During our June 10th conversation we described Community as:
> a group with a common interest
> a place to gain wisdom and knowledge
> where those with different experiences and knowledge come together for a
common good
> giving back
> where members get back more than they put in
> creating and furthering relationships
> respect
> being - (this referred to presence and actively participating with awareness)
> a web of inclusiveness
> trust, and,
> they must be intentional

On Tuesday, June 17th we took the conversation forward to:
Framing the community discussion around building a social networking strategy that begins by first establishing a deliberate community focus. So, given the guiding thoughts listed above on community, what steps would you take to design a talent community for recruitment in your business/industry? What are the most important actions a company needs to take to establish community? And, what should the expectations be relative to time to see a return on investing in building talent communities?

Here's the transcript from our conversation and I hope you'll join us each Tuesday at 3pm ET/12pm PT for Talent Talk Cafe!

Talent Talk Café – Susan Burns – Community #2

Susan Burns
Hi everyone! Its time for Talent Talk Cafe!!
3:00pm

Slouch
Hey Susan
3:00pm

Jerry Albright
I'm in!
3:00pm

MN Headhunter
Word
3:01pm

Slouch
Hey Jerry and Paul
3:01pm

Susan Burns
Hi Jason, Jerry and Paul!
3:01pm

MN Headhunter
Susan, I cannot stick around for long and have something to share. Can I jump in?
3:01pm

Susan Burns
Our topic today is to continue the conversation around community but now move it towards establishing and growing a talent community
3:01pm

Susan Burns
Hi Paul - sure - go ahead
3:02pm

MN Headhunter
It tags on wthe topic....
3:02pm

MN Headhunter
last week at a social media breakfast...
3:02pm

MN Headhunter
speaker talking bout ROI on social media..
3:02pm

MN Headhunter
building communities...
3:02pm

MN Headhunter
I asked about how I should respond to ROI takes time and most will not wait long enough...
3:03pm

MN Headhunter
She said Reputation Management is instant.
3:03pm

MN Headhunter
If you can manage that right away other things will come in time
3:03pm

MN Headhunter
what do you think?
3:03pm

Missed a little:

Susan Burns
Authenticity is something that evolves. How do you know instantly that its real? You can get a good feeling but ultimately what is important wi/building a talent community is emotional engagement and connection
3:08pm

Jody Simon
Hi there, I'm here too
3:08pm

Susan Burns
Hi PJ
3:08pm

MN Headhunter
so 8,000 is OK?
3:08pm

Susan Burns
Hi Jody
3:08pm

Andrew Demske
Hello from the Bay Area in Cali!!
3:09pm

Slouch
I think that if the talent network you build is real focused and the en result is hires, it does not need to be big
3:09pm

Slouch
8000 is good
3:09pm

Susan Burns
What's so cool about what Jason has done on RB.com - and the essence of community - is that he's invested a lot to grow this and now the community helps him continue to nurture it
3:09pm

Susan Burns
Hi Andrew
3:09pm

MN Headhunter
Can a Forune 500 company build their own version of this
3:10pm

Susan Burns
Size doesn't always matter - no jokes ;-0
3:10pm

Slouch
i know that recruiters who place recruiters view this network as a focused talent community. some recruiters are having great success networking here
3:10pm

MN Headhunter
No this, but a site for CPA's as an exmaple?
3:10pm

Susan Burns
More important than size is engagement and what the community organizes around and shares out to their network
3:10pm

Slouch
absolutely
3:10pm

MN Headhunter
Could a Deloitte do their version of this for accounting people?
3:11pm

MN Headhunter
How long until it happens?
3:11pm

Susan Burns
Sort of like the difference between pay-per-click and organic search - ultimately more value is placed and received from organic search
3:11pm

MN Headhunter
(I want it now)
3:11pm

Slouch
you can;t have it now
3:11pm

Slouch
lol
3:11pm

Susan Burns
Paul - Re Deloitte or other companies - yes - they absolutely can - think how much there is to contribute in the CPA space
3:11pm

Jody Simon
the ultimate issue here as I see it is that in the corporate world they want to see real results, real fast and this is a process that takes time to build
3:11pm

