The 2023 RAD Awards will take place in January, celebrating the best of the best in the recruitment advertising industry. Here we profile the employers and agencies shortlisted for the Employer Website Award.
Barclays – Radancy
Before Barclays relaunched its careers website in 2021, it felt the feeling was too business focused and did not motivate candidates. It wanted to build a smoother, more intuitive user experience that put Barclays’ tech positioning front and centre. The new site told the bank’s employer story through its people, but for 2022 it wanted to improve further, using behavioural data to make the experience more relevant and personalised.
Using data from more than 400 million candidate interactions and more than 400 sites, Barclays and Radancy investigated the use of predictive search, advanced filtering and sticky job search navigation. They also designed visually appealing, content-rich job pages and an interactive map. Data from the website’s relaunch provided insight on candidate preferences, and pages were redesigned to act as a funnel for more relevant content for that candidate at each point in their journey. Candidates could also access a mobile-first application ‘button’, RD Apply, to speed up the process.
There has been a 76% increase in search engine traffic, with more than 1m users accessing the site’s advanced search functionality. There have been 35% more clicks to apply for roles, 70% of candidates have clicked to apply, and 115,000 have completed applications. Crucially, there are 27% more conversions to application and candidates spend 48% more time on the Barclays tech career pages.
Diageo – Comprend
Drinks company Diageo wanted to create a seamless, audience-centric user experience for candidates looking at its employer website. It wanted to leverage its employer brand, engage and convert a more diverse pool of candidates, and integrate high calibre search functionality with application tracking. It worked with Comprend to understand where the gaps in its current offers were, reviewed peers’ career websites and interviewed employees to gather insights.
Book a table at the RADs
Winners will be announced on 26 January 2023 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
Early careers applicants were identified as a key audience so this was made obvious in navigation, and the site was designed to be mobile-first, direct the user’s journey and reflect the Diageo employer brand. Candidates most wanted to see the company’s geographic locations, get an idea of what it was like to work there, and understand its values, so this key information was high up in the site structure. Business area pages bring up open roles in that part of the company, while region pages show local roles.
The new site has attracted almost twice as many page views (August 2022 versus August 2021), and there has been a 20.7% uplift in impressions, helping careers content to appear more often in search engines. Top 20 careers keywords are driving 14.1% more clicks than the same time in 2021. Early careers roles have benefitted, with internship programmes receiving a 49% increase in page views, and the apprenticeships page is up 15%.
McDonald’s Let’s … Together – ThirtyThree
ThirtyThree had already built an employer brand site for McDonald’s in 2016, but since then, the agency had developed its intelligent careers site technology Mercury, and the restaurant chain had made changes to its brand. The company worked with ThirtyThree to refresh the site by using Mercury to drive relevant content directly to candidates via their first reading of a job description, and integrate this with McDonald’s applicant tracking systems (ATS).
McDonald’s wanted the new site to bring its unique culture to life, showcase initiatives fundamental to its brand, and keep the user experience clear and simple. The Mercury system pulls job data from McDonald’s three ATS, meaning candidates can search across every possible role in one place. An easy-to-use content management system enables the company to create campaign pages as and when, auto-populating them with relevant jobs and employer brand content.
Because the site dynamically pairs content to the right pages, it doesn’t matter where candidates discovered the ad or link, and ensures there is a seamless user journey. Every restaurant in the UK and Ireland has its own landing page, supporting franchisees with local recruitment. Conversion has increased by 22.6% since the new site structure launched in September 2022.
Miele X Careers Website – Miele X Supported by creativestyle, That Little Agency and Praetorius
Miele X wanted to develop a website that not only managed applications and delivered relevant information, but also built an emotional connection with the visitor. It wanted to showcase digital expertise with a human side, articulate the diversity of the organisation and allow candidates to picture themselves working there. It needed to do this across a range of roles from content manager to senior HR officer, ensuring all content was available with a single click, and integrate seamlessly with Miele X’s applicant tracking system, Personio.
The new site is based on a headless single page application, with super-fast downloading time and an 86% mobile performance score. Its performance has been rated as 98% on desktop browsers, 88% for mobile accessibility, and 100% for mobile best practice and search engine optimisation. There are nine unique candidate journeys designed to convert the audience into applicants, and these can be added to as new areas of expertise are launched. Each main section of the website has a ‘hero’ film that showcases employee stories and the Miele X culture.
Since the launch, there has been a 237% increase in applications and a 449% increase in page views. Time spent on the website has gone up by 36%, and the company receives an average of 853 applications per month, up 237%. Job page views have increased by 449% to 3,305 per month. As a result of these improvements, there has been a 300% jump in hires.
Careers.wework.com – Symphony Talent
WeWork was founded in 2010 with the vision to create environments where people and companies come together, get inspired, and do their best work. In the beginning of 2021, it introduced its Employer Value Proposition, and wanted to bring this to life across the candidate and employee journey on its careers site. Its rallying cry comprises three words: “Here we will.”
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
WeWork brought together more than 40 stakeholders across the business with a view to capturing the conversation and showcasing opportunities the company can offer globally. The site needed to represent the brand, educate candidates about the business and what they could achieve there, highlight its values and purpose, and offer a smooth user experience inspiring candidates to apply.
Symphony Talent worked with WeWork to create a custom site experience with inspiring messaging, engaging design and human-centric photography. The drop-off rate for candidates has improved, decreasing by 24% since the new site launched. At the end of March 2022, WeWork’s talent network had grown to 242,000 members, an increase of 81% since April 2021.
