How to design a recruitment website - Online Recruitment Magazine

For monthly online recruitment news, delivered in hard copy format, straight to your office, subscribe to Online recruitment magazine

Email wendy@onrec.com for more details or call 0870 766 8530.
Or Subscribe here: Subscribe to Online Recruitment Magazine

Designing a website is an important investment, and getting it right for your company is crucial to success. Here we offer some suggestions on website design and the legal implications to bear in mind.

Valerii Verbovetskyi and Darren Revell, directors of www.attract-hr.com recommend the audience and software to be used should be carefully considered:

ìWebsites for recruiters and corporate users looking to attract staff should first and foremost think about who is going to find their site, and how? For example unless the site is already well known and is getting volumes of the right traffic hitting it then some form of marketing intervention is going to need to take place. Be that via pay per click, search engine optimization, print media advertising, radio or television. Many people want a site which looks good and which is referred to simply when asked for. However those who want the site to act as a genuine marketing tool should also think about the actual value the site delivers in the recruiting life cycle. Feature rich and easy to use CMS (Content Management Systems), AMS (Application Management Systems) are must-have options to help recruiting teams in posting, processing applications, following up and finally assessing performance of both the site as a communication and Applicant conversion tool.î

Shirley Brzeski Manager of Websearch Resourcing at www.websearchjobs.com offers the following advice: ìWhether a recruitment website is for Corporates or Recruitment Agencies, it is important that critical information is easy to find. Applicants shouldnít have to hunt through menus to find current vacancies ñ it should hit them bang in the face on the home page. If there arenít many vacancies live at a given time, a simple list of all current vacancies will suffice. Once the list exceeds 15-20 different positions however, I suggest a search engine should be created to help applicants view only relevant roles.

The sophistication of the search engine can be dictated by the types of jobs being featured on the website. If there are lots of different types of skills required (IT, Admin, Finance, Marketing, Sales etc) as well as different vacancy locations, then the search engine should discriminate against inappropriate roles - for example someone looking for a finance role within an Accounts department will not want to see vacancies for a sales Account Manager.

Websites which proudly tell of the companyís achievements as well as listing why applicants might like to work for them are more likely to motivate the applicant to see if any vacancies match their skills, and more importantly, will encourage them to apply for vacancies. A good example of this is the recruitment website that we created for the diesel engine manufacturer Cummins. For companies like Cummins who search for similar skills on an ongoing basis, the website is a great way to let applicants know that it is okay to submit their CV even if they donít exactly match the roles advertised. Remember to adhere to data protection rules and advise applicants how long their details will be kept on the companyís database.

Ensure that your vacancies are current and explain what will happen next. There is nothing more irritating for an applicant who has spent time completing an application form or composing a covering letter, than them not knowing whether their details were submitted correctly or are still floating in cyberspace.

If your organisation uses applications forms, competency based questions or psychometric testing ñ you might want to consider adding these to your website, linked to each vacancy. Beware - lengthy application processes can put candidates off from applying. Getting the balance right can be tricky ñ a lot depends upon what you want to achieve ñ receiving large numbers of CVs that might not exactly match the role or a small selection of highly screened applicants. I recommend using an application form specific to the vacancy, including screening questions that calculate an applicant rating which can then be sent to the hirer.

Adding a back office facility to your website can considerably reduce processing time. CVs and applicant data can be imported into existing internal HR/Recruitment systems or can be used to populate an online system for use by Line Managers and Recruiters 24/7.î

Simon Conroy, Chief Executive of Madgex explains the most common pitfalls:

- ìBells and whistles for the sake of it. It may be a great piece of technology, but if itís not delivering against your users needs better than other, simpler ways of doing it, then donít do it ñ however much your developer or designer hassles you.

- Understanding what your users want of your site, delivering that to them, and then thinking ëoh, and letís chuck some more stuff in ñ a newsfeed, and a weather report will differentiate usí ñ unless youíre delivering a tailored ëuber-portalí, people donít search for a job and decide what to wear the next day in the same online interaction.î

Andy Pierson, Director of networx advises that: ìYour career page must be easy to find, ideally the ìcareerî button must be on the main menu of your home page. Many of your clients visiting your website could be prospective employees, an ideal example of this is our apoint client Gamestation (www.gamestation.co.uk). They attract the majority of their employees through their own website, as people that visit their site to buy products regularly are the ideal people to work in their shops. These individuals have an interest in their product and have the necessary knowledge needed to sell the product confidently.î

What happens when a company gets it right?
Simon Conroy says: ìThe goal is engagement. In a sense you want to create an emotional attachment between the user and the site. I know this sounds a bit far-fetched, but itís a similar emotional engagement to your association with a brand ñ but deeper. Look at your favourites /bookmarks on your internet browser and take a bit of time to think why those sites are there. In most cases they will do the same as other sites, but in a better way. You end up using language like ëI like the way it does ëXíí and ëit just does what I wantí. In most of these cases the design of the site has optimized the user experience for the target users in such a way that you now feel a bond to the site because it has delivered to your needs.î

Shirley Brzeski Get your recruitment website right and you will not only receive good quality, well-matched applicants for your vacancies ñ you could also considerably reduce your cost per hire. In 2001, when Cummins switched from printed advertisements to online job board advertising; commissioned the creation and hosting of a recruitment website and directed all applicants to apply via their website, they cut their recruitment costs to 20% of its former level.î

To view some networx clients that have got their recruitment site and the management of candidatesí right, Andy Pierson suggests:

ï Hallmark Cards www.hallmarkuk.com,
ï RS Components www.rswww.com
ï Maplin Electronics www.maplin.co.uk.

