E-Recruitment Overview - Assignment Example

? E-Recruitment xxxxx School: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx Due xxxxxx Introduction Online hiring is a procedure in which employers use electronic resources for the placement of personnel. Due to efficient, fast and cost effective nature of advertising, e-recruitment has taken an important role (Silver, 2009). Internationally the recruitment landscape has significantly changed in the recent past. Increasing skill shortages and low levels of unemployment in many domains has increased the competition in hiring the best person. Due to increased competition in the recruitment market, the organizations are tending to spend more efforts, time and resources in increasing the range of online and traditional advertising methods (Public Appointments Services, 2006). The basic use of the internet and internet technology is transforming, and to some extent revolutionising the ways in which human resource departments recruit job candidates (Verhoeven.H & Williams.S, 2008). In the recent years, due to the internet, the recruitment process has undergone a dramatic transformation. The internet has become a medium of connecting the employers and the jobseekers. It has enabled the employers to access a wide range of potential employers that can quickly fill the position with lesser expense. Thus it can be said that world-wide online hiring is becoming a vital part of the recruitment strategy (Public Appointments Services, 2006). In the current global economic recession, electronic recruitment helps to change the general perspective of the recruitment; by offering highly needed cost-effective means of hiring. Critical assessment of e-recruitment used by different companies In this section four companies are used that are offering jobs on their own websites. They are Rolls Royce, Microsoft, Adidas and KPMG. An overall impression of the website(s) and the ease of navigation All the companies that are under discussion here have used one or more ways to facilitate the jobseekers as well as the consumers. When we talk about the first page of the companies we find that Microsoft’s page has provided the clients with maximum options. Using different tabs from the first page, the candidates can: apply for a job, see upcoming programs, and also view the working experience required by current employers. It is seen that the Microsoft website is user friendly and has easy navigation. The website portrays the image that the company prefers to work with the jobseekers and only with the capabilities of their employees they have reached this position. Therefore they welcome competent people in their company. Though the Adidas website has a simple front page, yet it is very interactive. For those people who have fast connections, they can see a documentary in which a lady tells about all their expertise, lines of products, and consumer behaviours. For slower connections, there are certain pages that update the applicant about these facilities. Since it does not have an easy navigation, so the site cannot be considered user friendly. It has a moderate impact on the consumers; though people can have maximum knowledge from the website, yet it does not provide enough room to interact with the company. The KPMG website tells more about itself and its working, and hence gives a very rigid impact. It does not facilitate the candidates by showing the latest job openings on the front page and there is no link from where we can provide them with the feedback. This makes the site least friendly from the first page. Rolls Royce’s website has been the site that has given users the maximum chance of knowing the company in a glance. On the front page they have given the product lines, job hunt segregation and place to contact them. They have also used other small tabs through which the applicant can interact with the company. These elements make the navigation on the website much easy. It also shows that the company likes to facilitate the employees as much as possible. How the website/s attempt to set expectations related to work including career development.  In addition to the feedback link, the Microsoft website also has Facebook link from where one can share knowledge and experiences. On the first page of the website the applicant can log on and get registered with the company; they do not have to make many efforts to find the process. After getting registered here, the applicant is added to the database of the company and whenever there is an opening, the applicant would be called. On the first page of the Adidas site, they let the candidate choose the umbrella under which they want to work. Other than this they also provide a tab that can be used for the job search in a specific selected company. With further browsing throughout the site, one finds it easy to navigate i.e. in other sections one can find the tabs for the segregation of the departments, latest jobs, and the office locations throughout the world. For KPMG website, in the inner pages one can find the Facebook link and job openings. The attempt that makes it stand out from rest of the sites is live, one-to-one talk with the recruiter throughout the week. They offer audio as well as video interaction with the client. Besides Facebook, they also provide the Twitter link to have maximum feedback from the people. The Rolls Royce web site has segregated the career development in the most appropriate form. They have different blocks for internship, apprenticeships, MBA qualifiers, postgraduate researchers and for general career. They have another block for the current openings as well. The site also provides the opportunity to get connected with the website through mobile as well as through mailing system. Like this if there would be any job opening, the applicant would be given an alert. This service is not provided by any other aforementioned sites. Examples of what you consider good practice and contrast these with sites you consider to be weak The way Rolls Royce provides an overview about the company in a glance, gives it an edge over the sites like KPMG in which the candidate has to search the site in order to apply for the job. The element of letting candidates know about the job opening through mobile is another positive aspect of the Rolls Royce site as it lets people know about the openings immediately; hence there are fewer chances to miss the appointment. On Rolls Royce website, different job segmentations help the candidates to land directly in that section. Likewise, the applications of internees and permanent employees do not mingle with each other. Such segregated services are not given by the KPMG website. Literature review