Online recruitment critical for UK businesses

Online recruitment plays a key role in the success of modern business, according to a new report released to coincide with the fifth birthday of totaljobs.com



The latest Total Forum Report, an in-depth, biannual survey of e-recruitment practices in the UK, reveals that one in five businesses perceive online recruitment to be critical to the success of their organization. This is an increase from 14 per cent in 2004.

The future for online recruitment looks bright with 40 per cent of companies predicting an increase in the number of vacancies that they place on recruitment websites. Over the next twelve months there is also a growing confidence amongst organisations that have actively embraced online recruitment with a staggering 81 per cent of those using job sites reporting success in filling vacancies.

Furthermore, sixty one per cent of respondents agree that recruitment websites are successful at reaching a diverse pool of jobseekers. Recent independent research from totaljobs.com has affirmed the claim that recruitment websites reach a diverse audience, with its own audience reflecting the rich diversity of UK jobseekers as a whole.

In addition, 42 per cent of businesses that have used recruitment websites have reduced their spend on recruitment print advertising and 35 per cent have reduced costs on recruitment agencies. Whereas five years ago there were expectations that the internet would replace print and broadcast as a medium to recruit staff. However, the more experienced users are now learning how best to combine online with these traditional channels to yield a more effective recruitment solution.

However, there seems to be an educating job to be done with just one in four businesses posting all of their vacancies online. There is still a belief that the web is suited only to particular types of vacancies such as IT, marketing and sales positions and so businesses are still selective about which jobs they advertise.

The results also reveal that the larger the organisation, the greater the use of job sites. Seventy two per cent of companies with over 500 employees have used recruitment websites in the last year compared with 47 per cent of organisations with under 500 employees. The benefit of using recruitment websites for large-scale recruitment is clear with nine out of ten of the organisations that had filled over 1,000 vacancies in the past year having used a job site.

Michael Robinson, marketing director for totaljobs.com said: It is great to see that many businesses are realising the importance of having online recruitment as part of their hiring strategy. As an increasing number of jobseekers go online, the internet offers employers access to a diverse talent pool. The research also reveals that companies are realising the benefits of job sites with many companies predicting a rise in their use of online recruitment.

Totaljobs.com recorded more job applications in June than at any time in its 5 yearí history. More than 415,000 job applications were generated through the site, an 11% increase on the previous month.

For the Total Forum report, an in-depth, biannual survey of e-recruitment practices in the UK, totaljobs.com interviewed senior HR professionals at 180 public and private sector companies.