Recruiting for a Virtual Environment
Mon, Jun 30th, 2008
Luke Mckend - Google 30th June 2008
The internet is now part of the fabric of daily life. Who could have envisaged back in 1995 that the internet would be so much part of our infrastructure? In the following 10 years eBay grew to 120 million users. But this growth is dwarfed by My Space which grew by the same amount in just three years and YouTube in just 18 months: YouTube now boasts 300 minutes of video being uploaded every minute of every day.
However, what is particularly interesting about these facts is the staggering growth of more mature users, for example, Bebo boasts that out of a unique audience of 3.5 million, some 34% are over 35 years old.
In terms of particular applications, recruitment leads the way. 75% used the internet during job searches and 43% used it as the first call for information. Year on Year growth of 40% is currently enjoyed. However, this masks wide variations in the sector in practice and industry sectors. • the most successful sites are those which have established themselves through meeting Search Engine criteria. • Some sites are better at exploiting seasonality, using months when user traffic is at its peak. • The relative use of the internet is highly dependent on the sector. Clearly IT positions attract the highest usage, but it is also effective in Health, Social Care and Education with some 30% of vacancies being filled via the internet.
How can organisations attract good candidates online?
1. Build a solid foundation and ensure that there is an attractive proposition. In the case of Google, the image is, for example, "fun", and "free food" etc. The company is having to work hard to establish its desired proposition, which is that it attracts candidates who are inspiring/talented, who want a challenging role, who feel that they are doing the "right thing" with their careers, and, crucially, have "empowerment" through job autonomy. In other words, it has to work at its Brand. A way of monitoring brand perception is through sites such as www.brandtags.net, With the ready availability of such sites organisations have to work harder at their Brand development.
2. Be Found. There is little point in having a web presence if it is difficult to find the site. In the case of Google, - users rated it the most helpful and most effective single source of finding other sites and information. - It is possible to use multiple search strategies by using different search engines - Get your organisation high on the ranking. While paying a fee clearly is beneficial, relevance plays a high part in positioning. - Corporate awareness. Corporates such as Lloyds TSB and British Energy are now getting involved in search engine marketing with candidates. An example might be a form of "dating", where companies are trying to identify appropriate candidates through a range of criteria which might include extra-curricula interests.
3. Differentiate and Innovate. This is part of the process of building awareness. Successful organisations in this area are include the following examples - Yell has taken the view that an advertisement highlighting innovation and creativity attracts better candidates than a simple site with a direct response facility. - Increasing use of video. Organisations use free video available from YouTube (which has a huge library of free videos) and can then paste this on to an advertisement, such as one posted on a vacancy on the Guardian website - Increasing use of map based information. Candidates often feel more comfortable when they can identify map coordinates. This is an important area of activity, with recruitment related activity being the second most popular based use of location searches. 4. Make it a good experience. This may seem a simplistic point, but when as many of 30% of candidates complain about having a negative perception, a staggeringly high number of organisations are not getting this right. The rules include : - ensure that content is relevant - use more video. This is a powerful tool and can be used to help with "self-selection". Candidates can relate more closely to the environment into which they are applying and then determine whether it is appropriate for them.
5. What is coming next? Tracking a measuring will become increasingly important. - An overall performance figure will be derived from: How much will it cost, how many applicants have come forward, how much did the candidates cost per hire? - Universal search. - Personalisation of gadgets and sites. The i-google area is the fastest growing part of the site. - Mobile communications. The new generation of phones will have improved messaging and make advertising via messaging more readily available. It is expected that revenues from Advertisement messaging will be 10-15 times bigger than all other forms of advertising.
6. What's really next? A plethora of information! - Where will information come from and will it be useful? This is hard work and may not necessarily be rewarding. - What will be the source of candidates? With more candidates registering online, many recruiters are having to change their business models fundamentally. - Constantly try to improve the site and give it additional functionality so that there are increased marketing opportunities and so that the Return on Investment (ROI) can be increased - Monitor how candidates are engaging with the website. This is especially important when considering why there has been in trouble - Measure everything! RT 30.06.08
