In-line with tradition? - 08/2001

No one doubts that the advent of online recruitment has changed the recruitment process forever, for everyone. Whether youíre a HR manager looking to recruit new staff or a jobseeker looking for a new position, the Internet is an essential resource.

Online recruitment has opened up the employment market, making it easier for employers to advertise their positions to a much wider audience. Jobseekers have greater access to apply for jobs, without the threat of their CV being jammed in the printer or the muffled calls to recruitment offices. The convenience and speed of the Internet ensures that job vacancies attract a wide pool of applicants whilst making it easy for those applicants to be screened.

The difficulty for online recruiters is to service fully the needs of both employers and jobseekers, and this raises an obvious question - at what point does online recruitment meet with traditional recruitment techniques?

Currently there are many different models of online recruitment emerging in the market place. Employers either have the opportunity to scroll through countless ëwould-beí candidates, whilst other services provide a short list of potential candidates. Either way, the employer is expected to actively participate in the process and provide a certain amount of effort in the initial stages in order to find the right employee. Many employers still feel that it is far simpler to pick up the telephone to a reliable recruitment agency and pass the task to them.

Since our launch on the web in 1995, PeopleBank has witnessed the development of the online marketplace and has learnt much of peopleís opinion of the Internet and its effectiveness as a recruitment medium. Fundamentally, an employers main concern is to have their vacant position filled by the right candidate, quickly, at a cost-effective price and without too much interruption to their daily work environment. Whilst the online recruitment marketplace continues to expand, providing a better service for clients is essential in todayís competitive marketplace. However there is a plethora of online recruitment specialists, but are they really listening to the needs of their clients?

In short, yes. PeopleBank recognise that customer service is the key to building long-standing mutually beneficial relationships. Thatís why, as a direct response to client demand, PeopleBank has decided to concentrate its attentions on providing a recruitment offering, combining proven traditional ëbricks and mortarí methods with the speed and reach of the Internet. PeopleBank will continue to use the Internet for sourcing candidates and for advertising client vacancies; with a database of over 162,000 candidates, we are perfectly equipped to offer an effective service based on traditional methods to both candidates and employers.

By moving towards a traditional recruitment model, employers and candidates receive the personal attention they may have felt was lost by using the Internet. With a designated person to look after their account, people feel assured that they are receiving one-on-one attention. It is human nature to want to communicate with another person rather than a computer, and until now, most online recruitment specialists have underestimated the need for the personal touch. The Internet is still vital in the recruitment process as it provides the speed and reach that is required to find the right candidate or job, but by combining both methods, the recruitment service provided is improved on both a personal and efficiency level.

Inevitably this year will see a general consolidation of the already crowded e-market place with more failed companies, more mergers and acquisitions, and more companies banding together to use their combined clout to offer improved services. Only those who are prepared to move forward or perhaps take a sideways look at the market, will survive. The key in all business, and e-business is no exception, is to listen to your clients needs and to provide them with the best service available, and this is exactly what PeopleBank have done.

www.peoplebank.com