Online+Recruitment

Online Recruitment 

__ Introduction __

Online recruitment, otherwise known as ‘e-recruitment,’ uses technology to attract candidates and aid in the recruitment process. Businesses and job seekers are increasingly turning to online recruitment in order to help them find or fill their vacancies; this recruitment method is becoming very popular, and has led to an increase in the number of online recruitment sites that are available. Online recruiting encompasses online sources such as internet job boards, applicant tracking systems and online assessments for the recruitment and selection of potential candidates. Just one of these sources on their own might work for a company’s recruitment process, whereas others may combine several of the online sources to create an effective recruitment process.

The internet has made way for the largest change to the recruitment landscape in the last few years acting as a conduit between employers and job seekers. ‘’Technology has enabled corporate websites, suppliers and job seekers to become more sophisticated, interactive and to connect globally 24 hours, 7 days a week. (Institute of Employment studies 2006 ) Further research even suggests that organisations are under pressure to embrace this new trend in order to stay up to date with their recruitment practices. Smith and Rupp (2004) argue that-

//“The Internet has drastically changed the face of recruitment. Employers must now actively market themselves by instituting a well-implemented e-recruitment program to find better quality candidates and improve hiring decisions, all in less time and at a lower cost.” (Smith and Rupp 2004) //

__ What are the benefits that online recruitment can bring to a business? __

Gone are the days when e-recruitment was just for the technologically aware. Today this in-dispensable process is being used by many recruiters to source professional talent as a stand-alone method, as well as alongside traditional recruitment methods.

E-recruitment allows for immediate interaction with online potential candidates, reducing the amount of time it takes to hire. Businesses can post jobs in little time onto career sites, with no limits to advert size; they can start receiving a response immediately. ‘’Typically e-recruitment hiring is on average 70% faster than traditional hiring methods, and the recruiting cycle is speed up at every stage from posting, to receiving applications to filtering and managing the contact and workload.’’ (bayt.com 2008) Furthermore online recruitment offers a variety of tools for a business, such as pre-employment screening and personality assessments which will allow a company to select qualified candidates that match the company’s culture and values with very little human interaction.

Online recruitment can reach a much larger audience than traditional recruitment methods, and a company is able to attract candidates with specific skills. It can make the process of finding candidates and new business opportunities much quicker, cheaper and generally more efficient. ‘’Technology has enabled corporate websites and job seekers to become more sophisticated and interactive.’’ (Harris 2007)

For many businesses, recruitment costs are among the highest expenses they face. The recruitment process not only involves the cost of hiring a suitable candidate, but also training and retention costs for that candidate. Online recruitment can drastically reduce the costs of hiring, because it is done electronically which means there is no storage or administration costs for the business. Moreover as the whole recruitment process is managed from one location, it allows the company to carry out the recruitment process in a functional manner, which will in turn enhance the user experience for both the organisation and the job seeker. In addition it can allow for a database build up, as employers can save any particularly attractive CVs allowing them to build a database of pre-screened talent for future use.

However, it has been argued by Caggiano (1999) and Borck (2000) that ‘’online recruiting will not replace traditional practices in recruitment but a well-implemented online recruitment strategy can help the recruitment process become more successful.’’ Cullen (2001) also supports this theory, stating that ‘e-recruitment is not treated as a stand-alone tool but is integrated into an overall recruiting and selection strategy.’’

__ The problems of online recruitment for a business __

Throughout the online recruitment process, the job seeker may not be able to speak to their potential employee; this lack of communication can lead to confusion and ambiguity on the part of the applicant. Furthermore the online recruitment process can attract a vast number of applications, which can prove to be a challenge for the administrative sector of the organisation, going through hundreds of applications can be a tedious task, and if it is not done correctly it can effective the whole screening process.

Stone et.al (2006) argues that ‘’online recruitment modifies social interactions, and gives the applicant the inability to present themselves to the employer.’’ For example if a business is looking to employ a marketing manager, the types of people that would suit this position are likely to be outgoing and very talkative, these characteristics cannot be measured through online recruitment. ‘’Pin et. al (2001) refers to this as a ‘’lack of human touch.’’ Moreover online recruitment can be seen as a generalized way of recruiting if the position is specialized. For example, if the business is looking to fill a managerial position they would need to be interviewed one to one as this role will enquire the candidate to be highly skilled. There is also security issues associated with online recruitment. Businesses can be vulnerable to fake applications and spam, this is one of the biggest issues that online recruitment brings, as until the applicant meets the employer in person they are unable to tell if the information that they have provided is true.



