What Can The Demise Of Channel 10 Teach Us In Recruitment?

For those who still religiously tune into free-to-air TV, the recent voluntary administration of the Channel 10 network might drastically affect your post-work routine. Personally, I still enjoy the tears and tantrums of the likes of MasterChef and Australian Survivor, but in a technology driven world traditional mediums are losing out. People want to watch what they want, when they want, where they want, how they want. The explosion of video content across the digital space is now the biggest threat to the traditional TV platform.

Having read numerous articles on Channel 10’s decline, their underlying fault appears to be their failure to adapt. This had me wondering what recruitment companies are or should be doing to adapt to a changing market.

Changing Priorities:

PwC stated last year that millennials are prioritising work-life balance. They expect more flexibility and demand instant access to digital information. We’ve seen some agencies scrap “core-hours” completely, others offer half-day Fridays and most businesses now ensure that their consultants have complete access to cloud-based systems. As more and more millennials make up the bulk of the workforce, is your agency catering to a changing trend in priorities?

Embracing Technology:

The digital disruption which started in the early 2000’s has completely changed the way that companies operate. It forced the recruitment industry to completely rethink how they engage with candidates and clients as well as how they attract staff. In 2016, one in four job searches in Australia was carried out on a mobile device and 73% of companies successfully hired a candidate using social media. Questions I would be asking:

• Does your business have a clear digital marketing strategy?
• Is your website / advertising platform mobile friendly?
• Are you embracing content marketing, blogging and other strategies to engage your target audience? Is there someone in your team that drives this content?
• Do you have a system in place that builds and tracks talent effectively?
• Do you use analytics to identify patterns / ensure more effective results from advertising, candidate attraction and ultimately positively impact the hiring process.

I, like many other recruiters have said before me, believe that face to face communication will always be the cornerstone of the recruitment industry. Businesses must however react to changing staff priorities and embrace a clear digital / technology focused strategy to be here for the long term.