Welcome to The Work Institute 2.0! There has been a good deal of excitement around the office preparing for the release of our new website. Along with the release of our new website, I have been considering the impact of the Web 2.0 movement on the business community, and, more specifically, the employment world. People arefascinated by online communities and the free exchange of information -- especially the infamous "Gen Y" -- and before too long these forums and communities will have a great effect on employee recruitment, among other things.

My personal interest in communities is drawn to LinkedIn more than I was ever interested in Facebook, MySpace, Twitter (at least so far), or any other networking sites – social or occupational. The Question & Answer section fuels my current attraction to LinkedIn – especially when there are people asking questions about the same things I am interested in exploring. So, THIS recent question by a recruiter, regarding the impact of Web 2.0 on recruiting, caught my attention. Employee recruitment is of the utmost importance, and attracting key talent differentiates the most successful organizations from their competitors. The next wave of up-and-coming star employees is techno-savvy and already spreading roots through their budding social network, which is closely tied to their professional network.

So what does this mean for securing the right employees for your company? Web 2.0 has entirely changed the way good candidates locate organizations they want to work for. There is so much more information available about open positions and, more importantly, the value proposition of working with a company. If a company is doing it right, there should be talented employees lined up around the globe to work for them! It doesn't always have to be company recruiters chasing candidates.

What are you doing to attract candidates to you? What are your employees saying in their online networking spaces about their experience in your organization that will be read by friends, family, network connections, and anyone else who may stumble on their latest blog post by googling your company name? This is not a plea to add company resources for blogging, facebooking, and tweeting, but rather a call to influence the people who are writing it anyway.

Traditionally, this sort of advertising has come from marketing departments and branding agencies. In recent years, many companies have turned to other outside sources for this affirmation of their employee value proposition (Best Places lists, awards from magazines for certain benefit programs,etc.). This advertising can be free and straight from employees! Delight employees and they affiliate closely with the company; employees who choose to affiliate with your organization because they are delighted will sing praises to others about their experiences. Employees who are excited to affiliate with you will drive other employees (and customers, for that matter) to you.

Web 2.0 outlets provide a forum for the equation to be flipped on its head. There will be transparency into organizations and the feelings of current employees. Take actions have to ensure your well-connected employees are giving glowing reviews!