__Different types of Online recruitment and the positives and negatives: __

Email CV. The most obvious type of online recruitment a more modern take on sending a cv through the post, is normally direct to the employer.


 * Positives:** Quick and easy, will get a lot of people applying. Also very cost effective, as an internet connection, email and website all that is needed.
 * Negatives:** Many speculative CV's are sent, may take a long time to sift through all the CV's. Less organised.

Apply through an external website, such as prospects or reed. Getting another company to handle the CVS and provide a gateway.


 * Positives:** Reduces some of the costs involved, the external website will do the advertising. You know it's coming from a website aimed at your type of job, so less speculative CVs.
 * Negatives**: The website may want money for advertisement. Will need to make your job sound more appealing, as there will be other jobs on the website. Very competitive marketplace. Will still be a lot of applicants.

Brief online application. Similar to sending a CV except you will have opportunity to attach covering letter and personal details, will be stored online.


 * Positives:** A slightly more detailed process. More chances to assess the candidate. Even one or more steps will reduce the number applying. The applications are stored online for easy access.
 * Negatives:** More expensive will need an application process and a place to store the information. More complex by nature.

Online application. The candidate will normally fill in personal details, attach a CV will perhaps be asked more complex questions. This is normally on the employers website.


 * Positives:** Allows for a thorough overview of a candidate. The candidate has to spend more time applying, and this means they have more interest. Is a good starting point to allow for a more personal interview in the second round. May mean less candidates.
 * Negatives**: Much costlier, have to create forms and different assessments. The complex nature of the questions and applications means it may take much longer to go through each candidate. May turn off some good candidates due to the complex and time consuming nature of the process.

As can be seen, the complexity of the recruitment changes throughout all of these, and through most of them the costs go up, but also the knowledge of the candidate is better. Also, more qualitative measures are taken to try and assess the candidates in a manner more akin to an interview.

__Online and traditional recruitment. __

Many large recruiters, from Waitrose (John Lewis, 2014) to Jaguar Land Rover (Jaguar, 2014) use online recruitment in at least one aspect, usually the first, of the recruitment process. As the use of technology and internet becomes larger, this will continue to be the norm. As has been said Online recruitment has its limitations, the lack of face-to-face recruitment and the lack of human touch. So in a bid to combat this recruiters use online recruitment for the first aspect of their process. This can be filling in a form, a psychometric assessment or a more complex process. What generally tends to happen is after these applications have been sifted through, they may then invite the candidate they have chosen through their results in the initial application, to join them for a face to face interview or telephone interview. This then allows the cost effective nature of online recruitment to slim line and target the more able candidates. Who then go on to meet the candidates in person. In a business where there may be a lot of candidates this type of process is arguably the most cost-effective but also far-reaching method.

Having the two different types of recruitment into one whole process covers more bases and allows for different methods of assessment in a bid to find the best person for the job. However, for a smaller business, perhaps a more specialised business, online recruitment is used less and less. Take Alexander Associates motorsport recruitment. As an extremely specialised recruitment consultancy, the human touch and face-to-face approach is an integral part of the headhunting/recruitment process. Speaking to Stephen Bailey the Managing Director of Alexander Associates he states that 'online recruitment is only a small part of the business culture here, it can be much harder to deduce the less quantitative qualities of the candidate through email or an application process. We operate either a structured telephone or face to face Interview as we feel this gives both our Clients and Candidates piece of mind, as we can go into greater detail.' (Bailey, 2014) This shows the differences in recruitment between small and large business as well. This may also be down to cost. A small recruitment firm, may not have the manpower, money or expertise to assemble an online application process for a job that may attract 40 candidates. Where as a company like Jaguar Land Rover, does have these resources, and will need them for a job that might attract 4000. Conversely, it is not cost effective for a company to have face to face interviews with 4000 people, so online recruitment eliminates some of the extreme costs involved. Again this all comes down to the company’s HR recruitment department in assessing what type of recruitment strategy to initiate and whether it is more general or specialised. It also comes down to what type of online recruitment process is used. For example, most businesses have an email address and therefore encourage applicants to send their CV. This is cost effective, and for any size business having a number of CVs can shorten the process in the future. However, complex forms, tests assessments are more restricted to larger companies simply because of the cost involved. Also the HR/Recruitment department needs to consider the type of person applying; a highly qualified engineer with many years experience would most probably not want to enter his or her details on an application form but they may be more inclined to email their CV. In comparison, a graduate student, perhaps applying for 10 or so jobs, would be much more inclined to go through an application process, as they are less specialised and have less experience, and there are generally more applying.

