HR professionals are finally embracing social networking to inform important business decisions, a new report has revealed.

The survey, conducted by Communications Management, a reputation management agency specialising in workplace issues, found that of the 250 HR decision makers surveyed, eight out of ten use social networking to some extent, while over a quarter have become aware of a supplier via the same route.

What's more, according to the figures, rather that this being a trend with younger HR teams, age plays little part in the reality of social network users with 59.1% of those over 45 listing ‘online’ as their most frequented media channel, compared to 57.9% of those under 45.

Trevor Merriden, director of workplace issues at Communications Management, says that the report is evidence that far from being considered as merely a time-wasting activity, social networking has become an important tool in the workplace.

“Our report shows the extent to which senior HR decision makers now use online social networks and this is more than just Facebook fun,” he said. “Social networking is being used to make real business decisions that affect the bottom line. This highlights the importance of having an effective and consistent online reputation.”