Abcam, the online distributor of research grade antibodies, has started using web based social recruiting platform BraveNewTalent to build its employer brand and develop an online community of potential recruits.
The brainchild of Dr Jonathan Milner, Abcam began life in the corridors of Cambridge University where Jonathan would go door-to-door in the laboratory buildings selling antibodies in buckets of ice. Fast forward 12 years and the company is now a global leader with a workforce of almost 300 across 5 offices, based in the UK, US, Japan and China. It has demonstrated remarkable buoyancy during the recession, announcing an increase in turnover of 25.2% to £71.1 million in the year to June 2010.
With a history of rapid growth and clear indicators of continued expansion, the HR and Recruitment team at Abcam’s head office in Cambridge is always on the look-out for new recruits.
Like an increasing number of forward-looking companies, Abcam has decided to harness the power of social media, and BraveNewTalent, for recruitment. The approach offers a number of benefits for employers; connecting with potential recruits, or ‘talent’, via a social network helps individuals understand the company before they are employed while allowing the employer time to assess candidates in a professional, but less pressurised environment. Recruiting this way also enables companies to provide training off the payroll, enables new personnel to hit the ground running and reduces the cost-per-hire.
Abcam’s Recruitment Co-ordinator Bonnie Anderson explains, “BraveNewTalent will help us develop a cost effective talent pipeline that brings potential employees into one space where we can engage with them. It will also help us build our employer brand. We’re very well known in the sciences sector, but as we’re developing we need individuals with different abilities, especially those with IT and language skills, as well as maths and science graduates.”
Lucian Tarnowski, CEO of BraveNewTalent, added, “Nearly one sixth of Abcam’s employees have a PhD, but as the company continues to grow it also needs to bring in skilled young technology professionals. It makes sense for them to turn to social media to engage with their next generation of employees. Building a professional talent community using social media is simply becoming a no brainer. Abcam demonstrates that SME’s can also use this channel to build a culture of interaction rather than interruption.”
Bonnie concluded, “At present we’re recruiting around thirty new employees a year. We’re very fortunate that we already have talented and engaged staff, but of course we need to add to them as we grow.
“BraveNewTalent is helping us target highly-skilled recruits and bring them together in one place, creating a talent community. This means our team can concentrate their efforts on making sure the individuals are right for our company.
“It will enable our HR and Recruitment teams to use their time more efficiently and our resources more effectively, while reducing our recruitment costs.”
