Employers are slow to exploit the interactivity advantages of Web 2.0 to recruit and retain employees, according to new research.

The research, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), found that 80% of organisations do not use Web 2.0 online methods to attract or recruit employees and only 8% plan to do so in the next year.

The majority of respondents (56%) thought that social networking sites are useful for engaging jobseekers and 52% welcome its ability to shed light on the company’s perception within the marketplace.

However, 62% were worried about damaging comments being posted concerning their company.

Deborah Fernon, organisation and resourcing adviser, CIPD, said: “Organisations should be careful when using these technologies to vet candidates. In the quest to find the right person for a job, social networking sites could be at best irrelevant and at worst misleading. Good practice requires that every candidate is treated equally, which means all candidates would have to have similar profiles before information is used, and this poses challenges as not everyone has a social networking profile.”