The recruitment market has changed dramatically over the past few years. The recession has meant that employers have had to cut their resourcing budgets, and focus more on developing and recruiting talent in-house. The public sector has been severely affected by the downturn with 82% of organisations reporting a cut in their recruitment budgets for 2011-2012, up from 59% on the previous year, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
The growing influence of digital media and financial constraints has also led to a significant increase in online recruitment through company websites, commercial job boards and social networking sites. Around 60% of employers that took part in the CIPD’s annual Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey believed that their company website was one of the most effective ways of attracting new recruits to their organisation. And 30% of the 626 employers surveyed said they were in the process of developing a careers website.
David Johnston, senior business development manager at 4mat, a recruitment design company, says employers are looking to improve the quality and quantity of direct hires while reducing their reliance on recruitment agencies. “A career website can be a key part of this strategy. It forms the basis of a direct-hire model, by providing a content hub for recruitment marketing and a destination for potential candidates,” he notes.
Posting jobs and raising your company’s profile has, arguably, never been easier thanks to a handful of social networking sites, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Job postings and career pages are free to set up and, provided you have enough followers, friends and contacts, you can spread the word in seconds and reach candidates across the globe.
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Cathy Richardson, regional director for the Institute of Recruitment Practitioners (IRP) in the south east of England, says employers need to think about using an integrated approach to make the most of limited budgets and access the best talent. She explains: “Integrating online, social and viral recruitment advertising sources is a powerful way to get the message out but it is imperative that these channels are coordinated to ensure a balanced and constructive approach.”
So, once you have a good strategy in place, there is no excuse not to get your message out there and make the most of all the digital media at your fingertips.