Susan Burns
Jody - yes that is the ultimate tension point. Are there ways to show value as you grow community?
3:12pm

Susan Burns
Is there value contributed by the community that informs the brand and is that seen as value?
3:12pm

Jody Simon
it's something that I struggle with everyday
3:13pm

Susan Burns
Jody - what type of company/industry?
3:13pm

Jody Simon
I need to put aside time to build a network and to concentrate on branding and alternative recruiting methods while still filling open slots tha good old fashioned way
3:14pm

Susan Burns
So, its also about personal bandwidth?
3:14pm

Jody Simon
Raytheon Solipsys - mostly hard-to-find engineers
3:14pm

Jody Simon
definetely about bandwidth
3:15pm

MN Headhunter
I get that question all the time. I started slow. 5% of my time. It got to about 40% then I saw what I think was diminshed returns
3:15pm

Susan Burns
This is sort of the ultimate recruiting challenge - reallocating resources so that in time the investment returns more and you produce greater results and also have the time to further build the community
3:15pm

MN Headhunter
Now about 30% dedicated to social media stuff, recruiting, blog, here
3:15pm

Susan Burns
It can certainly become a time suck - is that what your implying Paul?
3:16pm

Slouch
i don;t know any recruiters who make more placements through blogs than they do good old fashion recruiting phone calls.
3:16pm

MN Headhunter
I think it needs to be balanced. In the beginning the return is lower. Takes time for search engine love
3:16pm

Jody Simon
most of my blogging, social media stuff, etc is done on my own time out of the office. it's the only way I can get it done
3:17pm

Slouch
But over time, the branding bit of it becomes something I think that phone calls can;t accomplish
3:17pm

Susan Kang Nam
Hello Susan.. hello everyone.. sorry I'm little late to join the discussion...
3:17pm

Susan Burns
Hi Susan - glad you could join us!
3:17pm

Slouch
and from that referrals come and that is the basis of any successful recruiter
3:17pm

MN Headhunter
Jason, I agree but I would say about 40% of my business comes from the blog by way of candidates or clients
3:17pm

Andrew Demske
good old fashion recruiting works best for now. i do think this will change though. i have made a few placements from Blogs and LinkedIn
3:17pm

Susan Burns
Jody - is there an "open to listen" from the company so they would see an investment period of at least 6 months?
3:17pm

MN Headhunter
but I have a very focused location and only in IT
3:18pm

Jody Simon
actually Susan, corporate recruiting is a time suck period!

I quote you on that?
3:18pm

MN Headhunter
or as anonymous?
3:18pm

Susan Burns
Jody - what about it is the biggest time suck?
3:19pm

Jody Simon
they are open to most of what I suggest....so long as my #'s are in good shape
3:19pm

Jody Simon
and yes, you can quote me on that!

Jody Simon
the paperwork, the charts, plans, reports, etc, etc, etc....I fell like I never get to recruit anymore!
3:20pm

Jody Simon
gosh, I miss my agency life.....sorry to get you off track...
3:21pm

Jerry Albright
Talking about % of business doesn't quite put ROI into the correct perspective though, does it? If your overal #s don't increase?
3:21pm

Susan Kang Nam
having some technical problems.. but thanks Susan.. just reading through the discussion so far...
3:21pm

Susan Burns
Jody - a lot ofadministrative things that don't add value to where you really contribute?
3:22pm

Susan Burns
Jerry - can you say more about that?
3:22pm

Jody Simon
absolutely!

Jerry Albright
Or if your total production goes down? If you now hit 50% of your numbers from Social Networking, but are down in overall production?
3:22pm

Susan Burns
Jerry - sure - there needs to an overall benefit and improvement in results. How that is measured depends on the company - yes?
3:23pm

Jerry Albright
Anyone could achieve a percentage growth in any category. The real goes should be to increase your total #s, right?
3:23pm

Susan Burns
Has anyone seen or tested the idea of a "community manager" or strategic sourcer that is responsible for the online brand image
3:24pm

Susan Kang Nam
I am currently exploring both corporate vs. agency using web 2.0.. however curious to hear more about what works and what doesn't...
3:24pm

