In our last blog we talked about the importance of consistency in your recruitment processes, which perhaps is the biggest single defence against possible litigation.
The informed use of technology is a great way to institutionalise your improved process and ensure a level of consistency in the way applicants are managed. Additionally, technology can dramatically reduce your administration overhead by automating much of the up-front data collection and processing. This is especially true when some roles can attract many many applications.
Businesses are also increasingly using other technologies to appeal directly to potential recruits using sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Handling all these applications in a consistent and efficient manner is key. Many different organisations use e-recruitment as a cost-effective method of recruiting new staff. It is also popular among job-seekers, figures from the British Market Research Bureau show that using the Internet is the favoured job-hunting method for one in four UK adults. However, it is important to remember when designing a recruitment campaign that online job hunting is not the first choice for all.
Technology can be used to:
- Advertise vacancies – on your organisation’s website, job sites, or on social networking sites;
- Manage the applications – email enquiries, emailed application forms/CVs, online completion of application forms;
- Select candidates for online testing and further information gathering;
- Enhance your employer brand (which is different to your commercial brand);
- Create an ongoing relationship with your talent pool.
e-Recruitment gives employers real costs savings plus increased ease and efficiency in the recruitment process. It also gives candidates an improved experience.
Findings in a CIPD survey show that e-recruitment sections on employers' own websites is now the fourth most popular recruitment method.
More than seven in ten employers advertise vacancies on their corporate websites, while jobs boards are used by four in ten with 73% reporting reduced costs through using e-recruitment.
e-Recruitment financial benefits are typically achieved by:
- Reducing the size and frequency of adverts in conventional print media, print adverts only need limited information, directing applicant to the e-recruitment system to view a much richer range of information and the opportunity to apply online immediately;
- Gaining occasional candidates for free by ensuring the e-recruitment website is easily found from the front page of the corporate website, interested applicants have the opportunity to apply for specific vacancies which are available now or registering a speculative application for the future;
- Building a Talent Pool of candidates retaining speculative and star candidates for the future, and then contacting them when an appropriate vacancy is advertised effectively generating applicants for free;
- Reduced Administration as all applicants are held on a single e-recruitment system they can be contacted individually or collectively with ease at the click of a mouse, reducing the time, effort and cost of the administration staff;
- Pre-filtering candidates the use of job specific (killer) questions and selection techniques allows the employer to focus quickly on the most appropriate applicants and efficiently communicate with them. This is very important in a candidate short market where good candidates have many options and expect instant response to their applications;
- Using e-recruitment rather than conventional print media or agencies - offering considerable cost savings (90% or more) and extensive candidate reach for most roles.
Additionally:
- Applicants received a much higher quality of service, ranging from prompt and timely communications through to the ability to select their own interview time through an online interview zone all of which enhances the employer's brand making it easier in the long term to attract staff;
- Reduced time to hire all major employers using e-recruitment systems report reduced time to hire which can have a major economic impact for the employers, getting productive employees in role quicker;
- Management reporting giving the employer the knowledge to evolve and adapt the e-recruitment process.
So not only better results but these are achieved more cost effectively and provide candidates, both successful and unsuccessful, with a better impression of you as an employer. Enhancing your reputation is part of a virtuous cycle of improvement, almost for free!
