Why I'm not drinking the mobile recruiting kool aid.....

(Image taken from Cloud Recruiting)

I am very mobile, so much so that I use my phone probably more than my laptop - to go online, send e-mail, find information, text my kids, do the Tesco shopping and more. I occasionally make phone calls as well. So although I use my mobile for pretty much everything I'm not yet buying into just mobile like some other people are. Although I am in other ways. Confused? Please read on.....

Dave Martin posted up an image of the tallest iPhone4 I've ever seen with some great stats otherwise known as an iPhone4 Infographic.

Today, Matt Alder wrote a blog post "Why mobile recruiting is my top priority" although being a futurologist he probably wrote it in 2007 and scheduled it for today. In his post, which was based on a recent mobile recruiting conference he attended in the US, he makes some valid points but it seems that some fingers were pointed at the ATS vendors to do more to make the application process more candidate friendly.

My view is that actually, usability is down to client and vendor but ultimately client to make the best of what they have. Easy to say so here's my proof.

My latest book "Who Moved My HR Software" was launched at HRTech this week and we decided to use PAPER flyers to give out to delegates. On the flyer was a QR code but as there is much debate about how many people 1) Know what to do with a QR code and 2) Even have a QR reader on their phone, we added a short URL (www.lumesse.com/hrtech) as a back-up. Also, as we were going to be sending people to a website landing page to sign-up for the book we knew we had to make this simple and "mobile freiendly". So, at no additional cost, we asked for less information and as per the evidence below m'lord it works on (dare I admit) my other phone. I guess that makes the marketing system mobile? Oh, and we didn't need an upgrade of any kind; just a bit of thought!

So, going back to the mobile ATS, I agree that the registration process could be made a lot easier. My old ATS which we build in 1999 just asked for an e-mail address to start the process and immediately saved the candidate record against the job they had applied for. It was of course a multi-step process but today, other ATS vendors could have a simple e-mail only start point. If the applicant is on a mobile device, which the ATS could detect, then it could give the candidate two options. Just enter your e-mail to start but continue later when convenient (login details get sent by e-mail) or complete it all right now (even if you are using a smartphone). 

But all of this is quite easy and in some cases the ATS is not far off being this simple. Where it goes wrong is that the client decides to build the mother of all online application forms which destroys any possibility of a mobile friendly job application. 

For me, the mobile focus is actually about usability which also applies to any size monitor so rather than have a mobile strategy, maybe we should be getting our heads around a multi-channel usability strategy. And yes, that does include mobile but not just mobile. To me all devices are equal and we should not disciminate against any of them. Now where's that kool aid.....

Comments

[twitter.com/Alconcalcia]

Surely the inherent problem with mobile is that if the user experience isn't great (lose signal half way through filling out a form/find navigation an issue/pages take too long to load etc. etc.) then most sensible people will, once bitten twice shy, stick to the much bigger screen and reliable functionality of a PC? Or am I living in the dark ages? If I were looking for a job, nothing in the world would make me even consider applying via a mobile channel. It just seems daft.

[Peter Gold]

Al

Yes, that is pretty much my point BUT for those that really want to complete a form (of any kind) on their phone then they can. But usability may still be an issue on their PC hence start their. Oh, and of course the content has to be compelling to convince them to apply in the first place ;-)

Peter

[Michael Marlatt]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and joining the discussion. You raise some very valid points, as does Matt Alder.

To clarify, the kick off of mRecruitingcamp was designed to explore the question of mobile recruiting, as well as attempt to provide insights on how employers may look to deploy that as part of their overall recruitment strategy. Our hope was to open a dialouge for all parties (e.g., ATS, employers, strategists, practitioners, etc.) to help advance our understanding of the how-to and possibilities. Admittedly, our industry is so far away from having all the answers and our mobile recruitment process is nowhere close to providing the right candidate experience. That said, one thing is clear, recognizing the importance mobile plays in our daily lives and how it impacts our audience is something we cannot (and should not) ignore. Of course, as with any other online or offline strategy, the key is determining the right approach that is appropriate for our respective organizations and then mapping the right solution to meet that need. The truth is, mobile may not necessarily be the "right" solution for every organization at this time. However, it will be a discussion they will need to address at some point in the future.