ìThese clientsí career sites are aesthetically pleasing, their names are attracting quality speculative candidates, apoint helps the management of the recruitment cycle. They are saving both time and money within their annual recruitment budgets through the use of technology.î

Website design and the law

Legal expert Sherie Griffiths explains the intricacies and implications of recruitment website design and the law:

ìA whole raft of statutory and common law comes into play when designing any website. So, I shall pick out a few key aspects to focus on, namely: Entering contracts on the web, Data protection and Accessibility.

There are new Companies Act requirements ñ that all businesses must display their company information (including legal name registration number and VAT registration number) on their emails and websites. This is an acknowledgement of the growing importance of electronic communication in business and the need (for the protection of all concerned) to give it equal status with more traditional methods.

This brings us to the question of how to design a recruitment website through which it is possible to create valid contracts.

For a contract to be valid under English law, there must be:

Agreement ñ if thereís nothing agreed, thereís nothing for the law to enforce

Consideration ñ the exchange of (or agreement to exchange) something of value ñwhich seals the deal - and, most importantly, Intention.

The trouble with intention, of course, is that itís a state of mind ñ and the courts are not known for their telepathic powers. So where there is evidence that a commercial contract may exist, they presume the parties intended to create one, unless thereís strong evidence to the contrary.

It is a myth that if there is nothing signed there is no contract, but a signature is still the easiest way to evidence a personís intention to enter into a contract.

So, how to sign an electronic contract?

In 2001, in a paper on formal requirements for electronic communication, the law commission stated that ìclicking on a websiteî could be a signature.

This idea was confirmed last year by the High Court, in the case of Pereira versus Mehta. The case actually dealt with contracts entered via email, but the principle is just as relevant to websites. Mr Justice Pelling said that although a senderís email address could not stand as a signature, because it was inserted automatically when the email was sent, the message could have been signed in other ways, including:

by typing in a name, initials or (believe it or not) a pseudonym. What mattered, said the judge, was that
ìWhichever is used is inserted into the document in order to give and with the intention of giving authenticity to itî.

So when designing a website through which you intend to enter into contracts with your clients, it is important to make sure that:

ï Your terms and conditions are clear ñ so that both parties know exactly what they are agreeing to

ï There is the exchange of something of value ñ which can be as simple as payment in return for an undertaking to do the work paid for (provided that promise is then delivered) and

ï The ìsigningî process is clear and unambiguous ñ the client knows that by, for instance, clicking on an ìacceptî button at the end of the terms and conditions they are entering a legally binding agreement and you know the client has had physically to do something in order to progress to the next stage. Remember to make sure the agreement cannot be signed until the client has been given every opportunity to read the terms of the contract. English law frowns upon the idea of trying to impose a term upon someone of which they had no notice before signing! We all know that the vast majority of people never read before signing and you, as a service-provider, cannot be held responsible for that; but you can build into your website design the need at least to visit the terms and conditions page before allowing the ìacceptî button to be clicked. In that way, you have given clients ìnoticeî of the terms and can rely on them if necessary.

As an alternative to an ìacceptî button, if you take online payments, directing clients to the payments page via the terms and conditions page and making it clear in the terms that payment constitutes entry into a legally binding agreement will have the same effect.

Data Protection
Another important legal consideration when designing your website is Data Protection. The instant a website is visited, there is a transfer of personal data governed by this Act. Whether the data are collected manually or electronically, recruitment agencies/businesses collect substantial amounts of personal data on clients, the vacant position and potential candidates. Therefore, compliance with the Act governing the processing of these data is a very important factor in running the business.

The law does not state ìthou shalt have a Privacy Statementî on a website; rather it places a legal obligation on the business to utilise the website to communicate compliance with the legislation ñ the ìduty of proactive informingî. It has become common practice to use a Privacy Statement with links from each page to meet this obligation. The links also fulfill another obligation ñto make all the information easily accessible. Any infringement of the Data Protection Act 1998 could lead to a fine of up to 5000 and/or a criminal record.

Disability Discrimination Act
Finally, any website, particularly one offering services to the public, must comply with Part III the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended). Points to consider here include:

ï Colour contrast

ï Print size (or the ability to change print size) and

ï Compatibility with screen-readers ñ software which translates text on a screen into synthesized speech.

ï Accessibility applies not only to plain text but also to graphics (especially if they give additional information) and functions ñ search facilities, forms, links, buttons etc.

Of course the DDA is not just concerned with the website. Where you deal with individuals, every aspect of your service must be as accessible as it can possibly be.

All the legal requirements discussed here can best be met by taking specialist advice. If you would like more information, please contact Sherie Griffiths at www.griffithslegal.com.

(With thanks to Sherie Griffiths and also Robyn Banks, Head of AdaVista and Griffiths Legalís resident data protection specialist.)

-----------------------------------------------------------

For monthly, hard-copy online recruitment news, editorial and market updates, subscribe to Online recruitment magazine - Email wendy@onrec.com for more details or call 0870 766 8530.

Or Subscribe here: