A new web site claims to offer a completely automated, Internet-based recruitment system, and its creators are bullish about what it can do for the status of the profession.
Activerecruiter.com, developed by Job Partners, may at first appear little more than a well-rounded administrative support site for HR managers, but closer inspection reveals that it could save time, money and dramatically reduce admin associated with recruitment.
“With ActiveRecruiter.com, companies have a single point of access and control for all their recruitment activities and can conduct quantifiable and accountable campaigns – the accepted norm in sales and marketing campaigns,” claims Patrice Barbedette, CEO and co- founder with Julian Kulkarni.
Both worked for the SAS Institute where they developed customer relationship management software. “We did our own research and found that HR was crying out for customer relationship management for employees,” says Kulkarni.
He believes that the accountability and exposure it offers HR managers will improve the standing of HR in a company.
“HR staff will be able to show people what they do; it will give them more credibility.”
Activerecruiter.com works like this: a line manager logs on to his or her company’s own customised area in the site and posts a request for staff to the HR manager. It could then be discussed with other relevant managers, the position defined and a candidate profile agreed.
The HR manager sends the job to the media channels of their choice: press, on-line or off-line recruitment company, corporate web site or university. (The client still pays the media or recruitment company direct.) Responses are screened, scored and ranked, and a shortlist of candidates come up with more quickly than with a traditional recruitment campaign.
If the HR manager chooses an on-line recruitment company as one of the channels, the first screened CVs could be sent to their desktop later the same day. It costs £200 per “campaign”, which translates as £200 for each profile generated.
Users to date include Corporate Information Partners (CIP), an international finance and HR consultancy, as well as HR consultancy Elgin Scott.
Jesper Volk, CEO of CIP, has used the service to hire 21 staff since he set up the company 14 months ago.
The advantages he cites are time savings and the fact that he can now scour the globe for suitable candidates and therefore widen his search for the staff who are in short supply.
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Volk confirms that in terms of finding candidates with the right profile and company “fit” it has been highly accurate and he plans to further use the service to grow his company of 25 to between 80 and 100 in the next nine to 12 months.
The service is available in France, Germany and the Netherlands and the company plans to expand worldwide later this year. To try out the site go to www.activerecruiter.com and select the “Take a Look” option. We will be testing the site in a future issue with the help of an HR manager.
