Blog Post For Madgex - Jobboards 2016

It’s that time of year again where we can safely make wildly incorrect predictions on what is going to happen next year with the warm feeling that hopefully nobody will dig this piece out again in 12 months’ time to see how we did. Rather than go outlandish with job board equivalents of flying cars or wishful thinking that all the problems are going away – I thought I would outline what from my perspective (co-owner of one of the biggest buyers of digital recruitment media in EMEA) are the real current changes and opportunities facing this industry.

Opportunities

So first the good news – what should job board owners be excited by

1. “The Economy, Stupid” – I know it’s fragile and maybe built on sand but in general clients have more money to spend, more people to recruit and candidates are in shorter supply. And ever since the dawn of recruitment time, these factors have meant great financial news for companies who can offer the solution to above issues.

2. Content Marketing – Employer Branding – Community Management and a few other terms which mean clients are taking seriously the quality of the content they put out there and their relationship with the candidate universe. Or in other terms all other activity that is not about job posts and CV database trawls. Connected to fact that many clients have a bit more budget – they really want to improve how they position themselves and many (not all) jobboards actually have a relationship with their users that clients should want to piggy back on to.

3. Response – Jobboards work! And believe me there are plenty of recruitment media solutions that really don’t. Jobboards aren’t that cool in 2015/16 – but if it was your money would you rather spend a finite critical budget on a well-constructed job board campaign or a really sexy pilot ad launch on Pinterest/Instagram/Tinder!

Challenges

OK – now here’s what would make me uncomfortable as a media owner over my 5th mince pie on Christmas Day

1. Where’s the Innovation? - This is not just about technology or brand or product– it’s really about “noise”. OME present an overview of marketplace to clients and we just don’t have that much to say about what’s going on with job boards. Therefore the bulk of conversations clients are having are about LinkedIn, Indeed, social, mobile etc. That can’t be healthy as it means you aren’t being talked about as much as you should. And maybe you are missing out….

2. Market position - I don’t believe it is as quite as simple as this but one way of looking at market is - LinkedIn are starting senior and moving down the recruitment food chain, Indeed are starting junior and moving up. What’s the middle ground (jobboards’ position) like? – how big is it? And most critically is it getting smaller?

3. Candidate Journey – In some senses Jobboards offer the simplest candidate journey possible (click apply, attach CV and Go) and ATSs are where it can go horribly wrong. But you know what, candidates don’t care where the problem is – our stats tell us they will simply give up if the user journey is too painful (and blame you and us). It can’t be beyond our skills to sort this issue out and we all know in next few years – applying via mobile devices, with digital profiles etc – will become the norm – so let’s accelerate this process.

So – hope some food for thought above – and lets all agree not to look at this next December and see how I did!

OME News

I normally fill this sort of post with news about account wins and new stuff - which is thinly veiled PR(sometimes no veil at all) about how great OME is. However the significant news is 2 of our team have become Dads for the first time - so congrats to Kork and Bethan on arrival of Daisy Anya Desai and Stephen and Julia on arrival of Joseph Mark Oliver.

Mothers and babies apparently doing great - the Dads have been looking a little weary though!

LinkedIn's Talent Connect Thoughts

So went along to Talent Connect (LinkedIn's EMEA conference) couple of weeks ago and my feedback is below

1. It has become THE event in our space. Massive turn out (2000?) of senior-ish people from big and biggish organisations. Nobody else and no other event could attract that kind of attendance. LinkedIn are the official 400lb Gorilla of the industry.

2. Quite international - if I had to estimate I would say at least 25-30% were from outside UK

3. Very well organised - main conference - break out sessions. breaks with networking opportunities. I saw lots of people I knew or used to work with/for. For me - that is of huge benefit of course.

4. By definition with this amount of content - some of the quality was varied (in smaller break out sessions) and there were a few sessions from people on "the circuit" that I am sure many had experienced before - but that is a pretty harsh criticism.

5. The overriding theme was all about Brand and Marketing via LinkedIn. Using LI to promote the company, using it as a true social tool, how to build an EVP via LI platform. Clearly LinkedIn believe this to be their next area for huge growth and I 100% get that. LinkedIn recruiter tools and postings are of clear value and don't need much selling - Most orgs however are not using it in true marketing/social sense - and that's the next challenge. I think you could say that the case for ROI is a little more unproven here - but on balance we at OME are pretty much on board with this message too.

6. The Referral product launch I think will be a clear winner. It provides the platform to run a referral scheme that is trackable, promotable to a universe who we know already have LI profiles. I don't see much of a downside.
NB - no mention of the actual cost of this product to customers - so that could be the pretty big downside!

I could only attend one of the days - but followed via social media and seemed to be more on same themes.

So i attended and it looks like i drank the Kool Aid, still no side effects........yet.

Business Books

Read one the other day (there was nothing else to hand, I was in a rush and it was a long flight) and I just reconfirmed my belief that the things you can get from any such tome is very,very limited. Here is my summary business building advice
1. know your market - is it big enough to support a business
2. make sure your product is attractive to this market
3. get your price point right to make you attractive/make some money
4. work with good people
5. work your ass off and talk to anyone and everyone you can at any time
6. Repeat, review and enhance on points 1-5 above


is that worth £12.99?

