still requirements of the job hunt, but more and more candidates are being viewed through an additional lens - social media.

The practice, referred to as online vetting or cybervetting, involves obtaining information through social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, et al.), blogs or search engines (Google, Yahoo!).
It is not illegal, but is not widely held as acceptable. But because of the wealth of information that's available just a mouse-click away, it isn't hard to imagine the first thing a hiring boss does when receiving an application or resume is to search for the applicant's name on the Internet.

"Without a doubt, there are companies that do that," said Mike Whittington, a partner with the executive recruiting firm Cameron Smith & Associates in Rogers.

"Social networking is really playing such a big part in all communication, and it's something that recruiters as well as hiring managers use as an additional tool."

Because of the rapid growth of technology, it would seem foolish for employers to ignore it as an additional resource.

According to a recent Econsultancy report, LinkedIn has more than 100 million professionals using its platform. Facebook has around 640 million users worldwide and Twitter reports 175 million registered users.

When it's in the best interests of their company to do so, why wouldn't an employer take advantage of that kind of reach to find out as much as possible about the person who wants to work there?

For the jobseeker, depending on the information that's mined, it could mean the difference between landing and losing a job. Social media gaffes and digital photo trails that live forever can end the careers of the most powerful, (i.e. Weiner, Anthony). 

They can certainly keep a beginner from getting a foot in the door.
For the employer, the bottom line is determining what type of judgment a potential employee would use.

The average Facebook user creates 90 pieces of content every month, according to CareerBuilder.com. That's a lot of indicators that potentially can be used to judge - fairly or unfairly.

If seen by people who are making important decisions about your future, posting pictures or information that could be viewed in a negative light can be a dangerous proposition.

Call it social network suicide. 
 
Wanted: Additional Information

According to a 2009 survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers conducted by CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers said they use social networking sites to screen employees.

Eleven percent of employers plan to begin using social networking sites for the screening process. Consider that a reflection of the ever-growing technology age.

"That doesn't surprise me," said Sara Staley. "The generations that are coming into the workforce are more technologically oriented than previous generations and the Internet and social media sites are where [hiring managers] and recruiters will source their candidates moving forward."

Staley is the Bentonville and Rogers branch manager for Staffmark Investment LLC, an employment staffing company with more than 300 locations in 31 states.

The company's aim is to act as a matchmaker between jobseekers and employers and as such, sees a large share of paper applications and conducts countless interviews.

From her perspective, Staley says the kind of personal information found on Facebook, Twitter or MySpace is irrelevant.

"I don't think that whatever somebody puts on [his or her] Facebook page should affect [his or her] skill set or whether or not [he or she] is capable of doing a job," she said. "It's not a practice we use. I can't speak for all Staffmark offices. Everybody is different in the way they source candidates, but I don't think that technique would be something we would utilize."

Staley did add that she would feel comfortable going to a job applicant's LinkedIn profile because it's not as much personal as it is business oriented. Others agree.

"In the past, you used to meet someone and exchange business cards," Whittington said. "That's LinkedIn. That's your card now. It's not necessarily [only for] a job seeker, but it says, ‘This is who I am and this is what I do.'"

Whittington said he believes companies aren't mining social networking sites necessarily for negative or positive information. They just want additional information.

Or, when prompt processing is a plus, a recruiter may turn to cybervetting to get the ball rolling on the screening process.

"Sometimes as we are recruiting we may not have their resume yet and we just want to get a jumpstart on it," he said. "I don't think you make a decision based on that information. It's not something we review or put any weight on.

"But, with Facebook being something that hiring managers are looking at, or at least have that option, if you're someone looking to make a career change, you should make sure you've got everything buttoned up, so to speak." 
 
A Sticky Wicket

On the Staffmark website is the following disclaimer: Staffmark is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability or veteran status.

Does that sound like information that might be readily viewable on a social networking page? Depending on a user's privacy settings, it well could be.

The disclaimer is, of course, a reminder of federal and state laws that prohibit prospective employers from asking certain questions that are not related to the job they are hiring for.

Judging a job applicant - and ultimately disqualifying him or her based on racy findings - is one thing.

