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Online recruitment

According to general marketing trends strategic online networking becomes more and more important as a means to communicate and attract people also because of the exponentially increasing number of people with internet access. More and more jobseekers are relying exclusively on the internet to search for a new job position and a new employer. Online recruitment is easy to use and flexible.

Online Advertising and Social networking are relatively inexpensive methods of attracting talent compared to traditional marketing/advertising techniques. Organizations who want to keep up with these developments and trends and do not want to be left behind must develop a strategy to embrace the explosion of virtual & online resources in order to remain ahead of the rest in an increasingly demanding candidate market.

Online Recruitment ‘Islands’ – Pull out of the chaos – Online Recruitment Strategy

Social networking sites as e.g. LinkedIn or Facebook are a valuable resource also for recruiters not only for attracting a local talent but also a global pool of talent. An enormous group of users spending on average 30 minutes per day networking, taking part of interactive discussions and posting comments on blogs, etc. Statistics show that Facebook has over the 100 million educated active users and the number is increasing day by day. However, relying only on Online Social Networking for recruitment, also because of the above, is a bad strategy for several reasons. The information to process for online users is so enormously huge that without  channeling/driving the correct ‘target group’ to a specific direction on a creative way it becomes a chaos and it is useless.

For the above reasons it is eminent that the online strategy of each company should include the development of an online ‘island’ (e.g. own career portal) on the internet where online users can be attracted to e.g. from those social networking sites.

The role of the company’s career portal

  • Improve corporate image and profile

When properly managed, the positive impact of online recruitment can go beyond the area of HR and enhance the firm in other ways, as well. In an era in which image is everything, online recruitment can form an important element of the company’s brand management strategy.

  • Reduce administrative burden

That virtually anyone can submit an application with just a few clicks of the mouse may cause a logistical problem without a (semi-)automatic online applicant management system (job board/CV database).

  • Reduce recruitment costs

Overall efficiency and cost effectiveness of recruitment.

  • Employ better tools for the recruitment team.

Technology has been and will continue to be an important factor also in recruitment, but it is important to understand that it is a tool, rather than an end unto itself. In other words, although the tools we use have changed, most of the underlying principles that govern the recruitment process have remained basically unchanged.

HR professionals have been presented with a unique opportunity that combines the best of both worlds the efficiency and unparalleled reach of the Internet with the intuitive and human focus of traditional recruitment methods.

Implementation challenges

[source: e-Recruitment: Is it Delivering?, Kerrin M, Kettley P. Report 402, Institute for Employment Studies, 2003. ISBN: 978-1-85184-329-9.]

The findings from the above survey indicated that key implementation challenges were the cultural approach of the organisation towards e-recruitment, and the lack of knowledge within the HR community. This has implications for training within HR to develop the capability to deliver e-recruitment, and also elsewhere within the organisation (eg at line manager level). Further implications of e-recruitment are that it may allow a more strategic role for HR. A compelling argument why online recruitment should be
integrated sooner rather than later, is that it will serve to move the recruiter up the value chain, allowing them to be far more strategic. Finally, cultural and behavioral change was reported as the significant challenge in ensuring that e-recruitment delivers.