There are still many hurdles we need to overcome before we can claim success with mobile recruiting. We are still very much in the early stages of our "know-how" and proper execution of the apply process which means there's clearly an opportunity (and responsibility) to advance our understanding of this topic. That was our goal at mRecruitingcamp on Sept. 30th and it was just the beginning...

I'm open and would welcome a live chat anytime Peter. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and the opportunity to discuss this on your blog!

[Matt Alder]

I don't like Kool Aid it just doesn't taste nice.....

I actually agree with you Peter. Mobile isn't the be all and end all but it is very much part of a workflow mix. My favourite App at the moment is Evernote because I can use it and have a seamless but optimised experience on my laptop, my iPad and my phone. Recruitment needs to offer the same flexibility to candidates so they can choose where they do what in the process. While applying on your phone might not seem to make any sense, where people have been giving the opportunity to do so (Career Builder's mobile platform for example) they have done it in droves. That said there is no way you can adapt some current company's processes directly into the mobile space and I agree there is much thinking on the client side that has to be done here

I may well be posting from 2007 but frankly there are parts of our industry that are still stuck in the mid 1990s. I'm just feeding them the future in bite-size chunks ;-)

[Peter Gold]

Michael

Thanks for your comments. Unlike Matt I don't have global travel clearance or sponsorship but would have loved to have been there. I think the ultimate goal is to have a 'like' as an apply but that's another post!

Matt

Thanks for making it easy for us; too much of the future in one go would be a bit too much :-)

[Dean]

I think its important to clarify the term mobile. Most people assume it means a mobile phone but thats only one device among many. Tablets and laptops sit comfortably in the mobile space. Neither need to be plugged in (which differentiates portable from mobile) and they can access both data and voice (via data) on the move.

The main difference between these 3 devices is obviously form factor and as such the form can dictate the user experience of a online app. Phones can be cumbersome or fiddly to use when filling in forms, laptops are full feature computing devices with keyboards and tablets sit somewhere in the middle.

So what is mobile recruitment, is it taking a laptop into a cafe and interviewing them at a table filling in an online form together or is it filling in a job application on your mobile phone?

I think its both ;-)

Then we should look at the fact that it would take a fool indeed to bet agains the 3 main tenets of the Internet. The world is going local. The world is going social. The world is going mobile.

Add to that moores law and you can see devices that will truly be breathtaking in a couple of years from now (me, I still look in awe at having a dual core mobile phone that can surf the web and take HD pictures in my pocket - I remember doing my PhD back in 1998 and trying to figure out what a mobile multimedia system would look like and my nirvana back then was passed about 2 years ago)

Mobile is here to stay and will obviously grow but so will Internet consumption in general (I remember when I sold 1 broadband account a week at PlusNet).

The real business decision is to ensure that your systems leverage API's that can adapt with technology and enable your application / process to be consumed in evermore interesting and divergent ways. Then focus on building functionality that compliments the device appropriately. eg. tablets and phones are great for consuming information but not too great for creating it (unless its video or photos) and laptops are great for creating textual content but not so great at creating video (try pointing your laptop with the webcam built in at a moving target).

In Summary, we need to think about complimentary and not substitution of technologies then we will be giving our users the greatest levels of choice and flexibility.

[Darren Revell]

When it coms to mobile for recruitment so career sites, job board recruitment sites the answer is simple just mobile enable your websites pages, and where needed shorten the work flow. Mobile recruitment is only complicated bey people trying to tell you you need a mobile site and a normal website and you need mobile apps etc etc.

Its all nonsense you simply need mobile enabled pages that have some workflow changes if your registration processes are long winded or use Facebook one click registration, LinkedIn one click registration etc... plus a couple of filters and your done the talent is in your pool and swimming. That is unless you have a some web vender who wants an arm and a leg for the conversion or your site or your one of those unhappy few million who have ATS pages which control your career sites LOL then your screwed :)