There was a time when talent recruitment followed a straightforward formula. Job listings called for applications, CVs were sent in, screening of candidates commenced. This hiring blueprint rarely left room for creativity.
Fortunately, this practice has not been in fashion of late. Companies have started to employ more imagination to attract top talent. An example is when Apple hid a job advertisement for a technical engineer in a secret page on its website, ensuring that only the target applicants would find it. Another is Snapchat’s use of its geolocation services to entice potential employees. A message displaying job listings pops up when a person is located near offices like Uber.
In the case of WeRK, the innovation comes from using existing social media platforms as a way to reach its objectives. After all, it is undeniable that most people are active users of social media. By making the recruitment process run parallel to social media, it provides greater awareness in people because of its sheer accessibility. However, WeRK does not stop there. The accessibility is partnered with the ability to set parameters to reach people who are relevant to the search.
Billy Cruz, sales manager of WeRK, notes that recruitment has changed. “If you look back 10 to 15 years ago, job portals were the number-one source [of job advertisements]. Right now, the game’s changing.”
Cynthia Maslian, director of talent acquisition for iQor, a client of Werk’s for two years now, agrees. “[Today,] we need to be available in the digital and mobile platforms. Given that the attention span [of online users] is so much shorter, we need to be always relevant and aggressive in attraction and acquisition [of talent].”
However, it isn’t enough to just have aggressive online presence.
Cruz notes one of the main difficulties of recruitment: “Even though the people who [go] to the job portal are active job seekers, not all of them match the profile that you are looking for.”
This is the situation that WeRK aims to address through the use of filtering methods. These can be certain keywords, location, or other criteria specified by the company. Cruz continues, “The difference between that scenario and social recruiting is that when you put out the ads, I can already target and put filters based on the profiles that I am looking for.”
The way things were done before can be likened to casting a wide net over large swaths of people. The hope is that you reach someone who will, first, be interested in the position and, second, be a capable fit. With the use of WeRK, this process is streamlined. Instead of an indiscriminate net, WeRK uses a more selective means of attracting sets of people with identifiable skills.
“With social media technology and innovation being more aggressive, social recruiting will be more technology-driven as well,” says Maslian. “This is why WeRK has become another digital platform for iQor, allowing for a more amplified digital presence.” It’s a challenge that WeRK knows well.
Hence, the advantage of WeRK is that it makes use of social media channels that are already available. According to Cruz, some of the platforms they use are Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Snapchat, and Twitter.
WeRK taps online behavior — details like profile content and usual search items — to connect people with potential employers. Before placing ads, WeRK already tries to target people who are likely to be interested in the job.
Cruz emphasizes, “What we are trying to bring is efficiency. How can we get the profiles quickly and hire them in the fastest possible time? It’s not like me adding you on Facebook and then adding other people. We put out an ad. When you click [on] it, you go to a landing page [to] register. It sends an invitation to the employer and they will call you for an interview.”
An implication of this targeted advertising is that Werk has a very strong relationship with its clients. “When we put out ads, it is not about Werk,” says Cruz. “It’s about the company we’re supporting.”
iQor appreciates this relationship. “With the changing behavior of jobseekers who are now more present on digital platforms, iQor [needs] to be where they are — social media,” says Maslian. “Particularly on Facebook and Instagram, having up-to-date and relevant content is very crucial to talent engagement — [this means managing] job application [using an] easier and faster process. WeRK [does] this for iQor.”
WeRK needs to have an understanding of the company, such as its culture and branding requirements, so it can connect a client with the right people. Cruz describes the process as being very collaborative, as WeRK aims to follow the hiring guidelines of their clients. Also, it provides clients with feedback based on the data gathered after a certain period.
It would be difficult to argue with the effectiveness of WeRK as a platform. According to its data over the past two years, Werk delivered double the results with 50 percent less investment. In 2016, based on Werk’s partners’ data, the hiring rate average was at 21 percent.
Maslian knows the value of Werk’s efficiency. “Competition has grown bigger; advertising spend has become higher with the talent yield becoming smaller,” she says. “With Werk’s digital marketing solutions, talent lead cost is much lower and actually yields better. When WeRK.ph helped iQor in digital ad content management, aggregation of digital leads through a microsite gave us about 11,000 fresh leads.”
Werk continuously strives for its processes to be this effective, if not more so, for all its clients. “The social media channel that you’re going to use should be aligned to the objective of why you’re doing things,” explained Cruz. “We have a saying in our company, ‘It’s okay to work hard, but we should work smart’.”
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