On Saturday 10th July from 1pm – 4pm in association with The Levana School Project, Chorlton Leisure Centre (in South Manchester) is holding a handball tournament in aid of helping the school children of Levana Primary School, Cape Town, South Africa.

Come along and play in this quick changeover tournament. Your small entry fee will help educate the pupils at this school and give them some much needed funding. Adults and Children over 13 welcome and there will be cheerleaders and a raffle.

About the charity

It raises money for pupils at Levana Primary School which is in a deprived area of Cape Town, South Africa. So far it has funded things such as a library, school uniforms, school trips and an extra teacher. It aims to provide opportunities for the pupils that they may not otherwise receive.

For more information, please contact Nell Banfield on 07944 663026 or email: nell.banfield@ntlworld.com

You can also visit the just giving page if you would like to make a donation: http://www.justgiving.com/levanaschool/ or to see some photos of the School, visit: http://www.nellbanfield.com/levana.html

This is our latest web project -  Careers Microsite for Japan Tobacco International’s Business Service Centre in Manchester.

http://www.jticareersmanchester.co.uk/

Case study: Reducing recruitment costs and improving candidate experience with an online application tool at Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers is famous across the world for promoting sustainable weight loss and a healthy lifestyle through education and group support. In the UK they have been operating for over 45 years and are the country’s fourteenth largest grocery brand, with a thriving online business and magazine.

Weight Watchers employs 185 people in the UK and has 1,800 self-employed leaders who run the Weight Watchers’ meetings. In the past the organisation recruited all its employees through agencies, primarily because their small HR team lacked the time to conduct the recruitment process in-house. This all changed in August last year when Weight Watchers launched its online application tool to help streamline the recruitment process.

The decision to move to online recruitment was driven not only by a desire to reduce costs but also to make the most of available technology to improve the candidates’ experience and speed up the application process. Leah Queripel, Weight Watchers HR Manager, reports:

‘As a progressive brand, Weight Watchers’ online application process (delivered by Harbour ATS) is a logical solution that fits perfectly with changing trends and candidates’ busy lifestyles. The online application function helps us bring the power of the Weight Watchers brand to our media advertising campaigns. This tool is far superior to the previous hard-to-manage ‘email your CV to apply process’; the online applications are much simpler to administer and ideal for measuring the exact return on recruitment spend.

‘Now applicants can search for vacancies and apply online through our website via an online tool; they can also register their details if they don’t see a current vacancy that matches their skills, expertise or requirements. Online application questions such as, ‘Are you eligible to work in the UK?’ quickly and automatically filter out unsuitable candidates. Other questions – such as ‘How many years’ customer service experience do you have?’ – can be used to prioritise quality and relevant candidates.

‘Last year many organisations were making redundancies which resulted in an increase of candidates looking for roles. We found we were getting a lot of candidates applying for vacancies that may not have been suited to their skills set, with many being overqualified. We were able to use this opportunity to look at the bigger picture. Due to our succession planning we were able to screen candidates not only for the current vacancies but also assess for roles that were going to arise in the near future. The online system has allowed Weight Watchers to build up a database of 250 people, in addition to the 1,600 candidates who have applied for specific roles, who simply register they are interested in working for Weight Watchers should a suitable vacancy arise including their salary requirements, the region and department they are interested in working in.’ (Leah Queripel, HR Manager)

Today very few vacancies are advertised through agencies. Switching to an online application process has had numerous benefits. The company estimates they have saved £110,000 since August 2009 on agency fees. Their application process has speeded up and the time taken to process applications reduced. The company also attributes improved retention to the new process: ‘When we were using agencies to recruit they would typically contact people in their database to see if they were interested in working for Weight Watchers. Now we have our own database of people who have come to us because they want to work for our brand. Many people who have been through our weight loss programme want to work for us because they really believe in our product and want to be a part of a company that has helped transform their lives. If we have no suitable vacancies at the time, the online process allows us to capture their details for the future.’ (Leah Queripel, HR Manager)

The candidates’ experience has also improved. Applicants can access information about the job and the company online.

‘The online tool also allows us to send many communications from “acknowledgement of application” to “invite to interview” and “regret” emails. We have even had a lot of people replying to thank us for these. They tell us it is really nice to hear something back, even if it is “regret”, and that they don’t hear anything from many companies.

‘Our brand has been strengthened by delivering a superior online recruitment process. We’ve been able to tell our employer story to more people and in more places than ever before. Helping us deliver all this is a specialist online recruitment marketing company (called Beyond Interactive Communications). High and completely measureable success rates mean that we’ve built up a strong and productive relationship over time – and we use their advice to fine-tune our advertising strategy. They also offer excellent rates and can report the exact return on our recruitment spend.

