Recruitment: Just a click away

More people than ever job hunt on the web - but are pubcos ready for them?

When it comes to finding a new job, people are increasingly turning to the internet. A recent survey carried out by hospitality industry recruitment specialist Berkeley Scott revealed that browsing the web is the preferred method for 85 per cent of job seekers. But is the pub industry geared up to attract this massive audience?

The research would suggest not - only four per cent of employers rated the internet as a successful recruitment medium.

Where internet recruitment has been embraced, it seems to work. In 2003 Berkeley Scott itself sourced a quarter of all placed candidates through its website.

"This highlights a tremendous gap," commented chief executive officer Roddy Watt. "The fact is that many employers are still struggling to understand how best to use internet technology to attract candidates and process applications quickly and efficiently."

ThePublican.com has also seen growing numbers of online applicants for its jobs ads, up 17 per cent this April compared to April last year.

This reflects a more general trend towards internet recruitment that's being led by the applicants themselves.

Figures released by the latest National Online Recruitment Audience Survey at the end of January showed that 59 per cent of people in the UK have obtained an interview for a job advertised online and 44 per cent of those were offered the job.

Internet applicants are also becoming higher quality and more experienced people. The average recruitment site user is now nearly 34 years old, up from 32 in 2003, has 12 years of experience against 10-and-a-half years last year, and earns £34,594 compared to £22,494 in 2003.

Less than half of all employers, however, are prepared to accept applications online.

One notable exception is Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises, which has been something of a front-runner in using its website - www.pub-enterprises.co.uk - to recruit franchisees and lessees.

The site, launched in September 2001, boasts that it takes just three clicks of the mouse for someone to apply, and S&NPE now fills 40 per cent of its vacancies through the internet.

According to commercial director Martyn Gray, the figure is rising by 10 percentage points a year, even though the company has been more rigorous about who stays on its database.

"If we haven't heard from them for six months we take them off," said Martyn. "We've learned that if we can't find them a pub in that time it's unlikely we'll be able to get them one."

Speed and efficiency is an important factor in the success of the site, he believes. "We have been known to interview people within 48 hours of their application in certain cases - and nobody gets lost in the system.

"The web provides a channel for complete and immediate two-way communication with potential lessees," he continued. "The level of information and interaction that our website allows is a natural extension to our off-line recruitment process and provides a very efficient service. "For example, all applications and enquiries can be routed to the person best equipped to deal with the enquiry immediately."

Case Study: Mark Bracken and Lucy Slater​

S&NPE is celebrating its most long distance recruitment. Online applicants Mark Bracken and Lucy Slater (pictured)​ have moved from Earls Court in London to the Blackfriars in Inverness.

"We knew exactly the sort of pub we were looking for and the website was a great way to check out the details from the comfort of our own home," says Mark. "We had actually already seen the pub on a visit to the area but didn't have time to check out the details while we were there. It was only when we got back home and logged onto the Pub Enterprises website that we realised how easy it would be. "We received an information pack the week we requested one and were invited for an interview the following week. An offer letter was sent within the next fortnight, so there was certainly no unnecessary time-wasting."

Efficient online recruitment​

Efficient online recruitment takes more than just posting job ads on the net. To make full use of the technology you need a system that will sift through the applications and link them to recruitment processes without losing any good ones.

Based on its own experience, hospitality recruitment agency Berkeley Scott has come up with some software that aims to bridge the gap between cyberspace and the real world of recruitment or, in the parlance, brings together bricks and clicks.

Already piloted with a number of employers, Prospector consists of four modules which can be used on their own or in conjunction:

• PostMaster creates job ads and posts them on internet job boards or sends them for print
• CareerSite is a searchable recruitment website branded to the company's style
• Apply4 automatically eliminates unsuitable applicants and flags up the best contenders
• TalentBank provides employers with a searchable applicant database.