Digital Recruiting

The future of newspapers? Surely not.......

News report from 1981! So much I could write about it but for now I'm going to let you just watch it.....

Obama, dogma and the demise of UK Internet Advertising

*We welcome Richard Tyrie as our first Guest Author for quite a while for this post*

Councils told not to use websites to compete with local media

Secretary for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, has told councils not to undermine local media outlets by trying to compete for readers and advertising revenue with their own websites and publications.

So here we are, still basking in the immediate after-glow of the rousing Obama inauguration speech last week.  We heard about his plans for a new era of openness, transparency and trust in government (US government, anyway); a sole focus on policies that were beneficial to the electorate, and the scrapping of policies that were dogmatic and ineffective.  Fantastic stuff.  Whatever your position on OB, you can’t deny that his inspirational leadership style, and the spirit and substance of his plans (not to mention his oratory skills) will bring about significant change to the nature of government in the US.

And then we have our own government.   .

In the last fortnight alone, we’ve had the Heathrow third runway debacle;  the attempted draft bill to exempt MP’s expenses from Freedom of Information Act legislation, ergo: “we don’t want to tell you taxpayers what your £87.6 million pa is being spent on”, which, incidentally, our Gordon did a sharp U-turn on, following a *significant*  backlash by the internet ‘massive’ (way to go tweeps and facebookers..).  Now government has come over all ‘traditionalist’ with the announcement of the latest initiative from Ed Balls’ office telling councils “not to undermine local newspapers by competing for readers [with their own websites]”

WTF?  Do what?  Are you serious?

Err hold on a minute…   Last time I heard, the careers section of a local authority website was reported as being the most heavily trafficked section of all LG websites; in fact SOCITM (the society of IT Managers) reckon that the jobs section of a .gov.uk website is likely to serve four times more page impressions than the next most trafficked section of a local gov site (which, incidentally is the rather fascinating ‘planning application’ bit…)

 Speak to any local authority hiring manager that actually measures where their response comes from (there are a few out there - not many mind…) and they’ll tell you how little response they get from ‘trad med’.   What little response they do still get is precisely what they don’t want:  the same types they’ve always attracted (pale, male and stale are, I believe, the descriptors du jour amongst local government officers). 

The fact of the matter is, the local press just isn’t a practical, cost-effective solution any more,  nor does local press advertising generate even vaguely diverse shortlists. Local Governments historic use of press as a primary attraction method (and the subsequent nature of the local government workforce) amply bears this out:

1) The private sector (proportionally) hires three times more young people than local government  (Only 6% of a workforce of 2.2 million is under 25)

2.)Only 9 authorities (out of 336) have a workforce that reflects their communities in terms of ethnicity

3.) They largely attract ‘more seasoned’ applicants;  in fact 31% of the workforce is going to retire in the next decade (see point 1)

Oh dear.

So employers… no young people? Just loads of err ‘experienced’ people? Not enough applications from black and minority ethnic communities?  You betcha!

 Funny that, but then that’s the profile of local press readership..but then if you do what you’ve always done….

On the flip side,  we have the web, which is now making the majority of hires out there (London borough of Newham make 86% of all hires online now). Its proving to generate   a *massively* more diverse candidate pool – indeed, one LA reported over 1000% more interest from BAME’s (black and minority ethnic applicants) per pound spent compared to ‘traditional’ press advertising..

That’s a compelling business case for the web – non?

Local press is dying.  Its Darwinian; survival of the fittest; natural selection.  The truth is, inefficient, structurally weak, strategically adrift businesses die over time – and so they should.  Frankly, if they don’t move with the times, they should be left to wither..  trying to prop them up is analogous with US congress bailing out Ford or GM.  Utter madness. 

So when the Newspaper Society bleats on about how important local press is, in “ahem, providing a voice for local communities”, I suggest you get with the program Mr Balls, and see what’s really occurring out there.  Speak to local authorities.  See what’s happening.  We know it would be nice to keep the local press happy, but hey, this is about getting the right people to provide public services, not just currying favour with publishers with ever decreasing influence by ensuring them a few quid in advertising revs.

