Recruiters must innovate or die says tech supplier

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 25 November 2008 04:30

IT People - Recruitment

The IT and wider recruitment industry is in a downward spiral along with the rest of economy and the only way to arrest the slide is to try something new, including technology. These are the findings of new research.

Last week, peak body the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA) released its Quarterly Member Research, revealing a 21% slump in recruitment industry business confidence and an expected decline in revenue of 0.8%.

Recent surveys of ICT job ads have shown the technology recruitment sector is one of the worst affected areas. Surveys such as the Olivier Report and Best Talent Index, which are issued by recruitment companies themselves, show the IT&T jobs market has been in a downward spiral since the beginning of this year.

To make matters worse, the biggest single employer of IT&T contractors in Australia, the Federal Government, has just announced plans to slash IT spending and cut its IT&T contractor workforce in half over the next three years.

Mr Craig Schuetrumpf, technology adviser to the RCSA and head of recruitment technology provider Adlogic, says that in this climate agencies need to consider which low cost search techniques can help protect their bottom line.

“In tough times it’s natural to want to revert to what you know and do what you’ve always done. But in fact, businesses need to be looking for any new avenues to reduce costs, and in the case of recruiters, this means harnessing free or low-cost job boards, search engine techniques and social networking sites,” he said.

“Of course the major job boards are still crucial for finding candidates, but there is still huge scope for expanding your reach into other talent pools. Adlogic recognised this some time ago, and we’ve been developing tools and features to allow recruiters to tap into these channels. The technology also tracks which job boards are free or have introductory rates, so you can dip your toe in to new outlets with little risk,” said Mr Schuetrumpf.

He predicts that efficiency will be a necessity in leaner times, and will drive the demand for technology even further.

“If you need to spend more time on the phone and with clients to win a sale, then cutting admin time and costs is going to be critical,” Mr Schuetrumpf said.

He says that smart agencies will continue investing in technology, such as their corporate website, to remain competitive in the long term.

“If you want to retain a competitive edge, then you have to stay at the forefront of industry trends. This means investing in things like a searchable, interactive website; a technology platform that drives efficiency and the clever use of social networking and search engines. Both clients and candidates will increasingly expect this from recruitment professionals,” Mr Schuetrumpf said.