Working from Hols

I know you are supposed to shut everything down when you go on holiday and not be contactable by man nor beast. I would like to present an alternative view....

I find it much more relaxing if I know all is well (yes, I know its my business so I am much more bought in than some) - this consists of using mobile tech for what is intended for.

check my email once over breakfast (reply in 10 words or less if needed) - be available if someone wants to / needs to talk to me and...........that's about it

this approach helps me relax better and enjoy my break much more than some self enforced purdah

works for me!

New OME Home

So this week, we left the www.businessdesigncentre.co.uk where we have been for 9!! years - where did that time go??. It felt vaguely emotional to leave (not that emotional - no tears were shed)

But everyone has had a lovely lift with the new office environment - its great because of

1. its light and bright (like your house - dark and gloomy will never be one's preference
2. Everything is shiny and new - desks, floors, IT kit (I wont mention the relocation budget - which was blown)
3. Outside access - lovely roof terrace for lunch, post work drinks, a break from your colleagues ( I am not sure this will be quite so attractive in February)
4. Other people - we share the building with 3 or 4 other businesses - who are all in creative digital industry - so we don't have to talk to the same old faces we share an office with for the last x years
5. Lovely board rooms and meeting rooms for clients, suppliers and partners

So - everyone buzzing, productivity going through the roof, happy staff

I predict this uplift will last a long time - at least until next Tuesday anyway - when I will get the first comment that "its not the same as the good old days in the old office"

OME Hospital Club

Wow - its our 10th event tonight (if you want to find out more go here) - it started off as an idea Kork had one day 4 years ago and its now become a proper thing. As ever equally worried about too many people turning up for capacity and simultaneously fearful - it will be just us and the speakers and a lot of food and drink.

Why does it work?
1. It is completely not a sales event (obvs we have picked up clients - but that's because we are great)
2. It has a small bit of content - but it really is about networking
3. People can drift in and stop for a beer - or end up in Covent Garden at 2am (I have done both)
4. Its kind of semi regular - 3 events one year, 2 the next and I quite like it that way.


Anyway - look forward to meeting some good folk tonight

A Seismic Event in History

OME are moving out of the Business Design Centre in Islington, We have been here (in ever expanding units) since we launched 9 years ago and I feel rather emotional about it all. we are heading to a beautiful location with crazy stuff like access to natural light, roof terrace and bar downstairs but it wont be the same as our lovely gloomy Stalag.

So does location affect culture?
1. I hope it marks a step up as we continue to grow and prosper
2. Maybe it will make us more professional as we will be in such a cool space.
3. But I hope it does not take away the fun and informal atmosphere that I think our staff and clients like.
4. Anyway - I think its a good excuse to have a summer party, so hopefully the landlord wont ask us to leave the next morning!

In Praise of 33

Not exactly breaking news but last month - ThirtyThree (rec ad agency/comms/rec marketing agency)- sold for loads of money an undisclosed sum to Capita. So congrats to the owners but I thought I would just state a few things I learnt from working there for a couple of years in early 2000s,knowing the owners quite well and as part of the wider industry over the last decade, and they are:

1. You can run a successful highly profitable business while simultaneously treating your staff, suppliers and clients with warmth, respect and honour. I had witnessed some successful businesses who treated staff appallingly, or overcharge clients or beat up suppliers - but it does not have to be that way.

2. You can grow and not lose your sense of identity. Now this point is more as an observer - but they maintained reputation of being creative, innovative and interesting as much as a 120 person company as a 20 person company.

3. Making money is vital but you can have a laugh along the way too. Despite what some of our more serious industry colleagues think - we are not curing cancer or saving the planet - we are creating/delivering campaigns for staff /employees/companies and that is really, really important but.....not that important


I like to think we have implemented much of this here at OME but let me know if you think I am wrong!

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back to Dom’s blog

Well when I retired my blog in April last year – I did not imagine it would only be dormant for about 11 months. So why are we re-launching

1. By popular demand of course. I have received 2 messages literally been flooded with requests to bring it back. It would be wrong of me not to give the people (my mum and auntie Pam) what they want.

2. We are doing something different – so interspersed with my comments on what is going on “out there” in recruitment marketing, candidate attraction, rec technology – will be other stuff. Such as -

3. Vlogging where appropriate (and probably when inappropriate too) we will be uploading some short clips of think pieces, events, comments

4. An insight into the wider OME – when I started the original blog we were a young, start-up with 4 staff – we now employ nearly 20 people and one of the biggest buyers of recruitment media in the UK – this vlog/insight/news section should reflect the many different voices that make up OME now.

5. Create an opportunity for suppliers/partners/clients to have some interactivity/conversations or just post abusive comments

Anyway – hope you find it useful and just for clarification and an amended legal disclaimer - The opinions expressed herein are mine alone but probably also do represent the opinions of most other people at OME too