Internet Recruitment Simplified
The Internet has revolutionised the recruitment world, drastically changing the way companies and recruitment agencies look for quality talent. The Internet is probably one of the greatest recruitment resources available to Recruiters. More HR managers and recruitment agencies are recruiting on the Web whether through online job boards, corporate recruitment websites or E-Recruitment solutions.
The Internet makes huge numbers of Job Seekers available to Recruiters as millions of Job Seekers surf the Web to search for jobs, post their CVs and fill out job applications daily. The immense power of the web enables Recruiters to make use of online recruitment solutions like recruitment websites or job boards to ensure that the recruitment process becomes simplified and cost-effective. The nascent Internet recruitment industry is poised for explosive growth, but figuring out how to tap into the power of recruiting over the Internet may seem somewhat daunting.
Jobs.co.za offers some clarity amidst the mystification that might accompany the hype around Internet Recruitment.
What is Internet Recruitment
Don't get frazzled by the many terms used to describe Internet recruitment. The words E-Recruitment and Online Recruitment are often used interchangeably to describe the very same thing. Websites such as Jobs.co.za attract large national and international audiences. Online recruitment helps recruiters attract, short-list, regret, filter, test and recruit job seeker applicants with a minimal amount of administration.
Utilised correctly eRecruitment can be used to for the entire recruitment process, from advertising job vacancies and receiving candidate applications, to the back office processing where human resources and line managers can create their own talent pool of potential recruits.
What to expect from Online Recruitment Sites
Job boards (or job portals) and recruitment websites usually offer the very similar solutions as eRecruitment sites, however the level of functionality and services offered by each differ in relation to the company's business model or niche industry. The country also plays a significant role in determining what type of solutions may be offered by the job portal. While most job boards allow the recruiter to advertise and manage jobs online, an effective online recruitment solution (also known as E-Recruitment Solution) provides recruiters with sophisticated solutions to manage the entire recruitment process online thereby reducing the recruitment cost and time to hire.
Advertising Job Vacancies Online
Finding the right person for the job is always the core objective, and by advertising job vacancies on the Internet it is possible for Recruiters to attract both active and passive Job Seekers. The advantage of advertising your job vacancies online is that the ads appear on the web for 30-60 days rather than in one edition of a printed newspaper. Additionally, you don't pay for the advertisement based on the space taken; job boards usually allow you to use all the space necessary to describe the position adequately and attractively. The format in which the ad appears, length of ad, duration and volume of job advertisement postings differ from job site to job site. Some job sites allow once-off job advertisement postings where ad hoc employers can advertise their rare job vacancies online for a limited period of time. Other job portals provide bulk job posting discounts or subscription packages.
Searching the Job Seeker Database
Most online recruitment sites retain a state-of-the-art CV (Curriculum Vitae) / Resume database of either active or passive Job Seekers. While many job sites provide Recruiters and human resource professionals access to search the online database of job seeker CV's, in South Africa most e-Recruitment sites have reserved this luxury for placement (employment or recruitment) agencies only as they are committed to protecting the Job Seeker's confidentiality by ensuring that their identity (and the fact that they are on the job market) is not potentially exposed to the Job Seeker's current employer.
Application Process Management
Application management or application tracking systems manage the entire application process through automated communication with job applicants. Recruiters are able to view applications online and/or receive job applications directly in their email inboxes. However, today's recruitment systems are designed to do a whole lot more than just reduce paperwork; they can receive, sort, shortlist, contact and regret job applicants directly from the web-based interface. They provide better management of applicant information online and can be used to send mass regret notifications (bulk-regret) to multiple job applicants instantly.
Pre-screening and Filtering
The more advanced web-based recruitment solutions have incorporated pre-screening or filtering systems as part of their functionality. The extent and nature of these differ considerably from one service provider to the next. Some recruitment sites provide system generated background checking on job applicants, while others offer more sophisticated psychometric or career assessment tests. Other effective, but less complicated solutions include tailored questionnaires that detect required skills to meet the exact needs of the position. Skill based automated pre-screening greatly reduces the time spent during the recruitment cycle and increases the probability of hiring the right candidate for the job.
Corporate Recruitment Websites
E-Recruitment solutions can provide an interface that allows company's to post jobs on their own company website as well as accepting CV's through the company's website. While some candidates are actively looking to change jobs, others may be more hesitant to post their resumes on job boards for fear that their current employers might see their CV. A company website's own recruitment section offers more opportunity for the employer to provide facts about the company's culture, environment, practices and recruitment processes. Establishing an employment section on the company's site can provide a very cost effective means to building up a company's own talent pool of prospective employees while reinforcing the value of the brand to potential job applicants.
The eVolution of eRecruitment
There is far more to online recruitment than job advertising, database search and online application management. Some trends in internet recruiting shows a rise in the emergence of corporate recruitment videos, online interviews and online recruitment networking. Other value added services will include HR and Recruitment Communities, Forums, Blogs and Recruiting news.
E-Recruitment further lends itself to a natural extension of e-HR (Human Resources) solutions where HR processes such as payroll management, skills development, employee benefits, exit interviews and retention management can be outsourced to an online service provider. These systems are usually designed to integrate with existing intranet, payroll and HR back-end systems effortlessly and effectively. This level of sophisticated integration aids in combating longer term recruitment issues through the effective use of people management.
If you haven't considered an eRecruitment solution by now, then you are not evolving. The many benefits offered by online recruitment services are extensive and the evolution of recruiting on the web will further path the way to successful, cost-effective hiring and people retention.
