| Hiring managers use digital technology including computers, the Internet, email, and cell phones for external communications, marketing, and employment decisions. Digital data include social media, professional footprints, and other discoverable information. The impact of digital technology on work practices contributes to the need for understanding how organizations use social media data to make employment decisions. The problem to be addressed through this study was when hiring managers used social media in employment decisions despite ambiguous digital media policies and employment guidelines and the impact on social capital for actual and prospective employees. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain an understanding of how organizations use digital data in employment decisions; specifically, to examine how hiring managers use social media, a form of social capital, to make decisions related to hiring and sustaining employees. The three sources of data included semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, documentary sources, and field notes. Study participants included 10 hiring personnel from three organizations in Northern Alabama. Data examination included the software application, Excel, for assistance in coding and pattern matching. Seven major themes emerged: (a) to establish digital identities, (b) to verify information provided, (c) to collaborate on perception of character, (d) to provide a mode accountability, (e) to establish a mode of character, (f) to verify ongoing expectation of professionalism, and (g) to collaborate on perception of trust. Implications of the themes involved recommendations for hiring managers which included: encourage employees to use only professional social media, including LinkedIn, for employment purposes; encourage employees to invest time to develop and maintain a professional digital footprint; encourage employees to be diligent in safeguarding personal and professional organizational information; encourage employees to be aware of the consequences or limitations of online social media; encourage employees to exercise caution in revealing confidential information about present or prior employers, and to be smart about what is published. Conclusions included the identification of specific digital media policies and employment guidelines as a key factor in hiring and sustaining employees. The recommendations for future research included: (a) quantitative descriptive study to provide a description of managerial guidelines for social media use, (b) causal-comparative study to define the effects of social media on hiring and sustaining employment, and (c) a qualitative phenomenological study to further explore hiring manager's interpersonal skills and effectiveness when using digital technology. |
