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Industry News

 

Recruitment Agencies Bypassed by Social Networks

Thursday December 11, 2008

 

Direct employee relationships are threatening the supremacy of recruitment agencies, according to the first global “Digital Generation Survey.” The survey has been created by workplace experts Career Innovation (Ci) in partnership with AIESEC, a student-run organization.

“The survey reveals the astonishing effectiveness of personal referrals in recruitment,” commented Jonathan Winter of Career Innovation. “When we asked young workers from 83 countries, 45 percent said someone has joined their organization as a result of their recommendation. If that’s proving so effective, why should employers pay headhunters a huge commission to source candidates? Their own staff have better contacts.”

The researchers acknowledge that personal networks have always been an effective way of recruiting, especially in small organizations. But they cite the growth in social networking as a catalyst that could move this from an invisible, informal activity to a mainstream priority for employers.

“Business has always been about relationships, conversations and networks,” commented Winter. “Now at last we are seeing the rise of software that reflects this reality.”

The move away from traditional headhunters will be driven by the next generation of workers. The “Digital Generation Survey” consulted students around the world about their motivation and behavior using new technologies. Contrary to the popular image of social networks as a time-wasting device, the survey revealed their rapid adoption for serious work-related purposes, including recruitment.

Lucy Symons, chief communication officer for AIESEC International, said the survey reveals “an emerging demographic of young leaders who will enter the workplace expecting to communicate using social networks”.

Symons, whose organization has its own social network through which students find work placements and develop leadership skills, said, “The survey shows the benefits of engaging with young talent: They come with the kind of technology and relationship skills that employers need right now, to keep costs down and motivation high.”

Social networking highlights from the survey include:

• Three-quarters of students use social networking Web sites, and of these, 75 percent log on daily (for young workers that’s 63 percent).
• Facebook is the most popular for students, followed by Orkut, Hi5 and MySpace. LinkedIn is the most popular for workers.
• The most common work-related use of social networking was referral: Just less than two-thirds (64 percent) of students had used one of these sites to put a friend in contact with someone who might help them as had 71 percent of workers.
• The next most common use for students was to use social networking sites to look for internships or work experience placements, but these sites were also used to look for voluntary and paid work.
• Women seem to gain more work-related benefits from social networking. In particular, women are more likely to use social networking to find work or hire a colleague.
• Voluntary sector recruitment is also set to change. Almost a third of women (32 percent) and 23 percent of men use these sites to find voluntary work opportunities.

“The recruitment industry is waking up to the effectiveness of social networking platforms and is starting to actively engage on its own terms,” said Richard Emerton, partner in leadership consulting at executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. “With the help of VisualCV.com we are building a platform where senior executives will engage with us and with each other online to complement real world networking in support of their career development.”

“Companies can now track the rise of these new technologies within their workforce,” said Linda Shelley of Career Innovation. “They are using the ‘Digital Generation Survey’ to shape a strategy which harnesses the enthusiasts without alienating the traditionalists.”


For more info: http://www.careerinnovation.com