Discovering information that is legally prohibited is another.

"Technology is making our personal [lives] and our private hard to separate," said Cyndi Nance, professor of law at the University of Arkansas. "So much is unsettled. Privacy laws in the states differ and the distinction between the public and private sector is quite a mish mash."

One thing that overrides everything else for HR professionals is that hiring decisions must be reached on unbiased, legal considerations.
"It can be a sticky wicket," said Kris DeLano, the HR director for Marshalltown Co. in Fayetteville. She has more than 25 years of HR experience and serves on the board of the Northwest Arkansas Human Resources Association.

"Unless you protect that stuff, it is out there in a public domain. If you have Facebook and don't have the right privacy settings, an employer can go get that without repercussion. But, once you know it, the onus is on the employer to prove that the information wasn't used as the reason for hiring and not hiring."

To date, these issues haven't been addressed by the legal system, though that seems inevitable considering the legal risks involved. There are numerous unanswered questions involving discrimination, invasion of privacy, First Amendment rights and authenticity of information.
Nance said it's a "pretty hot topic" among the American Bar Association set and will be a central topic at the ABA national meeting in Toronto in August.

Additionally, an article published recently in the Employment Screening Resources News reported that ESR - a nationwide background screening provider accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners - will soon offer the white paper Managing the Risks of Using the Internet for Employment Screening Background Checks to provide an informative introduction to using Internet search engines and social network sites for employment background checks.

Melanie McClure, a partner at Cox, Sterling and McClure PLLC in North Little Rock, focuses on employment law and also maintains a blog about employment law issues at aremploymentlaw.com. In terms of vetting a candidate, McClure said she has yet to see a case arise from a candidate claiming to be denied employment because of social media.

"[Cybervetting] can create some risk," she said. "But personally, I don't think it's enough to not do it. The information you can gain is very valuable."

McClure did note the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the federal statute that requires employers to get consent from a job candidate before conducting a background check.

"Historically that's been a criminal background check or a credit check," she said. "I haven't seen a case that just reaches into Googling anybody."

The following article appeared in the business pages of the local edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Sunday, July 10, 2011.

Retailer To Open Buying Office
SMITH HELPS SPUR GROWTH OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
By Christie Swanson 
 
A Korean retailer will soon have an office in Northwest Arkansas.

The recruitment of international businesses to the area is the latest venture of Cameron Smith.

He helped spur the explosive growth of vendor offices for Walmart. When he started his executive search firm Cameron Smith & Associates in 1994 about 50 vendors had offices in the area. Today there are 1,246. His new vision has enticed E-Mart, South Korea’s largest discount retailer, into opening a 10-person buying office in the area.

Vendors and retailers benefit when offices are close by because it builds relationships between the companies and helps merchandise flow smoothly from manufacturer to customer.

Walmart’s Northwest Arkansas vendor community is composed of companies of all sizes and specialties, including Procter & Gamble, Revlon, LG and DreamWorks.

Smith said as new retailers arrive, vendor offices will need to adjust and bring in additional workers.

“Walmart doesn’t want any insights being discussed with any other retailers. They are uncomfortable with other retailers working with their buyers,” he said.

But the extra selling power afforded by international growth will be an easy sell to suppliers, he said.

Smith said E-Mart is the second international retailer he has helped move to Northwest Arkansas. The first was a Philippine retailer that placed a buyer in the area.

E-Mart declined to comment on the move until the office is ready to open, but Smith said that should be soon.

“They loved the idea, they’ve researched it and are now ready to do it,” Smith said.

E-Mart has 128 stores in South Korea and China, and opening a local buying office will open the doors to small to mid-size American companies they would otherwise not be able to reach, Smith said.

E-Mart is the retail brand of South Korea’s Shinsegae Group and says on its website it opened the first discount store in Korea in 1993.

Walmart and E-Mart have crossed paths before. Walmart pulled out of South Korea in 2006, selling all 16 stores to Shinsegae for $882 million. Those Walmart stores switched to the E-Mart brand.
Smith said he is in talks with about five other global retailers.