MN Headhunter
I ahve not seen a community manager in the career space
3:24pm

Susan Burns
What if you could reallocate $$ away from job boards and hire someone part-time just to support community efforts - how could that change the game?
3:25pm

Susan Kang Nam
We are currently testing that at the moment... with our online brand image... still in dsicussion..and exploration

MN Headhunter
Jerry, I agree. But there hard to measure benefits like speaking before a CIO group, quoted in the business section, and speaking to user groups that I did not do prior to this trek of mine
3:26pm

MN Headhunter
before I was a really good recruiter. now I am a really good recruiter with a brand, name, reputatin
3:26pm

Susan Burns
I introduced it at my last company and we saw an improvement that returend big $$ in savings through reduced time to hire
3:26pm

Susan Burns
So Paul - there's a shift in measuring value?
3:27pm

MN Headhunter
To some extent. I cannot measure right away the value of speaking before the CIO group. May not be able to know the true value ever
3:27pm

Jerry Albright
Right on Paul. We all track activity "forward" but very few track it "backward" to it's initial ingredients......

MN Headhunter
Went to a tech event with 440+ attendees. local event...
3:29pm

Rayanne
that's a good ratio
3:29pm

MN Headhunter
Wore a blur short to the event...had people introducing themselves to me and that they read mys tufff
3:29pm

MN Headhunter
someone pointed out in my Twitter pic I am wearing a blue shirt
3:29pm

MN Headhunter
so everyone on Twitter in the local tech community recognized me
3:30pm

Rayanne
you have branded yourself
3:30pm

MN Headhunter
That was at least 25 people
3:30pm

Susan Burns
Hi Rayanne!
3:30pm

Slouch
if you look at WirelessJobs.com it's easy to see how that could become an incredible engine for making placements.
3:30pm

Rayanne
does that mean you can only wear blue now?
3:30pm

Slouch
built on Ning. target talent community with a recruiter running it
3:30pm

Rayanne
Hi Susan..
3:30pm

MN Headhunter
I have branded myself by accident, the original intent of the blog was therapy, to work things out of my head and create free space
3:30pm

Slouch
Hey Rayanne
3:30pm

Rayanne
I udnerstand that kind of therapy
3:31pm

Rayanne
hey Jason'
3:31pm

MN Headhunter
I am going to white shirts now
3:31pm

Susan Burns
But also building an online brand can help move things along ore quickly because people have already identified with you
3:31pm

MN Headhunter
trying to grow the brand
3:31pm

Andrew Demske
lol
3:31pm

Slouch
that's the idea
3:31pm

Jerry Albright
Slouch - need a "pause" button on thing......
3:31pm

Rayanne
more professsional? that IBM look?
3:31pm

MN Headhunter
but no tie. I am allergic
3:31pm

Susan Burns
Pauls taking on a MAJOR rebranding campaign!
3:31pm

Rayanne
wow...
3:32pm

Claudia Faust
Hi all
3:32pm

MN Headhunter
Susan, to your previous point, yes, doing the online stuff has moved me forward at a much quicker pace than pre blog in 2005
3:32pm

MN Headhunter
ties, not literally
3:32pm

Susan Burns
Hi Claudia
3:32pm

Rayanne
rebranding can be good - expanding your base even more
3:33pm

MN Headhunter
the thing is anyone can do it. That is my beliefe anyway. It just takes some time
3:33pm

Rayanne
Hi Claudia!!!
3:33pm

Claudia Faust
Hey there Rayanne!

Susan Burns
Paul - how long did it take before you started to see a measurable ROI?
3:33pm

MN Headhunter
6 months from the blog
3:34pm

Susan Kang Nam
Hello Rayanne... hello Claudia..
3:34pm

MN Headhunter
10 days from Twitter
3:34pm

MN Headhunter
2 months on MySpace
3:34pm

Rayanne
hey Susan KN...
3:34pm

Susan Burns
Paul - that's GREAT!
3:34pm

Claudia Faust
Paul, how do you measure the ROI? (hi there, Susan!)
3:34pm

MN Headhunter
25 minutes on LinkedIn
3:34pm

Susan Kang Nam
I just joined Twitter today.. kind of curious.. how that works.. really..
3:34pm

Rayanne
that is a quick ROI
3:34pm

Slouch
Paul, are you talking about making placements?
3:35pm

MN Headhunter
Jason, yes
3:35pm

Susan Kang Nam
that is quick..
3:35pm

Susan Burns
Hi Claudia!