It is certainly true that most organisations use a combination of both online and traditional recruitment, this arguably offers the best process to recruit employees.

__ Headhunting, recruiting and LinkedIn __
As has been mentioned LinkedIn can be a good tool for online recruitment. The ease of access, means that for many specialised recruitment and headhunting organisations it may be the first point of call, because you can easily identify potential candidates, who have positions similar to the ones that need to be filled at another company. These people may use LinkedIn for their own reasons, networking with former employers, or networking generally, but because of the simple fact they put their details on the website means a wealth of information is now available for recruitment organisations at their fingertips. It reduces the time spent in the phone systems of bigger organisations, and means a more targeted search. This sort of use is only really used in specialised recruitment companies, as a simple HR position at a supermarket would have hundreds if not 1000s of suitable candidates, whereas a designer in an automotive position would have fewer potential candidates. However, using LinkedIn can have some pitfalls:

In a competitive recruitment business environment, it is crucial that other organisations do not know who the other is recruiting, as this can indicate what type of problems the company is trying to rectify, or can signal what direction the company is going into. For example, a games design company employing a programmer with a more technical background may suggest they are trying to do more than just design games. What can happen on LinkedIn is that it is possible to see who has viewed profiles. Therefore, if someone who works for an organisation is seen on various profiles of the same type, then it is possible to deduce the type of person that organisation is looking for. (Bailey, 2014) Also, 80% of people on LinkedIn are what is known as passive candidates. This means that they are not seeking a new job, and are in contract of employment elsewhere. In a headhunting situation this does not really matter but in a more general recruitment sense, this can provide major stumbling blocks. In general, the people with jobs are the better candidates simply because they have a job and they have been recruited by someone else, but some may be open to new opportunities, but however many candidates are contacted, it is a complete unknown as to how many would want to switch. This can be a time-consuming exercise.(Employers Research Council, 2014) Contacting potential employees through LinkedIn is generally seen as fairly unprofessional, it is much better in confidential and specialised recruitment consultancies to have a more personal method of contact, either phone or direct email. However, the option of easy contact is there if it is not available any other way.

Conversely it has its advantages:

In examining a potential candidate on LinkedIn, if the person’s connections are examined then that can provide avenues for people you may not have known about. Also, with social media recruitment in general, the way they conduct themselves on it shows a good picture of who the person is, their interests, their professionalism, whether they are likely to work well in the company culture etc.

Around 20% of people on LinkedIn are on it to look for a job. This means a good percentage of people that are contacted may be actively looking for a role. This shortens the recruitment process, but alternatively, there may be a reason why they are looking for a job, and these reasons have to be found out, and due diligence must be practised.(Employers Research Council)

You can build up a shortlist based on the candidate’s experience. If you require candidates with a certain level of education or having worked in the industry before, you can easily gather this information, and discount those who do not have the relevant experience. However, the employer must be wary that what is written on LinkedIn may not be truthful as it is written by the person themselves.

LinkedIn can also be used the other way around as well. For example, having contacted someone through a more traditional method of recruitment, LinkedIn can be used to check the person’s history, check his or her contacts to examine the person more surreptitiously. This is part of gaining background information on the candidate.

In all, LinkedIn should be used as a guide for specialist recruitment organisations, it can provide useful information, and can provide a great starting point for any organisation in getting a feel for what sort of people are out there and who is available. It is possible to make a shortlist of candidates using LinkedIn. In this sense LinkedIn is very useful. However, in terms of going on and recruiting someone on the shortlist it is always better to make direct contact through phone or email, especially in headhunting and more specialised businesses. This attitude, for better or for worse appears to be changing more and more. Employers and employees are finding it increasingly more acceptable to make contact and recruit exclusively through LinkedIn. However, in terms of the interview process, face to face, or in extreme circumstances phone interviews are universally accepted as the way to go.

__ Organisations that are using online recruit __

The British army regularly use YouTube as a way to try and recruit through the use of an online advert. Their campaign is a great example of making the most of their employer brand online. The aim of the video is to engage potential candidates at the point of application, increasing the relevance for job seekers as well as trying to attract the best possible candidates in a quick and cost effective campaign.

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Shopify is an electronic commerce platform that enables both people and businesses to create online stores. Shopify use videos that they post online to show individuals why they would want to work for the company in a quirky but yet informative way. The video helps to demonstrate their company culture in a fun way that will attract employees who have the same kind of working attitudes.

