So BrandRepublic approached me about doing a blog on their site which you can find here.http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/morw/default.aspx. As most of the Brand audience do proper advertising and look down their noses at us in Jobs - i will clearly have to brush on my Web 2.0 terminology - and where as i normally talk about metrics like cost per click, cost per hire, response per advert and drop off rates on career sites. I now shall have to litter my posts with the long tail, webinars, avatars, Linden dollars and the impact of the I-Phone.
Or maybe not.
Friday, 29 August 2008
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Translating Guardian Press Release on Rate Increases
I just received this Press Release
"From August 18 2008, the recruitment and courses print advertising rates for Guardian Jobs will be increasing in line with salary inflation. In real terms this means most of our print rates are staying the same. Some of our online advertising rates are also changing but we are offering you more value than ever:"
A couple of comments
- the rates are going up 3.5% - they are not staying the same. To use the phrase "in real terms" reminds me of a trade union negotiating a deal for its workers
- That bit is probably inserted as the author is struggling with the audacity/cheek of putting ones press rates up - when the print market is disintegrating - or soon will be - in its core markets
- "some of our online rates are also changing..." i am going to make a huge leap of logic and presume they mean by changing - they actually wanted to use the not often heard word "increasing". They may have covered themselves by reducing a keyword banner on Cornwall Jobs or something equally popular.
I love the Guardian and the people we deal with and have no problem necessarily with them increasing rates - but plainspeaking please....
"From August 18 2008, the recruitment and courses print advertising rates for Guardian Jobs will be increasing in line with salary inflation. In real terms this means most of our print rates are staying the same. Some of our online advertising rates are also changing but we are offering you more value than ever:"
A couple of comments
- the rates are going up 3.5% - they are not staying the same. To use the phrase "in real terms" reminds me of a trade union negotiating a deal for its workers
- That bit is probably inserted as the author is struggling with the audacity/cheek of putting ones press rates up - when the print market is disintegrating - or soon will be - in its core markets
- "some of our online rates are also changing..." i am going to make a huge leap of logic and presume they mean by changing - they actually wanted to use the not often heard word "increasing". They may have covered themselves by reducing a keyword banner on Cornwall Jobs or something equally popular.
I love the Guardian and the people we deal with and have no problem necessarily with them increasing rates - but plainspeaking please....
Innovation vs Effectiveness - or have we disappeared up our...
OK - back to a familiar topic. And its the differential between
1. us in the "industry"- who get a bit bored by discussing and improving basic functionality on company's careers sites and find job postings on Job boards to be frankly dull. What we really want to talk about is Social Media, Geo-Targetting, Mobile Messaging and whatever the latest fad is.
2. and the "real people" out there - HR/Recruiters. Who are under pressure to improve efficiency, reduce cost per hire, improve employer brand etc
So we saw an unnamed client (large UK PLC) last week - who had taken meetings with a couple of other rec ad agencies, online specialists. And their head had been filled with lots of talk of Facebook, SMS, Twitter (NB 1st time a client has mentioned this in meeting - so interesting) and yet and yet....
In order their priorities should be
1. Their careers site search does not work in any logical way and must lose candidates who are unfortunate enough to go in it at front end - it is a block on recruitment not an aid.
2. they were on Job boards (not Google though) but in certain cases the wrong ones and in all cases with very poor copy and with the wrong and ineffective inventory. This can be fixed incredibly quickly and with immediate excellent results.
3. A mini audit of the web - finds there are a bunch of dead links for this company out there - old logos pointing to old micro sites and other destinations
I asked their permission if i could blog about this anonymously as it so annoyed me that others who do know their stuff had focussed on the sexy not the serious, the fluff not the core, the sizzle not the steak (enough analogies Dom....)
we are very keen to criticise the laggards in the rec ad industry but spending clients budgets on areas that do not deliver the tangible demonstrable ROI results can in fact cause more damage. I sometimes think think that we recommend this sort of innovative stuff to make us the suppliers feel cool not for the benefit of the customer.
1. us in the "industry"- who get a bit bored by discussing and improving basic functionality on company's careers sites and find job postings on Job boards to be frankly dull. What we really want to talk about is Social Media, Geo-Targetting, Mobile Messaging and whatever the latest fad is.
2. and the "real people" out there - HR/Recruiters. Who are under pressure to improve efficiency, reduce cost per hire, improve employer brand etc
So we saw an unnamed client (large UK PLC) last week - who had taken meetings with a couple of other rec ad agencies, online specialists. And their head had been filled with lots of talk of Facebook, SMS, Twitter (NB 1st time a client has mentioned this in meeting - so interesting) and yet and yet....
In order their priorities should be
1. Their careers site search does not work in any logical way and must lose candidates who are unfortunate enough to go in it at front end - it is a block on recruitment not an aid.
2. they were on Job boards (not Google though) but in certain cases the wrong ones and in all cases with very poor copy and with the wrong and ineffective inventory. This can be fixed incredibly quickly and with immediate excellent results.
3. A mini audit of the web - finds there are a bunch of dead links for this company out there - old logos pointing to old micro sites and other destinations
I asked their permission if i could blog about this anonymously as it so annoyed me that others who do know their stuff had focussed on the sexy not the serious, the fluff not the core, the sizzle not the steak (enough analogies Dom....)
we are very keen to criticise the laggards in the rec ad industry but spending clients budgets on areas that do not deliver the tangible demonstrable ROI results can in fact cause more damage. I sometimes think think that we recommend this sort of innovative stuff to make us the suppliers feel cool not for the benefit of the customer.
Monday, 4 August 2008
What is going on with recruitment economy
i have to admit i no longer have a clue quite what is going on - in the macro world - we are confronted with a media bombardment of bad news and scare stories - share price depression and poor financials from banks, media groups etc. and yet...in micro world
- i dont know anyone personally who has been laid off due to economic factors
- OME has just had by far its best month ever (July 2008)
- Virtually all organisations are still recruiting in some form
So for the present i am going to continue to buy my Starbucks every morning and leave the jar ot Mellow Birds at the back of cupboard for when times are really tough....
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