Jerry Albright
Isn't that a bit "old school" Slouch?
3:35pm

MN Headhunter
The blog was easy to measure because in the beginning I still had a business site
3:35pm

Rayanne
Isn
3:35pm

Susan Burns
Paul -that's also consistent w/ the time frame I experienced in-house for corp restructuring and restrategizing
3:36pm

Rayanne
Isn't what "old School"?
3:36pm

Slouch
Claudia, I still have the coupon you sent me
3:36pm

Claudia Faust
ROFL
3:36pm

Claudia Faust
frame it
3:36pm

MN Headhunter
everything now goes back to the blog so there is a base from which to work

Susan Kang Nam
interesting...
3:37pm

MN Headhunter
not interested in the job I am pitching? Want career information? go to the blog
3:37pm

Claudia Faust
Paul, I'm really curious to know how you measure ROI though. Is it number of contacts? revenues generated from those contacts?
3:37pm

Slouch
Jerry, is what old school
3:37pm

MN Headhunter
want information on the next local tech event? go to the blog
3:37pm

MN Headhunter
RSS feed if you like
3:37pm

MN Headhunter
sign up for the newsletter
3:37pm

Claudia Faust
ahh, got it.

usan Burns
in addition to placements do you also measure future placements - for instance those that are interested, qualified but just not the right time yet?
3:38pm

MN Headhunter
the thing is giving options, making accessible, rsponding promptly
3:38pm

Claudia Faust
and the end result to you is broader brand awareness?
3:38pm

Jerry Albright
Placements as a way of looking at ROI
3:38pm

Jerry Albright
Sometimes I'm a bit of a smart-ass.....
3:38pm

Slouch
I don;t know?
3:39pm

Susan Burns
Jerry - what would you want to measure?
3:39pm

Slouch
yes I know

Claudia Faust
this is an interesting topic -- Ami and I have been talking a lot about the ROI from social networking in a similar context
3:39pm

MN Headhunter
Jerry, I do agree with you. But prior to the blog I was a really small fish in the pond with no reputation
3:39pm

MN Headhunter
now people call me to do a search, looking for a job
3:40pm

Jerry Albright
Paul - I respect what you've done and your willingness to share!
3:40pm

MN Headhunter
I look at this way, I am spedning less time explaining who I am, wat I do, how I do it. Less time educating and more time building relationships
3:40pm

Claudia Faust
so the ROI does indeed lead back to your bottom line.
3:41pm

Susan Burns
Paul - what you've been doing is building personal equity and that is the ultimate goal in buidling a community
3:41pm

Jerry Albright
What I meant by the "old school" comment. Most social networking talk is about reaching out, building pipeline, etc.
3:41pm

Slouch
I think a core belief for any recruiter has to be wefind people for Jobs, we don"t help people find jobs
3:41pm

MN Headhunter
agreed
3:42pm

Jerry Albright
You rarely see mention of actually sending an invoice to anyone though that is our bottom line goal.
3:42pm

Slouch
don;t shoot me for that
3:42pm

Maren Hogan
Sorry SO late! I;d like to know how you deal with jason when people come to you for jobs??
3:42pm

Rayanne
true
3:42pm

Maren Hogan
deal with THAT
3:42pm

Rayanne
true
3:42pm

Susan Burns
Hi Maren!
3:42pm

Sateesh Yalamanchili
I am new to this blog
3:42pm

Susan Kang Nam
hello...
3:43pm

Maren Hogan
Hi! Sorry so late! ACK!
3:43pm

Susan Kang Nam
hi Maren
3:43pm

Jerry Albright
Send them to the Employment Agency down the road.....
3:43pm

Rayanne
Hi Sateesh
3:43pm

Susan Burns
Maren - do u mean when a Seeker contact you about finding a job?
3:43pm

Slouch
they don;t come any more. I have not recruited for years but when they did, I would just say I don;t have any positions for what you are doing which was almost always the case
3:43pm