Drawing new international retailers into the area not only helps Smith grow his business, it helps the Northwest Arkansas Council meet goals established in its January report, Greater Northwest Arkansas Development Strategy.

Mike Malone, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said the report identified retail as one of the region’s eight key job growth sectors.

“Why wouldn’t they want to set up shop here and benefit from what is already here,” he asked. “I would argue there are no two other counties in the country that have the level of retail expertise you will find here.”

Malone said it is important to recruit new businesses while continuing to support the retailers responsible for the growth.
The Arkansas World Trade Center in Rogers also plays a part in new international trade.

Dan Hendrix, trade center CEO, said the group hosted the team from E-Mart in January and more than 20 companies presented products. Hendrix said he would not disclose the companies involved because of confidentiality agreements.

Trade with Korea became a statewide topic in late June when the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration held a seminar in Little Rock on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement that awaits Congressional ratification.
The agreement would eliminate tariffs within five years for more than 95 percent of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial products, and tariffs would be eliminated for nearly two-thirds of U.S. agricultural exports immediately.

The meeting’s goal was to show how the trade agreement could help U.S. companies be more competitive in the Korean market, Hendrix said. He said South Korea is a huge market for U.S. and Arkansas products.

Korea is the seventh largest U.S. trading partner and fifth largest U.S. market for agriculture goods, according to the U.S.-Korea Business Council.

Full implementation of the Korea trade agreement could generate nearly 280,000 jobs, including 2,556 in Arkansas, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. More than 52,000 Arkansas jobs are supported by good exports, representing 5 percent of the state’s private industry, according to the commission.

“We really promote two-way trade, because that is important,” he said. “They want to trade with each other in both buying and selling.”

Hendrix said if Congress ratifies the trade agreement it could have a big impact on Arkansas manufacturing, innovative technology and agriculture.

“About 96 percent of the world’s population lives outside the border of the U.S. and all these countries are passing free trade agreements with each other,” Hendrix said. “That’s why it’s important to move forward.”
 

The New York Post reported in January that after years of trying to imitate Target's trendy "cheap chic," Walmart is taking a fresh look at its competition. The giant retailer is taking aim at another rival: the rock-bottom prices of dollar stores.

Walmart's vendor partners will be challenged to provide lower prices and smaller, more affordable packages. The news is not surprising to Walmart suppliers.

"Wal-Mart is preaching to the choir, according to Cameron Smith of Cameron Smith & Associates, a dominant executive-search firm for Wal-Mart suppliers. Dollar stores led by Dollar General and Family Dollar pose the greatest threat to Wal-Mart over the next five years, according to a survey of Wal-Mart's vendors released last month.

"'To be honest, I didn't really expect that,' Smith told The Post, noting that most chatter typically surrounds Wal-Mart's rivalry with Target."

To read the New York Post article by James Covert, click here.

A recent Reuters blog series on the economic recovery showcased the role Walmart and its suppliers have played in the economic development of Northwest Arkansas. Journalist Nick Carey visited with Kathy Deck, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, and Cameron Smith of Cameron Smith & Associates.

Recapping the enormous growth in the area, Kathy Deck acknowledged that despite the success of Walmart, Northwest Arkansas is challenged to diversify its economy. Local leaders are considering options including attracting "green technology" companies to the area.

Quoting from the Reuters blog post:

“The problem there is that other communities around the country are looking at doing the same, so there’s no clear winner at the moment,” she said. “But whatever it is will be driven by research and a change of focus at the University of Arkansas.”

According to Cameron Smith, more suppliers are likely to relocate here, but with so many retail experts focused in one area he thinks the area has become very attractive to medium-sized retailers.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a retailer move their headquarters here within the next five years,” he said. “And if we get one, I think we’ll get five of them. After all, all of their suppliers are here anyway.”

