Thinking about recruiting online? Then find out how to make sure your project doesn’t get derailed.
Online recruitment isn’t new. But what is new is the increasing number of organisations starting to take it seriously. Despite the benefits of any such project, however, it is likely to come up against resistance or even blocking from some people within your company or department. In this article, Jennifer Griffin, Marketing Director, HR solutions at Microsoft Business Solutions, looks at what concerns people have about online recruitment and how you can get potential ‘blockers’ onside and supporting you.
Dealing with the seven deadly sins of HR technology ‘blockers’
Who blocks and why?
1. IT systems don’t help business – The problem for some sceptics is the history of the IT industry overselling systems. The truth is that the pitch for an online recruitment system is probably not very different to what they were told when purchasing the existing personnel or recruitment system. These people have heard it all before; they don’t believe the systems will work as promised, come in on budget, save money or improve what the HR department can do.
As an HR professional you need to show the cynics the simple, unarguable improvements a new system can make to their working lives. HR is going to be most affected by any new system, so you need to deal with any worries your colleagues might have before taking the project to other departments. The HR department must act as ambassadors for the project so it is vital that they understand and believe in the importance of it.
The key to persuading this kind of blocker is to undersell the project. Focus on the achievable and ‘showable’ aspects of the project. Show them the website and how it works, but don’t promise them thousands of online applicants; these people need to convince themselves.
2. Change is almost always bad for business – <Understandably, there will be concerns over process change and the idea that a new system might actually increase workload for HR. Of course, if the project goes badly they will be proved right. If a supposed online recruitment system isn’t fully web-enabled, isn’t user-friendly, or doesn’t link directly to the core database, then HR will end up filling in the gaps.
This is a fear based on a lack of information. Involve and include such potential blockers from early on in the project. Explain in detail what changes there will be and listen to worries raised. Don’t talk too much about extra things the system will offer but concentrate on similarities and parallels.
3. Speculative applications – Some people fear that if you open up the recruitment process, the HR department will be flooded by unsuitable applicants. HR departments have traditionally lived a hand to mouth existence – when a vacancy is created they fill it. Historically, if an HR director told you they were keeping your CV on file they were letting you down gently. But now with more flexible career paths, it is worthwhile keeping a database of potential and past applicants.
Resistance to receiving speculative applicants is founded on the belief that online applications are less serious than those sent through the post. There is an element of truth in this – it is easier to send an e-mail than it is to fill in a paper form and post it. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a bad candidate.
4. The world isn’t ready for online recruitment – Maybe one day but not yet. Some will say the organisation is too varied and diverse to rely on the Internet. What they mean is their employees and potential employees don’t use the Internet for job hunting but, however broad your company’s employee base, the Internet is now part of most people’s lives. How many of your staff use e-mail to stay in touch with friends and family abroad? How many of them have typed CVs – presumably not written on a typewriter?
You should also talk to such people about graduate recruitment. Students raised on the Internet increasingly make it their first and only port of call. Graduates are more likely to know how to access relevant Internet job sites than traditional trade magazines. The way you recruit the youngest members of staff will soon become the way you recruit most staff.
5. But it works fine at the moment – Everyone in the HR department has a certain amount invested in the current system. People use business and personal links to agencies, magazines and colleges to do their jobs – and they enjoy talking to their contacts. By suggesting a new system, you are implicitly criticising peoples’ current working practices. Any new system should reduce the administrative burden of HR and let the department focus on value-adding activities. Talk about the more strategic aspects of their roles that they could spend time on – like analysing trends and recruitment sources and saving costs.
People need to think beyond the limitations of the existing system and start thinking about what they could or should be offering the business. HR should be more than just a cost centre; it should offer real benefits to the business. Modern systems allow HR to be proactive, not just reactive and should give you a better picture of the state of the business and a clearer view of how to develop it.
6. It’s not worth doing online recruitment unless it’s all done online – But even a small move to online recruitment will save your organisation time and money. With all the hype about the Internet it is easy to forget the benefits. Putting up a job advert on your website gives you access to thousands of potential people that were previously uncontactable. Online recruitment isn’t the whole answer but it could make a real financial difference – whatever percentage of recruits come via the web.
Obviously the web cannot replace the whole recruitment process but the early stages of CV collection and sorting can be automated. The online application process could even include a psychometric or task-based test. Online recruitment does not take the place of more traditional HR skills like interviewing and selecting candidates but it does ensure that time is spent on the best candidates and not wasted on administration.
7. ‘Real world’ recruitment is better than online – Many HR professionals still believe that online applicants are not as good as ‘real world’ applicants. ‘They know less about the company’, ‘They’re doing a salary survey’ and ‘Aren’t really interested in moving jobs’, are commonly heard complaints. Some people may feel that talking to agencies and applicants on the phone is a better way to select candidates.
It is important to note though that because someone applies for one hundred jobs by e-mail instead of ten by letter, it doesn’t mean they are less keen to get a job and current systems all offer help in filtering and sorting applications. The reality is that people like applying for jobs online – it is easy for them, it is anonymous, and, if they work in an office, the person next to them won’t know what they are doing.
HR departments have to embrace the Internet because the Internet has embraced job hunting like few other areas of business. HR has to start using modern tools to do its job; they need systems which allow them to analyse what is actually happening in the business. This will mean changes but they should all take HR back to what it is for – supporting and maintaining staff – not doing paperwork. Finally, what it should give you is the freedom to think about your job in a whole new way and the time to pursue a more strategic direction for your department, and for your own career.
Read an earlier feature by Geoff Burch, General Manager, Global HRMS at Microsoft Business Solutions here.
