TGR: What do you regard as the most effective tool/technology in online recruitment?
DB: This is a slightly biased opinion but I feel multi-posting is the most effective tool due to the fact that they sit in the middle of all the other technologies and help to streamline the workflow process of the modern day recruiter. Multi-posting companies connect with different media in the front, including social and print, and connect to a variety of systems at the back. The short version is that if you are recruiting, you need to be advertising on a variety of sources, measuring this, and giving candidates a uniform experience.
TGR: Has social media had a big effect on how people recruit in 2012?
DB: The major social platforms are still Twitter, LinkedIn. and Facebook (in that order) with Twitter used twice as much as Facebook. Interestingly social media posting is rapidly moving into the top 20 by usage. At least 60 per cent of our clients are active in the social media space. To make social media work takes time and effort; it's more about the candidate experience and the perception of your brand.
TGR: How have things changed in recruitment over Dhe past few years? Would you say that 2012 truly has been the 'year of mobile', as they predicted in the press?
DB: The driving force behind mobile recruitment, I believe, started from the Job Boards; they offer candidates easy access - it's simple to search and apply for jobs whilst on the go. Now, most of the top job boards not only have mobile friendly websites, but are creating apps for the easy to access job search. There has most definitely been an increase in technologies going mobile, which has then led to recruiters wanting to be able to manage their jobs, candidates and workflows whilst on the go or just sitting in front of the TV in the evening. We believe large corporates, if positioned correctly, can gain huge benefit from this arena.
TGR: LogicMelon offer tracking and posting as part of your services. What are the benefits of these services?
DB: The benefit of using a job posting and candidate management/ tracking server is quite simple really. Time is one of the biggest assets of a recruiter today and if they are wasting hours of their day posting jobs onto their job boards and social media sites, sifting through an endless supply of emals of candidate CV's, then they run the risk of losing out to competitors that are using their time wisely and have the right technologies in place. This is where LogicMelon can slot into the daily routine, and save time on those admin tasks. We like to think LogicMelon stands out because of the flexibility of the site. We talk with our clients to actually see how they work and understand their unique requirements, we are then able to offer advice and guidance on how that can be streamlined further, whether it be to integrate with the chosen database or to rebrand - LogicMelon give them more of a presence in the area.
TGR: Are there any trends appearing in how your clients are using online recruitment?
DB: While most of our clients utilise LinkedIn, to a large extent there is a big trend to leverage Twitter and Facebook. At LogicMelon we are in regular contact with all clients to help them create these connections. Twitter seems to being seeing more action than Facebook when it comes to posting jobs. However, it comes as no surprise that Linked In is still the recruiter's choice for candidate searching which I believe will remain the same for many years.
TGR: When you speak to potential clients, what is on their wish-list?
DB: Many clients are looking at their branding and how they are perceived online. I believe this has become more apparent due to the fact that clients are becoming more visible in the social media world. As a result, re-designs of websites seem to be high up the list of priorities for many agencies. However, from a LogicMelon client point of view, the order is as follows;
• Candidate management
• Multiple job posting
• Integration with their CAM (360 integrations are the hot topic)
• Multiple CV Searching
• CVDatabase (Some clients are just using LogicMelon to push CVs though)
• Integration to Social Media
• Post jobs to own agency website
TGR: Does this wish-list differ depending on whether it's in the UK or South Africa?
DB: Each market is different. South Africa has a stronger focus on reducing time and effort, and improving their websites, and the UK has a stronger focus on measuring value of different sources, streamlining and automating workflows. Also, Multiple CV searching does not work in the South African market.
TGR: Why did you choose to base your other office in South Africa? Is demand for recruitment technologies there very high?
DB: The South Africa base used to be a new products development office for Conkers.net and JobSite (part of the Daily Mail Group Trust). Our staff also had extensive knowledge of the South African market place and wanted to leverage this knowledge and skills.
TGR: Imagine I'm at the head of a business looking to improve my recruitment practices - what should I do first? Could you give me an idea of the best route to follow in implementing technologies and making the best use of them?
DB: Ensure you understand how your business functions, see what dominates your recruiter's time, and implement tools and technology to streamline these processes to make the recruiters more effective and ble to spend more time with candidates and clients; which is where the money is made. If you are limiting your sourcing or searching to be effective then you need tools to become more productive. The better the workflow and candidate management, the more effective your recruiters will be. There are a lot of tools out there, that when combined, can make a massive difference to any business.