Wideyes growing - 11/2000

Wideyes expands into Germany and Italy to tap into 30 million movers market. Wideyes, the European Internet recruitment company, is strengthening its position in Europe with the opening of new offices in Munich and Milan. This brings the total number of wholly owned offices in Wideyes' network to six, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Sweden.

Over 30 million people change jobs in Europe every year, with up to two million people looking for jobs on the Internet every month (source: MMIX Europe). It is estimated that the online recruitment market in Europe will be valued at EUR5 billion by 2005. Wideyes is building a capability across the region to provide European candidates and employers, with a consistent and complete seamless recruitment solution.

Joe Carlebach, Wideyes CEO, stated: With existing operations in key European markets such as the UK and France, we saw Germany and Italy as the natural opportunity for our expansion. We estimate only three per cent of Italian companies are currently using the Internet for candidate searches, but we strongly believe that here, as in the rest of our European markets, this figure will increase rapidly.

Wideyes has appointed Lennart Koch as managing director, Germany, from his former position as board director of BMW owned Softlab, and Marianne Froberg as Launch manager, Wideyes Italia.

Mr Koch commented: According to recent studies, depending on their size, companies can save between 25 and 60 per cent of recruitment costs by recruiting online. This has been highly attractive to organisations in countries such as the UK and I'm sure it will be an attractive proposition for German companies, and those throughout Europe.

Wideyes provides companies with a complete recruitment solution, one designed to snap on to existing e-business processes. Companies are increasingly using the Internet as a strategic enhancement to the HR function, and an Application Service Provider (ASP) model can drastically reduce time and money spent on the recruitment process.

This solution can be integrated into the client's own personnel system, thus providing an application customized to its specific needs for internal and external recruitment. This allows companies to undertake speedy and uncomplicated active online personnel marketing.

Companies can also take current employees into consideration for new positions and in doing so create employee loyalty. This tailored solution enables the company to react faster to applicants, reduce the recruitment process period and significantly reduce the costs.

Wideyes candidate service is a global, integrated database, which allows candidates to put their information (profile) on the Web where it will be available in 12 languages and 26 countries. Similarly, candidates can read the job opportunities translated into their own language. Web site features include a job matching facility called ìTrue Fit, Wideyes also gives the candidates a possibility to verify for free his or her personal attitudes, strengths and weaknesses, and appropriateness for a job through our Personality Map - a psychometric test available online.