Online Recruitment: A Revolution Waiting to Happen

Our workplace is changing. Thanks to email, the Internet and web-based software we can work from home and do personal things whilst at work, blurring the boundary between the two. This technology is changing not only the way we work, but the recruitment process too.

Over one third of young people go to university, and this number is set to rise. Graduates are used to working flexibly and being entirely output driven. They have, as a rule, had more access to new technology and are more IT literate. It is this generation that is primarily responsible for the recent uptake of online recruitment.

According to a survey from the Association of Graduate Recruiters, the Internet is the most frequently used advertising recruitment tool for reaching graduates, with 90 per cent of employers describing and advertising typical vacancies online.

However, it is not just graduates who are looking for jobs on the Internet. NORAS has found that the typical online job seeker is 33.1 years old with an average of 11.7 years work experience. There is an equal male/female split and 70 per cent are from the social categories ABC1. Half have a degree and they come from a variety of industry sectors and perform a whole range of different roles. The survey found that 68 per cent of respondents have applied for a job they found on the Internet, and 26 per cent of these have obtained a job that they found online.

This is where recruiters need to start utilising the Internet recruitment tools that are available to plug into the average online job seeker. Up to now employers have often perceived Internet recruitment to mean advertising a vacancy on their corporate website or posting a vacancy on commercial job boards, however, it can do so much more.

By using a web-based solution as part of a recruitment strategy, recruiters can take advantage of the back office function that online solutions provide. Recruiters will notice that by automating the recruitment process, they reduce time-to-fill, improve process efficiency, standardise processes, improve communications with hiring managers and candidates, and create a candidate database that can be used pro-actively for future vacancies.

There are also benefits for internal candidates too, as they can access and view vacancies and have their applications processed first, before the role is advertised externally.

Since implementing ReSource Hire two years ago we have seen an increase in vacancies being filled both via job board advertising (up from two per cent in 2002 to 11 per cent in 2003) and via internal candidates (up from 12 per cent in 2002 to 28 per cent in 2003), reducing our reliance on agency sourced candidates and bringing welcome cost savings. In addition, we have seen our new starter retention rate rise from 86% to 94%, which suggests that we are also getting better quality candidates.

This is an exciting time for job boards, online solutions providers and employers. I believe that HR has yet to realise the true value of online recruitment. HR and IT can work together to improve the experience for the candidate and the recruiter, and attract the best talent. And in doing so we can all work together to revolutionise recruitment!