A social media engagement framework for applicant attraction and retention: #SocialMediaCongruence

Purpose - The social media (SM) engagement framework consists of dimensions of employee privacy expectations and organizations' social media orientation. Further, the social media privacy orientation model provides better understanding of complexities of selection and retention created by the social media landscape. Design/methodology/approach - Organizations are increasingly seeking talent to support burgeoning social media strategies. Qualified employees may be expected to have related professional experience and an active personal social media presence. In contrast to this evolving demand, prevailing guidelines suggest applicants minimize their social media activity altogether. These restrictive guidelines may be better suited for organizations that prefer or require high levels of discretion on social media given the differing engagement expectations across firms and among individuals. Findings - How the congruence between an employee's expectations of privacy on SM and the organization's expectation of employees' SM usage affects applicant attraction to organizations and employee retention is outlined. Propositions are offered to foster research in this area. Practical implications - Social media congruence is an important consideration for human resource (HR) policies and associated training. Social implications - Public policies toward the use of social media in recruitment and privacy should consider social media congruence. Originality/value - The model advanced in the paper provides organizations and applicants with a stronger understanding of the complexities surrounding the use of SM in selection and retention decisions.