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Pinterest allows its user to create boards of images and videos based on a certain topic. Whereas most job advertisements can only describe a company’s culture and benefit, Pinterest can actually show candidates where they could potentially be working, who they could be working with and what they will be doing. Although candidates are not able to apply for positions through Pinterest, images can be taken with the link to the vacancy on the company’s job site and labelled with hash tags to make them searchable. Having the option to pin images on to boards means that the organisation can sell their work environment through photographs of the workplace, and videos of their staff talking about the benefits of working for company. Below are companies that are currently using Pinterest as a recruitment tool-

__Taco Bell (**__http://www.pinterest.com/tacobellcareers__**)__

Taco Bell has used Pinterest to develop their recruitment strategy. They have a comprehensive account sorely dedicated to careers that helps to create a more personal touch. ‘Taco Bell + YOU provides users with images and videos, as well as a featuring ‘a day in the life’ videos of their employees who use them to explain their role within the business. This is a brilliant interactive tool that shows candidates what kind of work they will be doing.

__Aon (**__http://www.pinterest.com/aoncareers__**)__



The international company Aon has a separate board for each location that they are currently hiring in. Each board is used to sell the location and the job vacancy.

__Pizza Hut (**__http://www.pinterest.com/phistaffing__**)__

Pizza Hut is another company that using Pinterest to promote their careers page. They advertise vacancies, as well as give interview tips and have a board based on the development of their staff. The image below is taken from a job advertisement for the company on their Pinterest board. The advert is brief, using images to do the talking which is a great way of grabbing potential candidate’s attention.

__ The use of social media as an online recruitment tool __

//“Some recruiters are using the leading social media channels simply to search and advertise, while others are building longer-term strategies, such as investing in permanent, interactive online talent pools.” (Clements, 2012)//

Social media as a recruitment tool offers both opportunities as well as challenges for businesses. Social media can offer employers speed and efficiency as well as the ability to target and attract specific candidates within the recruitment process. Social media can provide a useful additional source of information on the potential job candidates, as some data at both a personal and professional level may not be generated for the purpose of recruitment, do therefore could provide candid information on the applicant. Moreover for job candidates it can potentially offer a variety of sources of information about the employer as well as the possibility of contact with existing employees in order to gain a more realistic job preview. Social media sites allow users to create web-based profiles where individuals can interact. Initially designed for socialising with friends and family, these networks have become a professional tool, more specifically used for recruitment. Social media sites can act as a marketing tool as jobseekers can use these sites to market themselves to potential employers, and the employers can do the same to the jobseekers. In addition social media can act as a screening mechanism; the employers can use information available to them through these networks as a way to gain a broader image of the potential employees in a much cheaper and easier way compared to traditional recruitment methods.

‘ LinkedIn’ is a popular business-related social network site that is used for professional networking. The users can maintain a list of contact details of individuals by which they have some form of relationship, known as ‘connections.’ This list of ‘connections’ can then be used to build up a contact network and follow different businesses to find jobs. A recent study conducted by Jobvite (2012) reveals that globally, ‘’LinkedIn is currently the most popular social network tool being used for recruitment, used by 93 per cent of employers, followed by Facebook at 66 per cent, and Twitter at 55 per cent.’’ LinkedIn is a social media network that specifically targets professionals, so this explains why organisations are choosing to exploit it. Moreover Twitter is a way for businesses to broadcast vacancies, while Facebook can be used to direct potential candidates towards their career sites.

According to a recent report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (2012) three per cent of UK businesses are actively making use of social media networks for recruitment; this may seem like a low percentage but it is likely that businesses are making use of social media at different stages of the recruitment process, such as a way to attract potential employees to their corporate recruitment website or on the other hand to just create a positive company image to a wider audience. This is much more likely, considering that the number of jobseekers that are using social networking sites as a way to find potential job vacancies is on the rise.

A recent global survey among employers emphasises the increase in the importance of social media within the recruitment process, ‘’92 per cent of respondent already use or plan to use social media as a recruitment tool, an increase of almost ten percent that were using social media to recruit in 2010.’’ (Jobvite 2012) this also shows the future potential that social recruiting brings. Furthermore ‘’since 1998, there has been a 60 per cent increase in online applications through corporate websites, with more than 90 per cent of Global 500 companies using this tool to attract potential employees.’’ (Searle, 2006)

However, further research suggests that a ‘’change from traditional recruitment methods to online recruitment may not be as simple as just changing the tools used, it may require more strategic changes within the wider recruitment process. ‘’ (Parry and Tyson 2008) Parry and Tyson (2008) analysis of current UK practices have shown that ‘’although e-recruitment has become more widespread among UK companies, it has not dominated the recruitment market in the way that it was predicted by the media.’’

