When Recruitment Sites Fail

The company-endorsed (in fact, promoted) blemish to its own reputation. It's been lurking under your nose for years. Right there in plain sight.

Behold the over-looked, under-funded and outdated recruiting Web site. Not the Flash-intensive, smiling faces, bells-and-whistles marketing front-end, but the applicant back-end.

I've been guilty of ignoring this aspect of recruitment branding myself. As a senior communications executive, I had believed that functional applications systems were keeping pace with the more visible work my teams were doing. I was wrong.

So what can organizations do to propel their online application process (or "getting you in the system," as HR specialists are fond of saying) into the 21st century? I offer three suggestions:

1. Deploy a Universal Template. With multiple organizations using common solutions providers such as Kenexa/BrassRing, adopt a universal template for automatic population of basic data fields, with applicant information stored in a virtual, secure clearinghouse. A number of universities have been using a common application for years -- it's time for the corporate world to catch up.

2. Ensure Mobile Compatibility. The rise of mobile devices, whether smart phones or tablets, increases the chances that potential hires will be using them to input their data. When a drop-down menu is rendered useless on an iPad, expect your social-savvy applicants to dust off their #fail hash tags.

3. Set Expectations. Advise the applicant on the opening screen as to what information you'll be gathering (or in some instances, will not be requesting). Sites run the gamut, from simply asking for a resume upload to suddenly springing a 60-question MBTI-like personality assessment. Follow the no surprises rule, and your non-complete percentage will plummet.

Having worked with (and in) HR organizations for years, it's clear that many recruitment specialists share these sentiments, but are content with "good enough" when faced with budget and time pressures. But is "good enough" the impression you want to leave with high potential talent?