Determinants and pre-hire outcomes of social recruiting technology adoption and use: an Australian study

 Social Recruiting technologies such as LinkedIn and Twitter have been fast emerging as one of the modern recruitment methods. However, research on their effective usage is scarce and outpaced by organisational practice. The current study addresses this gap by investigating the drivers of SR technology adoption on one hand, and their pre-hire outcomes on the other.

Exploring factors driving social recruiting: the case of Australian organisations

This study identifies key factors driving the organizational adoption of Social Recruiting (SR) technologies, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. The Technology, Organization and Environment (TOE) framework, as an initial exploratory approach, is used to identify underlying factors of new technology adoption. Qualitative evidence collected from twelve Australian firms serves to specifically categorise key determinants of the organizational adoption of social recruiting technologies. It is found that, apart from several technology, organization and environment factors that significantly influence the organizational decision-making with reference to social recruiting, top management support is seen as imperative for successful adoption of recruiting technologies. Formalisation, comprehensiveness, and strategic orientation of organizational human resource departments are closely linked to adoption of social recruiting at the firm level. In addition, job applicants’ readiness and local success stories have driven firms to adopt social recruiting technologies. The study extends and modifies the TOE model to provide the theoretical foundations of social recruiting in the context of Australian organizations and help human resource professionals and practitioners to gain a better understanding of key drivers of organizational social recruiting.

Recruiting in public places : A strategy to increase diversity in qualitative research samples

For some research projects, recruiting in public places is an invaluable addition to sampling strategies. It complements the more traditional recruitment strategies by providing researchers with' opportunities to include people in the research who would otherwise be excluded. One of the limitations of selective and snowball sampling is that participants often come from the same social group. Participants from these social groups often share similar experiences and ways of thinking about those experiences. The aim of recruiting in public places is to move beyond this 'in group' to ensure a wider perspective. This paper illustrates how recruiting in public places can provide greater sample diversity for theoretical strength. The paper begins with a brief overview of recruiting in public places. It then describes the theoretical considerations associated with this recruiting strategy. The paper demonstrates how recruiting in public places facilitates grounded theory by providing comparisons that are informed by diverse experiences. Using examples and a case study, we illustrate how recruiting in public places can complement selective, snowball and theoretical sampling to ensure a more comprehensive sample.

Creating communities that lead to retention : the social worlds and communities of umpires

Umpires (referees) are essential for sport competition, yet many sports report difficulty in recruiting and retaining umpires. Therefore, this research sought to better understand what experiences will ensure continued participation in umpiring. Previous literature suggests that the communities created are vital to umpire retention. Thus, the aim of this research was to identify the factors that lead to, or detract from sense of community for umpires. Twenty-two Australian Rules football umpires were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. This study revealed that Lack of Administration Consideration, Inequity (specifically related to remuneration and resources), Competition, Common Interest (specifically in the sport, interactions within football community, and/or within social spaces) impacted the development of sense of community for umpires. This study demonstrates that as umpires move through their careers, the outcome of the noted factors to enhance or detract from sense of community change. Implications for umpire education, accreditation, and management aimed at retaining umpires are discussed.

Just call me dad: health and social benefits to fathers and their children

In the past 20 years, social change and expectations for both maternal and paternal responsibilities have highlighted the need for services for families to better understand the role of a father in family relationships. In Australia, as well as internationally, there have been many contested understandings about what constitutes ‘good fathering’ in research, social media and in the political sphere. More specifically, there has also been an emerging trend to understand the challenging task of recruiting and maintaining men's involvement in child and family services programmes, particularly those fathers who are deemed a risk to children and mothers, violent or have been separated from their children. That many child and family/welfare services have exercised dedicated effort to work with fathers is still a relatively recent phenomenon, and has only emerged following criticism that services have been too geared towards working only with mothers. Despite this increasing interest, there is still ongoing need for more research to be undertaken in Australia. An important area of focus is the views of professionals about their perception and engagement of fathers, particularly the views of fathers who are described as being absent from family-based services. The purpose of this article is to report briefly on a study undertaken to examine how child and family welfare workers engage fathers in their work. First, this paper will describe some of the social and health benefits to fathers and their children, focusing on the key role of attachment through play. Research into effective service delivery involving fathers will then be presented, concluding with key practice factors necessary for fathers to be involved in family life.