Read Nick Carey's piece about Northwest Arkansas and find more articles on how other areas are facing the road to economic recovery: http://blogs.reuters.com/route-to-recovery/2009/11/10/what-does-future-hold-for-walmart%e2%80%99s-backyard/

With more than 15 years experience connecting Walmart suppliers with the best and brightest talent, Cameron Smith & Associates has a gained a unique perspective on the supplier community. We grew accustomed to a rapidly changing landscape as the supplier community swelled in response to Wal-Mart’s growth from roughly 50 vendor offices to the approximately 1,200 companies who today employ more than 5,000 people in Northwest Arkansas.
 

Although we have seen a tremendous amount of change since 1994, The pace of change accelerated during the past six months. With layoffs at Wal-Mart, supplier teams downsizing, and an increase in career changers and college graduates, the supplier job market has changed dramatically, requiring us all to study and adapt to this new landscape.
 

For those of you between jobs, I want to encourage you to look beyond the news headlines for opportunity. After all, you only need one job so don’t be influenced by reports regarding the national employment outlook. Above all, don’t panic. Remain positive and trust your instincts, and remember that challenging times require strengthened strategies. Your job is to find a job and it requires a well-defined strategy, good market intelligence and perseverance, and many of those seeking new opportunities find the services of a recruitment firm helpful.
 

For those currently working for supplier teams who may be unhappy but reluctant to look at new opportunities, I have two words for you - career readiness. It is important to be pragmatic and prepared. You never know when opportunity will knock, and if it does, it will require you to act quickly. Complacency is never a good strategy. Be proactive in mapping out and managing your career path.
 

It is also important to cultivate relationships. For years, relationships between associates and suppliers were taboo. Now relationships are built into some job descriptions we work from and it is not unusual for the job description of a leadership role to include relationships above the buyer and DMM level. And guess what? That strategy is working. It clearly has affected the bottom line in some cases, and companies are willing to reward candidates who have built trusting relationships. Although the overall volume of supplier jobs is down, 2009 has produced some of the largest compensation packages we have ever seen.
 

The changing landscape is also affecting hiring managers who are challenged to attract and retain the best talent and are focusing on what makes people loyal and what makes good people leave. For example, supplier team lead job satisfaction has less to do with job security, compensation and lack of challenge and more to do with lack of support from the corporate office and limited advancement without relocating away from Northwest Arkansas. Top-tier companies are addressing this gap and today there are seven team lead roles with the title of president of Wal-Mart Global.
 

When it comes to relationship managers or national account managers, job dissatisfaction has to do with the lack of additional responsibilities, the strength of the brand and compensation. Several supplier teams have added a junior national account manager, a developmental role to handle smaller categories and dollar volume.
 

For category managers the big question is, are these positions sustainable executive careers? The answer is, “yes.” Although the job descriptions for these positions continue to evolve, the crucial role of providing market trends and consumer insights will not change. The reasons category development managers cite for considering a job change involve the strength of the category and category “advisorship.” Other considerations relate to compensation and the potential for additional responsibility.
 

Analyst positions within a supplier team remain the most sought after and recruited positions. Everyone wants the best and brightest. Compensation ranges for these positions have reached all-time highs in the supplier community, and analysts who have significant interaction with buyers can transfer those skills into account management positions. The biggest attraction for these candidates is work life balance. We have seen a desire for more flexibility, as employees’ home and personal lives require more attention.
 

Looking ahead, there are several forces that will influence the job market in Northwest Arkansas. For example, we will continue to see smaller and medium suppliers putting stakes in the ground for one- and two-person offices and we expect there will be increase opportunities for third-party suppliers. As Wal-Mart International grows, it will impact the local supplier community to a greater degree than it already has and we are convinced there will eventually be a substantial international presence in Northwest Arkansas. Another noteworthy development is the interchangeability of retailer and consumer products backgrounds. This creates new employment possibilities, as positions at Wal-Mart and the supplier community have never been more interchangeable.
 

Despite all of the changes we have seen lately, the Wal-Mart growth story remains intact and the company is on track to become a $500 billion business. That level of growth ensures suppliers will face substantial challenges to keep pace with the growth, and will require talented individuals to manage and grow their businesses.

Note: This article originally appeared as a guest column in the June/July issue of Retailing Today: Connecting Northwest Arkansas.  You can read more industry news at  http://www.connectingnwa.com/.