As the balance of power in the recruitment market continues to shift towards jobseekers, hirers are busier than ever adapting their strategies to the changing environment.
The same is true for online recruitment platforms, which have witnessed marked changes in both the way candidates search for jobs and their expectations from employers. Such platforms are facing huge challenges in adapting their user experiences, and the technology behind them, to cater to new requirements.
The efforts of recruitment websites leading the way were honoured at the recent HR Vendors of the Year 2016 awards, with the South China Morning Post’s own cpjobs.com scooping the gold prize for “Innovation” and the silver prize for “Candidate Experience”.
“We are honoured by these accolades,” says Peggy Chu, business director for cpjobs.com. “This is not only recognition but a vote of confidence from a judging panel of respected HR professionals. It means a great deal to everyone at cpjobs.com and will serve as motivation to drive us further forward.”
Chu explains that from the beginning it was clear cpjobs.com – which was rebranded and revamped in March 2015 – must offer something truly unique in order to succeed as a recruitment platform.
“Otherwise we will simply be treated as yet another job board by employers and jobseekers alike,” she says. “Being a digital platform, we must embrace and harness new technologies which enable us to match-make accurately and provide an improved experience for all parties.”
One way this is achieved is through the team’s variety of backgrounds that cover a number of disciplines and expertise. Chu says they are able to consistently generate new ideas, while rolling out updates and testing new solutions weekly. “The cpjobs.com that users experience today is very different compared to the platform we first launched just over a year ago.”
Elsie Cheung, chief operating officer at SCMP, explains that visitors to cpjobs.com are now able to access suitable jobs with less clicks, and that search results have been improved to provide more accuracy.
Linked to this is the new “Match Me” feature, a predictive job-recommendation function that proved critical to the website’s gold prize for innovation. Using algorithms built around tracking a user’s behaviour and profile, jobs are matched to jobseekers in real time. “This allows us to transform a previously one-way process into an intelligent and seamless match-up,” Cheung says.
Looking ahead, Cheung explains that the aim for 2017 is to further increase the relevance, intelligence and personalisation of jobseeking. One way of doing this will be through the new service cpTalent, which will let employers proactively find suitable candidates from among website users.
“We have plenty more in the pipeline, so please stay tuned.”
This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Two 'best recruitment site' awards go to cpjobs.com.
