Delhi: Recruiter, heal thy practices: e-recruitment is here. Need convincing? Then consider: in 1996, only 500,000 resumes were online, but by 2000 the number has already scaled up to 8 million-and by 2002 the numbers are expected to double to 16 million. ``My belief: 95 per cent of all companies with more than 50 employees will adopt online recruiting by 2003,'' says Denis Cauvier.Trust him, he knows. A leading American human resources professional and successful author on hiring, Cauvier is currently touring the country on a series of e-recruitment seminars-under the aegis of JobsDB.com, the interactive recruitment network that opened shop in India on May 20.
JobsDB.com's strategy: use events such as these to educate and grow the e-recruitment market. For, guess what? E-recruitment threatens to offer a different and distinct set of challenges for savvy HR managers. Says KC John, managing director, Jobs DB India Pvt. Ltd: ``Unlike in a print appointment ad where the search is done visually, in e-recruitment, the search is done by the search engine. HR managers therefore have to learn that the key word, and the context is very important while drafting the copy of an e-recruitment ad.''
But that's just the tip of the online hiring pyramid. Spinning a wider Web can actually be a richer experience-you can tap on ``passive job-seekers appeal'' and typically, most high performers are Net surfers-if done right. One tip to make those sleepy eyeballs snap open and take notice: go for a catchy job title. Says Cauvier: ``Try Web Magician, instead of Web Master. Or, Entrepreneurial Accounting Leader instead of Entrepreneurial Accounting Manager.''
Other must-dos: clearly state the company, department, section; specify the location where the employee will be expected to work; clearly list the job-status (full-time, part-time), salaries, benefits; offer a detailed job summary and list the qualifications required; and offer details on the company background and links to your Website.
To go the extra mile, e-recruitment ads can also detail exactly how the company can benefit the employee and more importantly, even offer community information or links to relevant sites if the job will entail geographic dislocation.
Once the employer has taken care to draft the right kind of ad, the benefits of online recruiting are clear: it offers immediate results and reduces the time-to-hire ratio drastically; it can prove to be a very cost-effective solution for reaching a wider audience; it works for you 24 hours, 7 days a week; and thanks to standardisation, can help receive resumes on a format that is designed by the employer rather than a medley of employees.
But the surprise package is that e-recruitment can even help in evaluating and assessing the skill, knowledge and attitudes of employees. The online tool for this: a blank, detailed job application e-form on the Website.
While each company would like to customise the questionnaire according to its own needs, Cauvier offers insights into how the application form can dig deeper for information through open-ended questions. Consider:
Under education and training, in addition to detailed questions on school and university education, a prospective employer could seek information on industry and business training. Cauvier suggests adding an open-ended question like: ``What did you learn'', as it would reveal much more about the attitude of the employee.
Under employment history, in addition to the usual details sought on present and past employers and job titles, the application form can include incisive questions like ``why are you leaving?'' and ``what would your employer say about you?''
Under personal history, Cauvier suggests asking questions which help an employer intuitively arrive at employee attitudes through questions like: what teams have you worked or played on; to be an effective player what must a person do or not do; what special knowledge or skills do you bring to this job; what are your personal and career goals; why do you want this job?Of course, a key component to successful e-recruiting is choosing the right online recruitment agency. Cauvier warns that a prospective employer must analyse both how employer-friendly and employee friendly the e-recruitment agency is.Some thumb rules: the traffic to the site should be local, or international depending on the hiring needs; the database should offer quality as well as quantity; it should offer ease of use to employees and employers; there should be timely removal of the ad, and online editing; the service should offer links from the ad to the employer's Website; online management of short-listed prospects; secure data transmission; and finally, a ``live'' person should be available for hot-line support.
Intimidated? Don't be. Says Cauvier: ``Online recruiting today, is the way email was in 1995. Those who understand the potential will capitalise on it. Of course, online recruiting is not the goal, but the tool: the destination is to hire the right person.'' After all, fishing with a bigger Net is one way of catching more fish.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.