For the wide range of organizations throughout the world, e-recruitment has now become a significant part of the recruitment strategy. Not only this, it has progressively become a popular method for the jobseekers in searching and applying for the jobs (Onrec, 2005). The e-recruitment can be used by the small as well as large companies in the same manner. However, this tool is more effective for the larger companies as the large firms are more known to the jobseekers, thus the number of applicants is higher here. This leads to higher company’s attractiveness and higher search engine ranking, making the internet recruitment more effective for the companies that are already famous in the jobseekers (Verhoeven & Williams, 2008). Critical evaluation of e-recruitment Using internet instead of traditional recruitment ways will result in different strengths and weaknesses for the applicants and the employers. Strengths: In strengths, first of all there is a wide range of geographical spread. Due to this reason, there is a large audience present that can apply for the job. As a number of people apply, there is a chance to hire the right candidate in lesser time. Another strength is the 24/7 availability. This point leads to quicker turn over, thus saves the time and cost for the employers. Other than this, the employers can receive higher quality of the applicants. With a large number of applicants applying, it makes a better match for the vacancies. In addition to the above discussed points, e-recruitment can help to build a positive effect on the corporate image of the company. This is because on internet the employers can inform the applicants in more creative ways (Verhoeven.H & Williams.S, 2008). For jobseekers, internet recruitment helps to provide easy access in applying for a certain job that is available in larger geographical boundaries. Other than this, e-recruitment has made the job research more specific for them. They can apply 24/7, thus saving time and cost for the jobseekers at the same time (Verhoeven.H & Williams.S, 2008). Weaknesses: Though the jobseekers and the employers attain benefits from the strengths of e-recruitment, they should also keep in mind its weaknesses. Firstly, when looking from the small companies’ perspective, website development fee adds a lot of cost which is not affordable for them at such initial stage. Secondly, on behalf of the employers, if their company is not recognised by the jobseekers, there would be lesser number of applicants. This will ultimately increase the time period in hiring the desired person. Moreover, internet companies may receive out dated resumes. Also, there is a possibility that the person is already hired by some company and that he appears to be available as a candidate for other companies. In addition to this, for many applicants, internet is not the first option to apply from. This is because, there is a possibility that they do not have internet access or they might over look the available jobs by certain companies. Lastly, as many people are applying for the job, the employer could be weighed down under the immense number of candidates. Here it is quite possible that many unqualified candidates apply again and again which can make the sifting of application forms very time consuming (Verhoeven & Williams, 2008). For the jobseekers, privacy can be a problem too as the CV is available on the website and anyone can see where else the candidate has applied. Other than this, the jobseeker may experience a lack of personal touch in e-requirement system. As the person is hired or rejected only on the basis of the CV. Moreover, the jobseekers remain dependant on the level and type of the job available online. Likewise the opportunity of applying minimizes here and makes it less user friendly. Lastly, those who do not have internet access may find it discriminating. Since the online jobs are available only for those who have internet access (Verhoeven & Williams, 2008). Comparison with one other form of recruitment In recent years, the fast growth in the usage of e-recruitment methods has changed the recruitment process for a new employee. Therefore, today all the slow and traditional processes of hiring have been set aside by the e-recruitment. In the past, for recruitment the company has to invest a specific amount for advertising a vacancy in a column of newspaper, magazine or some other place. Once the candidates apply, the employers filter these candidates by carefully analyzing their qualifications and expertises. After this they’re supposed to be called for the interview (AcaDemon, 2011). In this entire process, many people are involved; for instance the agency that handles the advertisement, the advertisers, as well as the members of the management team. However, today the process is completely reduced to few simple steps. The company would add a small advertisement into their existing website. The potential employees would simply apply for the company, showing their interest in a particular brand, after which they will be called for the interview (AcaDemon, 2011). Through this process the companies have become their own advertising agency. They can invite their passive jobseekers into a database for future references. Such companies have high turnover. In some other companies, for potential jobseekers they provide a career site where the jobseekers can make an account. Here through online application form, they can give relevant information about themselves which could be accessed by the employers (AcaDemon, 2011). Figures and statistics plotting the development and growth of this type of recruitment According to the statistics, jobseekers continue to use internet for the employment purposes. However, they are still looking in the newspaper employment pages. Thus the partnership between the newspaper and the website has resulted in extended reach. Here the advertisement by the hiring companies is given in the newspaper, and for application process web address is given (Onrec, 2005). The UK National Online Recruitment Survey 2004 has indicated that around 45% of the jobseekers prefer internet for searching a job. 75% seekers have online applied for a job and as a result 59% candidates have received an interview call. Over all, out of this figure 44% candidates have obtained a job through internet (Onrec, 2005). Since 2008, e-recruitment has raised to its highest level in United Kingdom. According to the Monster Employment Index, form March 2009 UK rose by 15%. This reflects the labour demand conditions hence showing favourable point of view for job availability (Woods, 2010). In United Kingdom, the online recruitment activities in media, public relations and