Do the right thing, and ditch the dogmatic stuff that isn’t in our interests any more..  Failure to do that, could mean you find yourself withering too, and probably quicker than you imagine.

 Richard Tyrie

Founder, Jobsgopublic

The beginning of a revolution?

It’s been a long time since I posted, and I guess that’s because I’ve been a little distracted recently (or have just been a little too busy having fun being a dad) but I’ve now seen a couple of articles today that for some reason seem to have made me feel I need to post.

 

Now I totally understand that a new site/product has to launch itself, and find a way of capturing people’s attention, but I’m struggling with the whole premise that ‘this is the beginning of a revolution in the recruitment market’.  Is it not more a case of someone making the logical link between Social Media platforms and job ads, and developing a platform to target grads in this way?

 

I’ve been in this industry for some time now (listen to me – online old fart) and I have to say I’ve seen a lot of ideas come and go – some with some pretty impressive/aspirational launch statements/claims (anyone remember Revolver.com?  I still have the business card collection if anyone's up for another round of Business Card Trumps…), but this is a bit of a new one on me.

 

I get the whole premise, I really do.  And you know, I’m pretty certain it will succeed as a product longer-term as it is well-backed, is being run by some very bright people, and seems to have a well thought out plan, but as for it being a ‘historical day’, well, I’m just not convinced.  I think I’m just a bit more battle hardened I guess…

Like I say, I may be totally missing the point, but I think that to make such bold claims based on the launch of an alpha site into an incredibly complicated, very mature and particularly fickle (candidate) market seems a little brave - but hey, the world needs brave people to push things forward, so good luck to you guys - I truly hope it does work for you. 

Social Media and the inauguration

I'm still actually watching it so I'm not going to make this a long post! Managed to take a screenshot of the CNN's streaming video and Facebook integration. Pure genius....if you didn't believe social media was the future now might be a good time to think again

UPDATE - Here are the official stats for it (from Mashable)

The stats released, as of noon ET:

1. There were 200,000+ status updates through the Facebook integration on CNN.com

2. at that time, 3,000 people commented on the Facebook CNN feed per minute

3. Obama’s Facebook Fan Page has more than 4 million fans and in excess of 500,000 wall posts

A RAD hangover (or just a miserable aging git)?

There’s no doubt I was considering myself very lucky to get an invite (even as a late stand in – I’ve never been too proud to be someone’s second option come good) to the RAD awards this year. But thanks to the generosity of Jobsite.co.uk I made the event.

I think a bit of pomp & celebration every once in a while does you good, and for me having the RADs in January helps put off any silly new years resolutions for the month of January, pushing them back (if there are any I’m feeling silly enough to make anyway – usually around curtailing of alcohol intake) into the shortest month of the year ☺

I think it’s only fitting (within this particular blog) to keep any observations about awards to those digitally based – and I’m very happy to say that after a some previously negative comments about the rationale and wisdom of judging decisions (of RADs and of course the NORAs) I think there were some very worthy winners indeed. In particular I thought the Shell game looked truly innovative (am hoping that Sinead will get to write us up a case study of it), the Asda site holds together very well indeed (no easy thing for a main careers site), the Landrover site was a vision of flash loveliness (I agree probably a bit too form over function – but a beauty to behold none the less), and I agree with the judges that the National Graduate Development Programme video was a very powerful piece superbly executed and so to me looked to be a worthy overall champion.

It’s nice to write a review about how I think it’s clearer than ever (certainly in the categories listed above) what was ticking the judges boxes – and, most importantly for me, the candidate engagement aspect wasn’t lost in the appreciation of the work before them.

But I was left with a strange after taste from the event (and one that was even stronger than the gin & tonic with double baileys chaser that “did me in” – thanks Gemma! ;). The event was hosted very ably by Rob Brydon, but despite his best efforts (and I don’t think it was just me) did it seem to take a bit longer than usual to get to the awards element of the evening? Did the food take longer (less people than previous so can’t see why that should be the case)? Was there more of a gap between food being cleared and it starting?

