Net gains for hiring employees online

By VIKKI BLAND

There's little doubt using the internet as a recruitment channel makes it easier for some job seekers to apply for positions. But how beneficial is it for the employer?

Nicola Green, recruitment manager for IT employer Gen-i has a short answer to that: "It's excellent."

Gen-i, an IT consultancy and project implementer, recruits 60 per cent of its staff using the internet, advertising positions on its own website as well as seek.co.nz and nzjobs.co.nz

"We use the internet for recruitment daily and find it saves us time and a huge amount in recruitment costs," says Green. "Also, because we are an IT employer all our systems are geared towards accommodating the internet, so this creates extra internal efficiencies."

She says the other 40 per cent of Gen-i employees are sourced internally, or through occasional print advertisements for specialised roles.

"For example, we advertised for a lawyer in [the publication] Law News because we were looking for that specific type of candidate. It helped produce a narrower number of suitable candidates from the start."

But she says that despite Gen-i's use of the internet, there is still a place for recruitment agencies.

"Although we use site filters to screen out international candidates without work permits or visas, Gen-i would never do away with agencies."

This must come as good news for Gen-i's recruitment agency of choice, Elan. Elan general manager Scott Kuejler says the agency finds around 40 per cent of its successful job candidates through the internet, which he says is about half of the industry average.

"I believe about 82 per cent of successful IT candidates are now sourced through the internet."

Outside the IT industry, the net hasn't gained such dominance. The TMP/Hudson Global Resources' June Job Index Survey found that almost half of new hires were through press advertising and only 12 per cent through internet advertising. The rest were through referrals and networking.

Kuejler says IT employers are not interested in running online recruitment advertising together with print advertising, and so internet recruitment advertising tends to stand alone. He says his clients are attracted to the cost benefits and constant access the internet provides.

"The few problems that occur include job boards [sites] with inadequate screening and filtering tools," he says. "This can result in a large number of candidates being unsuitable."

James Cozens, president of the New Zealand division of the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association, is also familiar with this problem.

"Sourcing candidates through the net does not always provide adequate screening," he says. "And employers still have to wade through interviews and terms of employment."

Cozens says recruitment agencies' focus is changing as a result, with employers using the internet to pull in candidates and agencies taking over candidate processing.

Kuejler agrees. "The role of agencies is more towards value-adding.

"We can interview candidates and analyse their cultural synergies, values and attributes. We also observe hiring trends and help clients to find candidates for difficult-to-fill roles."

Cozens describes this as a menu-driven service in which recruitment agencies cater for elements of the recruitment process rather than all of it.

Thanks to the internet, expensive advertising is now off that menu for some employers.

Internet tips

* Describe the position in detail; you are not paying for column inches so don't need to be restrictive. Outline skills and experiences required and describe your culture. The more detail, the better the quality of respondent.

* State the residency and work permit status required for international applicants.

* Keep a recruitment agency in the loop and maintain agency relationships. Agencies commonly help with selection or reference checking.

* Seek online and word-of-mouth references to decide which job sites will attract the best candidates for your positions. Sites with several selection filtering tools are generally best.

* Ensure the job site you select is registered with all major national and international search engines.

* Some sites let you build and brand your own recruitment site within their job site, and assign you a web address for applicants.

* Don't try to kill an ant with a flame thrower; if you need a specific set of skills, the internet may not be the best place to advertise. Consider advertising with publications tailored to the specialised job candidate you seek.