Maren Hogan
Okay so is that part of building community then?
3:43pm
usan Burns
Maren - do u mean when a Seeker contacts you looking for a job?
3:43pm

Rayanne
I think every contact has future potetntial even if they come to me...
3:43pm

Rayanne
You never know what position they will be holding or where they will end up next month.
3:44pm

MN Headhunter
I agree but I always try and give one idea, one referral out of courtesy. Part karma, part I do not know who they know that might one day come back to me
3:44pm

Slouch
Nope

Maren Hogan
yes
3:45pm

Rayanne
Maren has a point... that is not part of building a community
3:45pm

Susan Burns
chat tool is getting sluggish
3:45pm

MN Headhunter
sluggish = good
3:46pm

Rayanne
It boils down to respect and giving back
3:46pm

Slouch
its not how you build community but it's how you hit the numbers and make the placements most managers want to see
3:46pm

Slouch
just a recruiting observation.
3:46pm

Susan Burns
agree w/ rayanne - if u think about community how could this person also help you so its more a matter of deciding how much time to invest communicating with the person
3:46pm

MN Headhunter
and that is why I have been on my own this whole time
3:47pm

Maren Hogan
yep, you are all sayign what I am trying to say

Rayanne
I knew what you meant by your question, Maren.
3:47pm

Susan Burns
these same principles can work inhouse for corp recruiters. its a matter of building a compelling case and finding key partners/champions
3:47pm

Maren Hogan
In a small town like Omaha you can't just be all "sorry yo, can't help ya". It;s akin to saying you don;t know any of the big dogs plus it outs people off
3:47pm

Rayanne
definitely works for in-house
3:48pm

Maren Hogan
so I think part of building comm for me would be to build a relationship with an agency that would actually help these people
3:48pm

MN Headhunter
same here in Mpls. A big really big small town
3:48pm

Maren Hogan
thx rayanne!
3:48pm

Susan Burns
maren - you also don't know how connected that person might be - say they live in NYC and write a blog - all becomes part of reputation management and recognizing we are all one
3:48pm

MN Headhunter
I finally started doing agreements with non IT firms
3:48pm

Rayanne
I always think about who that person might know or where they might be
3:49pm

Susan Burns
Jodi - are you still here?
3:49pm

MN Headhunter
Susan, look at that. tied it all together after me going on a tangent for 48 minutes
3:49pm

Jody Simon
yes i am
3:49pm

Maren Hogan
that's true
3:49pm

Rayanne
tangents are good
3:49pm

Susan Burns
Paul - you're the Lewis Black of the recruiting world ;-)
3:49pm

Rayanne
rants are good.. \

Rayanne
it starts conversations and points being made
3:50pm

Susan Burns
Jody - wondering what would help make the case for you internally? Where does the company see value?
3:50pm

Maren Hogan
HAHA--susan spot on!
3:50pm

Susan Kang Nam
great question..
3:50pm

Slouch
Jody, what kind of engineers are you recruiting
3:50pm

Jody Simon
in its engineers only....we are run by our engineers
3:50pm

MN Headhunter
(sound of Paul going into convulsions)
3:51pm

Slouch
circuit design engineers?
3:51pm

Jody Simon
heavy duty systems engineers with DOD and C2 experience
3:51pm

Susan Burns
what do engineers value? is there a cost to not having enough engineers on the job andif so how much - can it be monetized
3:51pm

Slouch
how much do you py to agencies every year?
3:51pm

Slouch
pay
3:51pm

Jody Simon
if i can get engineering on my side then i win the argument hands down
3:52pm

Rayanne
SB, when I worked in-house I kept every résumé I received and made placements months later when new reqs came up...

Jody Simon
I don't use any agencies at all...
3:52pm

Slouch
what about the company you work for
3:52pm

MN Headhunter
Rayanne is my hero of the day
3:52pm

Slouch
if you dont mind me asking
3:52pm

Susan Burns
Rayanne - same here - we would mine our own database before paying to post a job - novel concept huh! and made hires that had applied a year ago or more
3:52pm

Rayanne
yep
3:53pm

Jody Simon
I am very close to having the engineers on my side. they want to use agancies and I want the recruiting function to grow internally
3:53pm

Susan Kang Nam
that's great Rayanne...
3:53pm

Jody Simon
my company doesn't use any agencies
3:53pm

Susan Burns
Rayanne - it was also about how we managed communication w/ them initially - big push on pesonal communication
3:53pm

Rayanne
true..
3:53pm

MN Headhunter
Jody, how many of you are there? job to fill?

