Stuck in a Moment – Web 2.0 Practical Uses, Edition 1.0 - Star Search

First in a series of 4 Editions.

Enough already…I’m tired of reading and hearing about Web 2.0. Now they’ve even got the Web 3.0 thing. Why doesn’t someone actually tell me how to apply Web 2.0 methodologies that aren’t going to make me look like an idiot in front of my colleagues? I’ve had consultants come and lay out a grand plan, but it’s not practical in my business. HELP! It’s on the way, this is the first in a series of 4 editions that will provide real world practical examples of how to use Web 2.0 methodologies within you enterprise.

Before we start…the reason you know so much and have heard so much about Web 2.0 is because of Web 2.0. In one word it’s about community. If you want more background from every crime fighter in the world, Google ‘Web 2.0’. Also want to state if you and your team(s) are ever going to evolve then there will be a time where you have to leave your comfort zone. Generally smaller corporations are more successful in implementing Web 2.0 techniques because they have little or no money have to be creative. When you’re a multi-million dollar enterprise, it’s hard to go against the grain to think that you will do better because of a new methodology…change is slow, so baby steps are key. There are so many experts that could go on and on for days on this topics, but let’s get to Edition 1.0.

Edition 1.0 – “Star Search”

I loved Star Search – the Ed McMahon version. Ed had a tendency to be able to find the best of the best and the worst of the worst (for entertainment value of course). Ed was way ahead of his time – only if he had found William Hung as a youth (she bang). Even back in the Mid 80’s Ed knew for his show to be successful he had to showcase and develop real “stars” - whether they could tap dance, sing or my personal favorite juggle bowling pins a-fire.

The industries I’ve worked within, at times have felt like Star Search because their success was heavily contingent on the “stars” that they found and promoted. With broader adoption of technology and a trend to move things off shore, getting the right people and the right mix is not an easy task, not to mention the cost of fees associated with procuring the people or setting up an in-house recruiting department. If you’ve done this, ask yourself how much return are you getting on the later resources? I mentioned earlier, in my opinion the core concept of Web 2.0 is community. Why not turn to the community that surrounds you. YOUR EMPLOYEES!

Heck your employees are already recommending folks on sites such as LinkedIn and Plaxo. Imagine if you set up a simple database or utilized one of your existing technologies to track potential “stars” – if you’re small enough I’m sure email could be used as well.

Let’s play this theory out in an example. Let's say Ed is looking for a Bear Trainer for an upcoming special that has experience with training bears on how to fire juggle. Ed has been searching for months for this position and either all the great bear trainers are happy in their current jobs or the ones available lack that pizzazz. Running out of ideas, Ed posts on the Star Search blog (just pretend there were blogs in the 80s) that he desperately needs assistance in finding a Bear Trainer for tomorrow’s show. Anatoly one of the gaffers sends Ed the name of two Russian bear trainers that he worked with on the Russian equivalent of Star Search. It works and Ed gets his bear trainer for the upcoming special. Fewwww…..Ed ponders for a moment, “I didn’t even know this Anatoly existed”. Realizing the potential on internal networking, Ed starts a corporate campaign to reward (not just financially) employees that help acquire talent for his shows. In fact he starts gathering “LinkedIn” type information internally providing a sustained stream of talent for the show. This internal networking then spawns an opportunity to begin syndicating Star Search in Germany where it become wildly popular due to the special host David Hasselhoff….on and on and on…

You get my point, talent is paramount for an organization and can be found sometimes in non-traditional formats. Why do I cite such a silly example? 1) for the obvious humor factor and 2) this example works, regardless of how specialized or obscure the skill sets you are looking for.

End of the day Ed’s paid out little or no money for a referral service, which probably provides candidates that are just as qualified, if not more than the ones brought in by 3rd parties or service oriented departments, because the people doing the recommending know what it’s like in the trenches. One thing Ed will need to be mindful of is “group think”. Innately his employees will recommend people like themselves, which breaks the diversity needed within an organization...regardless, if Ed adds this tactic to Star Search’s recruiting strategy, it just may save the studio money and get better talent more efficiently…your opinions welcome.

Look for Edition 2.0 coming soon.

Disclaimer: The examples in this series are for illustrative purposes only and much rigor would have to be applied to actually implement a Web 2.0 based Star Search application within your enterprise. You are correct Sir!