__ Benefits and Drawbacks of social media recruitment __

Social Media offers a range of benefits for online recruitment. It brings a large cost saving, as it is generally free to use. In addition it increases the number of applications that can be reached, as well as being able to target recruitment towards specific groups and potential candidates. ‘’Social media networks can be used to help identify potential candidates with certain characteristics and to reach non-traditional applicants, for example those who are not in the usual target groups, or who have different backgrounds and experience.’’ (Davison, Maraist 2011) For businesses having a creative and strong social media site can reflect positively on an organisation’s image towards their future candidates, furthermore the use of social media networks can improve the quality of applicants. Jobvite (2012) says that ‘’49 per cent of organisations that implemented social media recruiting saw an increase in the quantity of candidates, and 43 per cent saw an increase in the quality of candidates.’’ Quality is measured through qualifications, previous experience and the overall suitability to the specific job. However, there are a number of issues that need to be considered. The businesses may have an unwanted high volume of responses because of the global number of people that have access to the internet. Many of the applicants can be unqualified, so it is important that the job posting on the social network site is specific about what the job entails, and the qualifications that are required. As much of the online recruiting process can involve emails or even telephone interviews, some see this as being too impersonal. Without having a face to face interview it can be difficult to tell if the candidate will fit into the company’s culture. Social media recruiting can also bring technology issues, some candidates may not be confident enough with the security of an online application, and the application system may lose information or even fail during the submission process. A lot of candidates that see job postings on social media sites will look on the company’s website to help them gain more information about the organisation and its culture, therefore if the website has a poor design or is seen as out-dated the candidate may choose to not bother applying, meaning the company could lose out of potential employees.

Social media recruitment can also be used as a way for an organisation to build their brand. Individuals can ‘like’ or share vacancy posts on Facebook, which can help to raise the profile and awareness of the company, by pushing traffic towards their corporate website. If an organisation recruits high volumes of staff, then it will be partially important for that organisation to promote their brand, and social media plays a key part in doing this.

Social media can be used to help increase communication with potential candidates, as well as increasing brand-awareness. It can also be used to stop some individuals from applying for jobs at the early stages, because they will be able to gain a realistic view of the organisation before they start the application process. This will save time and money for the organisation. There are however potential risks that come with using social media for recruitment. The organisation must dedicate resources to their site, as the traffic can be unpredictable. Furthermore there can be issues regarding accuracy of information on social media networks; it can be hard to tell if the information given by individuals is completely accurate.

__ Using the internet as a way to get noticed __

Graeme Anthony realized that communication had changed. He created an interactive video that gives links to additional sections such as About Me and Timeline, which is based on his previous work experience. He sent the video to companies, and before the video had gone public he was offered a job. When the video was posted on ‘YouTube’ he was inundated with other job offer, showing that creativity online can aid an individual in the recruitment process.

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__ So what does it all mean? Considering the impact and implication of online recruitment __

It is clear that online recruitment has altered the hiring process in today’s society. The main change has been a technological one, with the advancements in social media and mobile networking. More and more job seekers and recruiters are requesting that they be able to complete job assessments on their mobile devices, this in turn will have a huge impact on the recruitment process in the future. The companies that take advantage on this trend first, will make it easier and more convenient for potential candidates to connect with the business, and they will also been seen as more technologically advanced. It can be said that the tools we are using to recruit have changed, but the underlying principles that govern the recruitment process have themselves remained unchanged. Online recruitment should be regarded as just one of the many techniques that ensure businesses are recruiting the best candidates possible.

__Bibliography__

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Employers Research Council. (2014) //How to use LinkedIn to recruit.// Available from: https://www.yourerc.com/blog/post/How-to-Use-LinkedIn-to-Recruit-10-Tips.aspx. Last Accessed 14th May 2014.

Jaguar Land Rover. (2014). 'Jaguar Land Rover careers'. Available from: http://www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com/. Last Accessed 29th April 2014.

John Lewis Partnerships. (2014). 'John Lewis Jobs'. Available from: http://www.waitrosejobs.com/jobs/john-lewis-jobs.htm. Last Accessed 29th April 2014.

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