Whatever it was, the longer the event takes to get into full swing then the shorter the audiences attention span – which I felt to be a real shame, as there really was some excellent work on show. The audience seemed, well, more disassociated from what was actually happening than I can recollect from previous years.

This feeling was made all the stronger when I met someone at the bar later in the night who agreed that they’d had a great time – but quickly went on to say that there’s no way they’d suggest their HRD (FTSE top 50 company) should attend because it seemed little more than a bit of an agency/media piss up. And don’t get me wrong – I, and in many cases unfortunately very well documented, have enjoyed more than my fair share of serious hospitality and intra-industry exuberance. But it got me thinking whether there were simple steps that might be taken that would allow such an event to have it’s creative integrity & best practice filled cake and eat (or rather drink) it?

So here’s some sober thoughts / suggestions / musings:

1. Could the event start earlier? Let’s face it – it’s a big night out and many people have to travel for at least half the day to be there, so why not shift it forward an hour.
2. Do the awards element first. If the event is truly about the awards – the celebrating of creative excellence from our industry – then why not hold off the meal and excessive merriment just a little longer? (obviously starting earlier would help this too)
3. Show the shortlisted work before hand so we actually get to know what’s been judged and can come with a raised level of interest and opinion whatever our agency / client chances of success on the night.

I believe some of the work that I’ve seen over the years from our industry – in whatever humble or not so humble way you may take my ramblings – is truly worldclass, and we should be proud of it. Extremely proud of it. Sometimes a creative team or agency clicks into a winning grove, often or not led by a particular client that gives them the kind of brief(s) or latitude (as well as sometimes budget) that others of us can’t always seem to engineer. But then all of a sudden the landscape changes and some really great work comes from another direction all together. And it’s for that reason that I’d actually like to see steps taken to afford more deference to the quality of what we’re seeing and celebrating – more deference than most of us (it’s quite apparent) can muster straining at an image on a screen after c.4 hours “networking” over a light 3 course meal.

But all that said I don’t want to detract from the fact that I’ve been very impressed as to how the RADs have, certainly in recent years, worked hard to evolve with an industry that has seen it’s media and execution sophistication shift at what (certainly in business terms) is near light speed. With some strong and clear direction, through listening to those at the evolving coal face, and almost certainly some good chairpersonship along the way, I think the RBI team have kept these awards relevant. So well done to all those who produced work they thought good enough to enter as well as those of course who won on the night – and here’s hoping that the RADs push to keep pace with our industry's changing landscape, whilst perhaps taking some steps to ensure this great work gets the focus and acclaim it truly warrants on the actual night.

The Rads - Two Years on.

It's two years, nearly to the day that I posted my first entry on this blog. It was titled 'Putting the RADical into the RAD's'. Two years ago!....where has the time gone?

My post wasn't pithy, in fact it could have given War and Peace a run for its money, but I certainly got a lot off my chest and you know, I found it quite cathartic. (good to know blogging is good for my state of mind then).

I had some beef with our industrys' awards ceremonies/judging criteria and my view was that the judging of the RAD awards and CIPD's was based solely on creativity and little notice or importance was given to the media/channels used to engage with the target audience or the actual effectiveness of the ad/campaign.

As such, this limited focus on creative wasn't a reflection on the best solutions and work our industry had to offer, especially in our current communications and media landscape.

Fast forward two years on and again I'll be donning my frock to attend the RAD's this Thursday, but will I be moved to write another post outlining my concerns or has our industry or the RAD's evolved and moved on?

In the wake of my post, I got a call from Richard Andrews, who runs the awards and we had a good discussion. I was subsequently asked to be a judge for last years event,(really interesting and enjoyable) a clear sign that the RADs and Richard were open to feedback, change and that they recognised that digital, media selection and tracking were key elements of recruitment solutions.

There were a few of us 'digi' types involved, such as John Buffey from Barkers and after the event we both met with Richard to work on honing the judging criteria for this years event.

