Enhance Media has defended online recruitment following the widely reported problems being faced by junior doctors over the selection for specialist training posts.
Tim Elkington, managing director, said the principle of online recruitment was sound and was a valuable way of cutting administration time and reducing costs. He said when problems cropped up they were more likely to be due to the system itself or how it was set up.
He also dismissed claims that ëcomputersí were deciding doctorsí careers. ìThe computer does not make decisions, it just uses the criteria that has been set by the person in charge of the recruitment process.î
Junior doctors have held protests over the online recruitment procedure for selecting specialist training posts. They complained that the new computerised application system did not allow candidates to show a range of experience and claimed some of the best applicants had not been selected for interview.
Enhance Media manages the National Online Recruitment Audience Survey (NORAS), the largest piece of online recruitment research. Tim Elkington said: ìWe understand how the junior doctors feel and itís right that the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) procedure is now being reviewed.
ìBut itís important to remember that if a system doesnít work itís because it hasnít been set up properly or itís a poor system ñ not because the principle of online recruitment is flawed. Many private and public sector organisations are successfully using online recruitment to save on admin time and drive down costs.î
Online recruitment can be the healthy option
Problems with junior doctorsí applications due to the system or how it was set up
