Employers are spending more on online recruitment as the influence of
traditional job-search methods declines, according to research by an online
jobs site.
A survey of 200 HR directors of some of the UK’s biggest firms shows that
two-fifths of respondents expected to increase the amount spent on online
recruitment within the next 12 months.
TJ200 is a half-yearly benchmarking study launched earlier this week by
totaljobs.com to look at trends in the recruitment industry.
Current spending on external job sites is estimated at about £80m
industry-wide, but the poll reveals that employers are expecting to double
their current spending in this area. This means that the industry could be
worth approximately £160m by the end of the first quarter of 2002.
The survey reveals that most employers currently spend about 5 per cent of
their overall recruitment advertising budgets on online recruitment.
When asked what role online recruitment will play in the future, almost half
of respondents said they believe it will become a major recruitment method
within the next three to five years.
The number of companies polled which already use online recruitment is high,
with 69 per cent using their own corporate sites to recruit and 60 per cent
stating they have used external job sites.
Almost one in five companies have appointed a dedicated Internet recruitment
specialist in their human resources departments.
Forty per cent of those surveyed think recruitment agencies will be affected
by the increase in online recruitment.
Keith Robinson, managing director of totaljobs.com, said, "It’s true
that online recruitment is still very much in its infancy, but after its
much-hyped introduction in the UK there is evidence that the industry is adding
real value.
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"Undertaking research projects such as this are crucial in improving
our understanding of the marketplace."
By Ben Willmott