Susan Burns
Jody - maybe thats the open door - take the $$ they would invest in agency and see if they'll give u 6 months to show an ROI from community/social
3:54pm

Maren Hogan
Do you think that extra hire (resume hoarding whatev) is MORE useful in our current economy?
3:54pm

Rayanne
I spoke to every person that sent a résumé and made sure they knew me and the company they had applied to
3:54pm

MN Headhunter
Susan beat me to the punchline
3:54pm

Jody Simon
communication is the key with my company as well....the problem is that recruiting reports to HR and my boss puts up a fight
3:54pm

Susan Burns
Maren - extra hire and resume hoarding sound difft to me. extra hires always make sense if its the right extra hire ;-)
3:55pm

Susan Burns
So its HR that is the obstacle?

Jody Simon
I'm working on getting a champion for my cause and getting very close
3:55pm

Jody Simon
yes, HR is the obstacle
3:55pm

Rayanne
sometimes... and sometimes it's the hiring manager that wants to make that hire NOW
3:55pm

Susan Burns
Jody - that could take us another hour at least ;-) but to all of u who know how I feel about that obstacle - i rest my case for now!

Maren Hogan
aorry trying to come up with punchy title on the fly then had to get my hotdog--I meant whatever the name for Ray and Paul's and your database. . .
3:57pm

MN Headhunter
that if they have a relationship built, when the job order opens, they can hire rightaway
3:57pm

Jody Simon
Thanks Susan....always up for ideas...and helping others with my own ideas as well
3:58pm

Susan Burns
hey everyone - any thoughts or requests for next weeks topics?

Maren Hogan
critical foundational tools for the recruiting function
3:59pm

MN Headhunter
Susan = my new therapist
3:59pm

MN Headhunter
Maren, huh?
3:59pm

Slouch
im always open to a discussion about making this site better for everyone
3:59pm

Maren Hogan
so much theory thrown around and then to put into practice in the real world
3:59pm

Susan Burns
Ok Paul but I don't take insurance ;-)
3:59pm

Maren Hogan
what do we really need?
3:59pm

Susan Kang Nam
lol
3:59pm

Maren Hogan
Paul, I know I'm wordy, you'll learn to cope
3:59pm

MN Headhunter
will do some online wine shopping then
3:59pm

Slouch
with an accent
3:59pm

Maren Hogan
ha!
4:00pm

Rayanne
hmmm



Rayanne
I LOVE the live-ness
4:01pm

Susan Burns
a community?
4:01pm

Slouch
yah
4:01pm

Maren Hogan
I hate it. I usually have something in my teeth
4:02pm

Rayanne
that is a great idea
4:02pm

Susan Kang Nam
hmmm...
4:02pm

MN Headhunter
(sound of wheels turning)
4:02pm

Rayanne
no screeching
4:02pm

Susan Burns
that would be cool. could also then put togehter a few key steps to marketing it? managing it?
4:02pm

Rayanne
I like it...
4:02pm

MN Headhunter
by chance do you have an extra domain name?
4:02pm

Susan Burns
isn't that a great sound paul - it goes really good with wine ;-)!
4:02pm

Slouch
I can check.
4:02pm

MN Headhunter
or 100?
4:02pm

Susan Burns
i just established talenttalkcafe.com today - thanks to ami's reco
4:03pm

Susan Burns
u can use that if you'd like
4:03pm

Maren Hogan
so exciting! Really, i love IDEAS!
4:03pm

Slouch
I think we could easily build a site. the building is easy. its the maintaining but that is something else completely
4:04pm

Rayanne
this is great.
4:04pm

Rayanne
I am sure...
4:04pm

Slouch
same bat time, same bat channel
4:04pm

Slouch
susan, if you want, we can talk details in Portland
4:04pm

Jody Simon
thanks for sharing!
4:04pm