‘The new recruitment section on our website is a culmination of our online ambition to be seen as a modern recruiter in touch with changing lifestyle and media trends. The next step for us is to take advantage of the exciting opportunities offered by social media. No longer will recruitment marketing be a one-way conversation. We will be able to engage with and maintain conversations with large audience groups. This gives us an incredible talent pipeline, PR and employer brand management possibilities.’

Information provided by Leah Queripel, HR Manager, Weight Watchers

At the end of March 2010, Beyond Interactive will be exactly halfway through its 4th year and here are some thoughts on how things have been going:

This time last year the business was ticking along nicely but nothing more than that. In fact, it was a difficult time to predict anything and we had a job on our hands to continue our early years’ success. Whether a coincidence or not, the business has gone from strength-to-strength since April last year. We’ve picked up some fantastic accounts such as Weight Watchers, Astra Zeneca and JTI – to name a few. With these new business wins and continued support from existing clients, the 2nd half of last year was very strong and enabled us to finish much better than was originally predicted.

The start of our 4th year in October got off to a great start by picking up a few more new-business wins and 6 months on, we’re on target for an even better year financially with continued profitability. However it’s not been plain sailing and like everyone else, we’ve had to adapt to the poor economic situation. Fortunately being a smaller organisation, we’ve been able to this a lot easier than some of our larger competitors.

A big reason for our success has come from listening to what clients really want and not just jumping on the social media bandwagon. Yes, we offer this and we’ve seen some great results from ongoing campaigns, but we try and advise instead of pushing the latest trend to our clients. The last thing we want to do is create campaigns for the sake of ‘ticking the social media box’ and generating a new revenue stream.

We may spend less with certain job boards than we used to but we still see them as an integral part of our strategy and there’s nothing to suggest this will change. A certain client of ours hasn’t paid a recruitment agency fee for over 8 months; no coincidence since this is when they first started working with us! We’ve helped them to develop their online presence and engage with the right audience on the right job boards. Only now do we feel this client is ready to build on this success and embrace social media as part of their people strategy.

Another client has seen their cost-per-hire reduced from around £5K to £600. This success was again generated from using job boards in the right way. But more importantly, by listening to what the client wants and getting them to communicate openly and honestly.

Overall, we’re really excited about the second half of year 4. We’ll be embracing social media much more but only if it’s right for our clients. One thing’s for sure: trying to forecast and predict is almost impossible in this climate. However, if we stick by our principles of ambition, credibility, honesty and transparency, then I see nothing but continued success for the business.

What’s more, our new website (and blog) will finally be ready early April so watch this space.

www.beyondinteractive.co.uk

Today is the last day of Beyond Interactive’s third year and we’re pleased to report another great and profitable one.

Instead of waxing lyrical about how great we are, here are a couple of recent testimonials from our clients that explain it better anyway:

Beyond Interactive have proven to be an extremely flexible, customer focused and supportive partner. James has enhanced our ability to support clients with expert insights into online recruitment strategies. Their research is always tailored to our, often changing, requirements. We would have no hesitation in recommending their services.

Bryan, Brophy McPaul

I see Beyond Interactive as the absolute ’oracle’ for all things to do with online media.  I believe that we get absolute value for ££, that the advice given is 2nd to none and that you truly have the best interests of the client in mind.

Nick, AstraZeneca

Roll on year 4 – new website coming soon too!

In October 2009, James Swift will be taking part in the Amsterdam Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support. Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. One in three of us will get cancer. We are all affected by cancer so any help you can give will go a long way!

This will be his 4th Marathon in total and he will be aiming for a sub 4.30hr time. The more you donate the harder he will train! 

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor him: Macmillan Cancer Support will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now by visisting: http://www.justgiving.com/james-swift/

Many thanks for your support.

I popped along to the Mylonglunch Innovation event in Manchester this week and was refreshingly impressed with what I heard, who I saw and the whole event in general. Glorious sunshine and a few beers helped of course, but well done to Jamie for pulling together some great products and services, some of which I’d never even heard of before. The agency turn out wasn’t bad but for those who didn’t go along, you definitely missed a great opportunity to engage with some genuine innovative ideas.

I’ll most certainly be looking out for the next event!

Following on from my previous post, here are some specific questions I was asked on the role of ad agencies:

How has the role of ad agencies in online recruitment changed over the last few years?