marketing has become the fastest growing sector. The online demand of this sector has climbed from 6% and reached to 12%, showing enhanced job market. Healthcare and social work is on the second number by gaining 5% online opportunity. On the third stage, in United Kingdom, Information Technology sector has raised its online recruitment activities. Other than this, e-recruitment by the hospitality and tourism sectors has experienced a steady expand in the hiring (Woods, 2010). In the 2010 report (Woods), five out of nine United Kingdom regions has registered a rise in online job. N. Ireland has shown 11% increase rate. London shows 30% rise since March 2009. However, Scotland and Wales has shown decline in the online recruitment. To what extent it affects the current economic recession According to the survey, in the United Kingdom the companies have reduced their recruitment agency budget. They are either using their company’s website as a hiring tool or utilising the online jobs’ boards for hiring. This helps them to keep the third person out of the transaction, hence reducing the cost of the middle man (Peacock, 2009). In United Kingdom, for public sector, the recruitment firm ‘jobs go public’ has estimated that if 20% of the unitary council with 14000 employees, move it’s hiring from press to online they can easily save over ? 1 million. The same council could further save ? 140,000 from the cost of administering application packs and printing. If the council would reduce the press advertisement by 80 %, they can easily save about ? 3.8 million; an additional ? 600,000 would be saved on printing and administration costs as well (Local Government improvement and development, 2010). In the existing scenario of recession, it is not inappropriate that every day the companies are trying to adopt more cost effective means to do business. As online hiring has significantly reduced the amount of effort, time, and money spent on recruitment, so it is becoming a favoured form of recruitment in the future (Local Government improvement and development, 2010). Future developments in e-recruitment It is seen that e-recruitment system has significantly established itself as a part of the hiring strategy. In future, if the organization is not using internet for the recruitment process, then there is a possibility that the company may lose many competent applicants. This is because the internet is increasingly becoming a standard place where the jobseekers can search for the job and apply for it (Smart Sites, 2007). In future, podcasts, and blogs would be known as an e-recruitment tool. It will help the employers and seekers to stand out from the crowd. Other than this, the convenience of the mobile phones can also be adopted by the employers and the employees to attain their goals of job hunting (Smart Sites, 2007). Once the university graduate is out in the market, they use internet to find their first quality position in the market. Since for this generation internet is one of the easiest and cost effective tools, therefore, out of all the recruitment ways, they unconsciously opt for this. As these people will move up in the ranks and new people will fill their space, it seems that ultimately online hiring will become a norm (Smart Sites, 2007). Conclusion The basic aim of this new development in the recruitment system is to enhance the existing selection process, recruitment and approval system, and also minimize the administrative burden for the jobseekers as well as the department. The widespread implementation of e-recruitment ensures that the employing process becomes cost effective and efficient (Silver, 2009). It ranges from the applicant interface for advertising vacancies, making job applications, and back office processes. This allows for a connection between the organizations and the potential jobseekers. If the companies and the employees use the online recruitment properly they can conveniently achieve the following goals. They can enhance the experience of the applicants in the process of applying jobs Through online recruitment they can communicate the employer’s culture and image in a better way. They would be making the process of recruitment accountable, standardised and faster. The company can receive the applicants from diverse back grounds. It would be providing better management information on the applicants. The process can also help the organization to find the most appropriate candidate for the job. Internationally e-recruitment has shown a steady growth in becoming popular by the jobseekers and recruitment agencies. For the recruitment of staff, companies are also using websites to attract the jobseekers. Thus globally, there has been a consistent and growing move to use online recruitment (Onrec, 2005). According to an approximation, globally 500 companies are now using some form of online recruitment (Public Appointments Services, 2006). However, jobseekers are not only dependent on the online recruitment system; along with this they are also using all other resources, such as newspapers etc. (Onrec, 2005). References Local Government improvement and development, 2010. E-recruitment. Accessed on 28th February 2011 from http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=4103934 Onrec,2005. Statistics – the growth of online recruitment. Accessed on 28th February 2011 from http://www.onrec.com/news/statistics_the_growth_of_online_recruitm Peacock.L, 2009. E-recruitment Favoured over employment agencies during recession. Accessed on 28th February 2011 from http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/06/09/50974/e-recruitment-favoured-over-employment-agencies-during-recession.html Public Appointments Services. 2006. e-Recruitment Practices and trends in Ireland. Accessed on 28th February 2011 from http://www.publicjobs.ie/publicjobs/downloads/e-Recruitment%20report.pdf Smart Sites. 2007.Future trends in e-recruitment. Accessed on 28th February 2011. From http://www.smart-sites.co.uk/News/Latest/Future-trends-in-e-recruitment.html Silver.Tom, 2009. E-recruitment. Accessed on 28th February 2011. From http://www.articlesbase.com/recruitment-articles/e-recruitment-and-online-recruitment-1379201.html Verhoeven.H & Williams.S, 2008. Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet Recruitment: A UK Study into Employers’ Perceptions. International Review of Business Research Papers 4(1)pp.364-373 accessed on 28th February 2011. From http://www.bizresearchpapers.com/Paper-24new.pdf Wood.D, 2010. Online Recruitment is at its highest since 2008. Accessed on 28th February 2011. From http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/996835/Online-recruitment-its-highest-2008/ Read More