This year Matt Alder and Drew Spencer are part of the judging panel so again there will be focus on the importance of all elements in the mix and with these guys, great representation.

Perhaps another key sign that the RAD's has evolved and wants to be the awards ceremony that recognises the best work in the industry, was its openness to accepting entries from multiple parties who have worked together to 'develop and deliver the recruitment solution collectively'.

What this means is that for the first time, a media communications agency like MediaCom will be recognised along with our creative agency partners in the awards ceremony.  Yay!! (in the past even though an agency may have provided the research, media planning and channel innovation along with the tracking and data on effectiveness it was the creative agency who got the nomination and award on the night).

Now, I know that I'm not 100% objective on this development, ;) but this can only be a good thing and it genuinely demonstrates that our industry is moving in the right direction. All aspects of the recruitment solution including the results of our most innovative and creative solutions are being reviewed in the selection process.

Now, any awards aren't perfect (in fact I'm gutted one of our submissions didn't make it through to the second round in the innovationcategory - it was blooming marvellous!! :) and although there are improvements that can and will be made, I'll definitely be a bit more confident on Thursday night that the nomination and winners on the night are a good reflection of what our industry has to offer.

Oh, and give us a cheer when you hear our name and wish us luck...

p.s. think my posts are still too long...

Fly Fishing by JR Hartley - Downstream to Lifestream

So, it was New years eve, eve, 2008. I was running around Belfast with my mummy in tow, trying to find a Star Wars, Princess Lea outfit for my NYE's 1980's fancy dress party in London. The only Lea outfit left in the whole city seemed to be xtra-small size (and I ain't no xtra small,....especially after such festive indulgence). As we drove around, I was using my blackberry to go online and look for other fancy dress shops in the city and surrounding areas. The results coming up on Google were pretty limited....yet we knew there were others out there...

Time was running out so we popped into a small haberdashery shop, to look at some material we could maybe use, to alter the aforementioned xtra-small outfit. We asked the lady behind the counter did she know of any other fancy dress shops, in the hope we wouldn't end up having to get the sewing machine out.

After some chit-chat she suggested something that threw me a bit...

'Do you want to have a look at the Yellow Pages?' she enquired.

'Oh...er, well.. yeah sure, why not', I said. How very antiquated I thought....

Intuitively, I looked up F for fancy dress and before my very eyes, in clear, comprehensive listings were every fancy dress shop, with addresses and phone numbers I should ever want in N. Ireland...wowsers, perfect!

I slipped my blackberry back into my handbag...only to be taken out later, to make a phonecall to one of the shop numbers the helpful lady had jotted down for me....

So, there you have it, does this mean my prediction for 2009 are directories?, well no, but this experience of using my mobile for search did make me wonder about the prediction (some would say, the perennial prediction) that this year - 2009, is the year that mobile advertising goes mainstream and is key - I'm thinking yes, mobile is becoming more and more important but not sure 2009 is its critical mass advertising year..maybe 2010. But hey, who knows, things change so fast...

This Guardian article, notes a couple of key upcoming themes, - the increasing flat-rate, mobile data charges that will enable us to access the web via our phone, freeing us from onerous monetary concerns. This will be a key factor to enable critical mass - and this will be very significant and impactful. (Check out the post below this Guardian article for a different and pertinent point of view)

Secondly - the role of a social media aggregator such as Friendfeed that will pull together for us, all our networks, into a one-stop, easy, individual source (in the 'cloud').

This will be our Lifestream - all our various networks tipped into one virtual funnel, resulting in one master-stream that helps us to manage and stay connected with info and friends that appear across a multitude of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn etc.

Friendfeed is the king of aggregators, as among other things, its the first lifestream service that is viewable on mobile (all devices) and this robust service has recently signed a deal with Facebook -so expect a tab on your profile page soon.

An aggregator of this type and the possibilities it has for Career management and networking are very interesting.

So, there you have it, the first of many thoughts for the new year. Happy new year everyone, hope its the best yet.

Sinead