What has happened is that the internet has become one of the most innovative, exciting and individual-centric communication medium. For example, we have have seen an explosion in social networking – to such an extent people actually share with other people the thoughts that pop into their heads (e.g. twitter). So, in order for ad agencies to progress in this market, they now must have the best knowledge and expertise at their disposal to advise their clients properly.

What are the ad agencies most/least effective & successful at?

They’re great at giving clients what they want. But is this what a candidate wants?

How do you see the role of ad agencies developing in the future? (What influences do you think will have the most impact?)

More use of multimedia (e.g. video, social media)

A performance and ROI pricing model

The elements of the digital recruitment landscape will become increasingly complex as the market continues to innovate. Therefore, the need for advertising specialists who totally understand this market will become even bigger.

Interesting article in May’s Onrec magazine discussing the role of ad agencies in today’s market. Here are a few thoughts that I’ve contributed to the article: I’ll post the whole article when it’s live on their website.

All ad agencies are chasing less money.

Everybody is looking for a deal at the moment. Whether you’re buying a house or placing an ad: Everyone is in the mood to barter. It’s a buyers’ market.

Clients are looking for better value-for-money. They want to be able to measure their ROI as precisely as possible. Read more…

According to Google there are 11.5 billion pages on the internet. To make sure yours get noticed, you need an expert on the job.

Writing copy for the web is a distinctive skill. Many seasoned copywriters with decades in the advertising business behind them, can come unstuck writing for online. Language should be an integral part of your brand communication. It has to say the right things in the right way, consistently. And that’s no mean feat. It involves getting your tone of voice clear at the start and making it come alive across all your online communications.

Web copy simply means the words that make visitors to your website apply for your job opportunity. Words are the true currency of the web. While it may seem counterintuitive, it’s little wonder why the most important ingredient in a recruitment website is the copy.

Picture a website with cutting edge design, mind-blowing graphics and all the interactive bells and whistles. Compare that to simple web copy on a plain white background. Which of the two websites would better sell your organisation and job? According to a study by Stanford University published in 2000, it’s the one with the simple text. That’s because nothing happens until somebody writes the words that get people to click, sign up, register or whatever else you want them to do.

So, it’s not enough to make your website look appealing. The words have to wow, charm and seduce a causal web surfer enough, to turn them into a quality candidate. If your language isn’t interesting, doesn’t tell a good story or is hard to understand, it won’t be read.

Some of the biggest mistakes businesses make are to take marketing principles that work well in the offline world and try to use them on the web. Many of the techniques used in print and radio simply don’t get visitors to do what you want. That’s because they don’t follow fundamental web copy rules: don’t make your website look like an ad; always stop your readers dead in their tracks; and always capture email addresses. Don’t obey these rules and your visitors will not want to stay.

If you think that it’s okay for a website to be less creative than print or have a weak headline, think again. It’s as important to call out creatively to your audience as it is in any other medium. Knowing how to write in a conversational style and not use contradictions or corporate jargon is vital to success. As is an appreciation of how people read online, and the techniques writers use to help readers find the information they want.

Perhaps the most specialised area of an online writer’s repertoire is their ability to apply psychological motivators and emotive words that appeal to the intuitive part your reader’s mind. Using these devices can turn surfers into applicants; and applicants into vacancies filled! These are the tactics that fly beneath the radar of your readers’ perceptions producing an almost hypnotic effect that makes them do what you want them to – without them even knowing why. They’re powerful devices that must be used appropriately, discreetly and ethically.

However, using psychology to sell isn’t about conning people to take a decision they don’t want to. It’s about using an understanding of human nature to make your reader volunteer to become involved in your organisation. So, you must make it enjoyable and totally painless! The fact is; from the cliff-hanger principle to neuro-linguistic programming and embedded commands; psychological techniques amount to nothing unless you speak to the needs of your target audience. You’ve got to know what they want, and how you can give it to them.

Once you’ve used all these online techniques and principles to create your killer web copy, you need to make sure your passive and active job seekers can find it. Of course, one way to do this is to drive traffic through traditional press-based advertising. The other takes us into the wonderful world of search engine optimisation (SEO). This is the one of the most powerful methods a copywriter can employ to give a website competitive advantage over others. A well-optimised homepage is one written by a copywriter fully conversant in latent semantic indexing and adwords. Armed with these SEO techniques, a copywriter can boost conversion rates and deliver quantity and quality of candidate. It can transform the effectiveness of your recruitment strategy and deliver outstanding return on investment.

A professional online writer is more than just a producer of words. They’re brand detectives and ideas people who are fully involved in the strategic and creative process. With a professional writer onboard, your website can make that all important emotional as well as commercial impact. And your website will go from ordinary to stunningly effective.

www.beyondinteractive.co.uk