Janice Thomson considers herself a businessperson in an HR role. That’s how she got her latest recruitment idea on the table.
“Everything that we do in HR can be bought on the street,” says Thomson, senior vice-president of human resources at Direct Energy, a North American energy provider with its headquarters in Toronto. “Any of the organizations in the HR world can do what we do, perhaps at a better cost. If an organization is going to invest in an HR department, they have to see value in it. We need to come up with initiatives...to build and move the business forward,” she says.
Thomson played a major part in Direct Energy’s launch of a new recruiting Web site, www.directyourenergy.com — a strategic effort to have more control over the online hiring process and to save costs by producing the site in-house.
The Web site was created to screen candidates more efficiently, finding prospects with specific skills, training and education to fill entry-level to top-management positions. With the over-abundance of applicants now found on most online job boards, employers need more help than ever to find that perfect fit, Thomson says.
“The global business world is so competitive these days and we can’t spend a lot of time (sifting through candidates). Companies are looking to fill positions within weeks and with that kind of timeline it means the upfront work has to be thorough and quick.”
Getting support from the CEO and top management wasn’t hard. Almost everyone understood the rationale for the site, Thomson says. There was never any question about how this would benefit the company. The calibre of the people, the speed with which prospects are hired and the costs are all paybacks of developing their own site.
“None of my colleagues had too much difficulty buying in to the cost-cutting element. When you explain it, they see the link to the business.”
When it comes to recruiting online, there is a definite connection to the business objectives, she says. It’s an extension of the marketing function.
“Each set of eyeballs that reaches the ‘splash page,’ whether they are hired or not, also represents a customer or a prospect. Even if they don’t get the job, it should still be a very positive experience.”
In Thomson’s previous job, working for Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., she realized successful recruitment was a way to brand the company.
There were people who had not considered working in the entertainment business because they graduated from a finance program at university. “We had to show there were other positions available outside the production arm.”
Those same challenges are apparent at Direct Energy.
“We have to give people a reason to be interested in the energy sector. We need to give them a sense of our story, who we are and why we wanted to work here,” says Thomson. “We’re an entrepreneurial environment, and staff can make a difference quickly. There is a chance for people to come in to the company and create their own ideas.”
To introduce the site internally, Thomson and her HR team wore T-shirts with ‘Did you know?’ questions printed on them, which directed staff to the site. The HR group encouraged employees to go on the site, register and give feedback. “So, employees could tell us what worked and didn’t work in their opinion,” she says.
Billboards were also put up across the city to target those outside the company. Doing this is really inexpensive and it sits there for a month and curiosity usually gets the better of some passerbys and they’ll log onto the site, she says.
The company has filled more than 100 positions through the Web site (Direct Energy employs more than 2,500 people). One recent hiring proved to be a powerful example of the value in the new recruitment design. An HR manager in Calgary used the site to make a director-level hire in Houston.
“You can hire across the country without having to actually go there and do it. The manager hired the director right from her chair in her office. It takes boundaries away that used to exist.”
Some may argue the whole online recruitment industry is a fad that will slowly fade away in the next few years, but Thomson doesn’t think so. In fact, she believes the industry will only get stronger.
“It’s actually a strategic tool. There may be people who are linking it to the dotcom world, (however) you don’t want to be out of step with your business.”
To be successful at the online recruitment game, it’s all about branding, she says.
“You have to differentiate your brand from others, and give (candidates) a reason to consider your organization over someone else.”
“Everything that we do in HR can be bought on the street,” says Thomson, senior vice-president of human resources at Direct Energy, a North American energy provider with its headquarters in Toronto. “Any of the organizations in the HR world can do what we do, perhaps at a better cost. If an organization is going to invest in an HR department, they have to see value in it. We need to come up with initiatives...to build and move the business forward,” she says.
Thomson played a major part in Direct Energy’s launch of a new recruiting Web site, www.directyourenergy.com — a strategic effort to have more control over the online hiring process and to save costs by producing the site in-house.
The Web site was created to screen candidates more efficiently, finding prospects with specific skills, training and education to fill entry-level to top-management positions. With the over-abundance of applicants now found on most online job boards, employers need more help than ever to find that perfect fit, Thomson says.
“The global business world is so competitive these days and we can’t spend a lot of time (sifting through candidates). Companies are looking to fill positions within weeks and with that kind of timeline it means the upfront work has to be thorough and quick.”
Getting support from the CEO and top management wasn’t hard. Almost everyone understood the rationale for the site, Thomson says. There was never any question about how this would benefit the company. The calibre of the people, the speed with which prospects are hired and the costs are all paybacks of developing their own site.
“None of my colleagues had too much difficulty buying in to the cost-cutting element. When you explain it, they see the link to the business.”
When it comes to recruiting online, there is a definite connection to the business objectives, she says. It’s an extension of the marketing function.
“Each set of eyeballs that reaches the ‘splash page,’ whether they are hired or not, also represents a customer or a prospect. Even if they don’t get the job, it should still be a very positive experience.”
In Thomson’s previous job, working for Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., she realized successful recruitment was a way to brand the company.
There were people who had not considered working in the entertainment business because they graduated from a finance program at university. “We had to show there were other positions available outside the production arm.”
Those same challenges are apparent at Direct Energy.
“We have to give people a reason to be interested in the energy sector. We need to give them a sense of our story, who we are and why we wanted to work here,” says Thomson. “We’re an entrepreneurial environment, and staff can make a difference quickly. There is a chance for people to come in to the company and create their own ideas.”
To introduce the site internally, Thomson and her HR team wore T-shirts with ‘Did you know?’ questions printed on them, which directed staff to the site. The HR group encouraged employees to go on the site, register and give feedback. “So, employees could tell us what worked and didn’t work in their opinion,” she says.
Billboards were also put up across the city to target those outside the company. Doing this is really inexpensive and it sits there for a month and curiosity usually gets the better of some passerbys and they’ll log onto the site, she says.
The company has filled more than 100 positions through the Web site (Direct Energy employs more than 2,500 people). One recent hiring proved to be a powerful example of the value in the new recruitment design. An HR manager in Calgary used the site to make a director-level hire in Houston.
“You can hire across the country without having to actually go there and do it. The manager hired the director right from her chair in her office. It takes boundaries away that used to exist.”
Some may argue the whole online recruitment industry is a fad that will slowly fade away in the next few years, but Thomson doesn’t think so. In fact, she believes the industry will only get stronger.
“It’s actually a strategic tool. There may be people who are linking it to the dotcom world, (however) you don’t want to be out of step with your business.”
To be successful at the online recruitment game, it’s all about branding, she says.
“You have to differentiate your brand from others, and give (candidates) a reason to consider your organization over someone else.”
