New Zealand Post's careers site - my thoughts, your thoughts?

[Paul Jacobs]

Link: http://jobs.nzpost.co.nz/

When a major employer within the Asia Pacific region refreshes their careers site, it's worth taking a look. At first look I was really impressed with the strong branding - it feels fresh, modern and human to me. The site also showcases the diversity of roles, supported by video. OK, this is reading like an informercial. I must admit I have a soft spot for Post as I'm an ex-Poster, working in their HR team around 15 years ago.

As I delve further into the site, here are some other thoughts from me:

- Though you get a sense of Post as an employer, and the culture and values of the organisation, I believe the EVPs in the 'Why Join Us' section could be presented better, especially when you click through to the Benefits section. This could be BNZ or Air New Zealand or Australia Post - just change logos. What really differentiates Post? If someone was working with another employer and came across the Post 'Why Join Us' section would they be motivated enough to apply - is the list of tangible benefits enough? What can Post deliver that other places do not? I don't believe, from looking at their site, that Post has necessarily found the list yet (or even their hook) - what are the intangible benefits? If I was in Post's shoes (and maybe they have done this) I would go to their employees and jobseekers and consult with them - but the right questions need to be asked. I would also re-frame the 'five great reasons to work here' away from being the employer's perspective to an employee's, and what they mean for an employee. One option is for employees to present this information, it would be more personal and visitors would be able to relate to it.

- The video 'a day in the life' look into the Postie role is very good, but I'm not loving that TV / radio voice - a role-holder talking about the role is powerful, but the whole get a professional voice-over dude to talk about Post falls flat for me - not best practice in 2009's youtube era.

- I'm not singling out Post here, but I always find it disappointing when there are no conversational features on a careers site. The exchange on the Post site is one-way, presenting visual imagery and information. Could visitors potentially benefit from asking questions and interacting with the brand? Could other visitors benefit from seeing this exchange? I always remember Post as being strong at connecting with the wider community - that involves conversation. Some element of blogging is worth considering in my view. A brand is so much more than imagery and the printed word.

- Did you notice the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube badges on the site? They are way down in the footer. I would make them more prominent on the page, as these sites provide ways for jobseekers to engage with Post, and learn more about Post, the culture, careers events etc. One option could be to add some of the streams from these sites to the the careers site - that would solve the conversation dilemma I outlined above. Just on the Facebook side of things, I would recommend Post set up a Page rather than a Group. Possibly Post wants control over who gets to participate, as you have to have your membership approved (which I'm waiting for btw), but there are many advantages in my opinion over going down the Page route for corporate branding (eg more customisation, adding applications, social ads, response management, SEO, and newsfeed advantages). I couldn't see the "special FaceBook application to keep you up to date with the latest jobs" thingy mentioned on the site, but hope to see this if I get accepted into the group. If Post wants to make this an exclusive Group, then I believe Post should consider (if they haven't already) that the trend is towards open communities and thinking of one's organisation as a community.

I haven't been privy to the strategising behind the site and the future plans, so my impressions may be a bit presumptuous. Nonetheless, I congratulate Post on a job well done!

What are your thoughts?

PS: Please feel free to share any careers sites that you particularly like.

[Thomas Shaw]

I am surprised that even thou they would have paid a few $$$ for the site refresh. They still have to use an iframe for the job search. Who built this??

Poor integration.

[Paul Jacobs]

Thomas, I think some of this may be a legacy issue from their Applicant Tracking System vendor. I often see beautifully designed careers sites that don't match the look and feel of the ATS front-end - ideally there should be seamless branding. This brings me to another point - too many employers are thinking too much about databases and talent pools and not fostering wider communities on the web. Agree?

[Thomas Shaw]

It is still my opinion that unless you get your house in order you shouldn't start on something else ie SM.

Isn't a community a "relationship based database"?

[Paul Jacobs]

Sometimes a company needs to look externally to get a better sense internally - they need to understand what jobseekers think, where they hang out and how they like to communicate. Also, many companies are starting to use social media internally - New Zealand Post for instance has gone down the Google apps route - they may become a big Google Wave user.

Not the biggest fan of the term database. I believe one of two things will happen - 1) social media features will become even more common on careers sites or 2) careers sites will become a thing of the past - employers will instead tap into and engage with many communities (eg twitter, facebook, linkedin, niche, internal, contractors, referral etc etc) - I don't see these things as a 'data-base' - more like a 'fan-base' (?).

Damn you Thomas, you got me thinking about this :) I wrote this on someone else's blog recently:

A 1969 painting entitled Street Corner, by artist Richard Killeen that I saw recently got me thinking about what constitutes social recruiting and a social recruiting platform. In the painting you will note each person in the crowd appears disconnected from those around them, or as described by the painter himself “... the paradox of being anonymous but part of a group.” Does there actually need to be conversation, and a sense of community, between members to be called social recruiting and a social recruiting platform? Or does direct conversation between employer and recruiters constitute social recruiting? I don't know the answer, but the picture has got me thinking deeper about all this stuff.

[Warren Young]

Paul I always enjoy your thought leadership and insights in the recruitment game beyond our fair shores. You have considerable expertise in the social media space. But I don't agree with your views about this site, - and I accpet you may have been overstating the point to make a point.
I have three comments:

Firstly I think you could be more generous. Post should be congratulated on a comprehensive careers site. As a legacy brand (stable of brands) they have brought their online presence into line with most current doctrines. They made earlier forays into online communities a few years ago on Linked In and in my view the site is up there with any corprate site I have seen lately.

Secondly how is your critique of the voice used authoritative? You are better than that Paul. I know you have enjoyed the shaky camera and the squeaky live voice of the camera operator for authenticity in the past but this is a multi million dollar business that NZ'rs all have astake in. To have it any less than professional would be inconsistent with the brand.

Finally a caution to both you and Thomas. Bear in mind that in spite of our aspirations, recruitment remains one small part of corporate life. We have to work within sometimes onerous constraints - not in the least from IT and web strategies. But thats life for us inhouse types. Sometimes consultants could be less idealistic. So it uses frames, so it doesn't include chat, it may not matter, it may not be possible to alter.

Paul, you risk missing the point - that this a fantastic representation of life working at Post.

And yes I'm still keen to buy that next coffee.

[Paul Jacobs]

Hey Warren - can I have a drop of whiskey in that coffee please :) Thanks Warren for adding to the discussion. I also recognise that you too have had a past connection with Post. I recruited for Post pre-internet recruiting days.

I didn't intend my post to be read as a slamming of the Post site. I wrote about them as they are a major employer in the region and put the effort into refreshing their site. I actually like the site (which I did allude to), but have offered my suggestions of areas where I think it could become an even better site - whilst still maintaining their professional brand. I believe I was balanced in my views overall and I thought them through before posting. My opinions are just that - my opinions - and others may disagree - that is cool. At the end of the day, though we each draw upon our own knowledge / opinions / experiences, it doesn't really matter what Paul Jacobs or Thomas Shaw or Warren Young thinks, it is the jobseeker who really matters and the choices they make in selecting Post over another employer. I tried to put myself in the jobseeker's shoes in most of my comments.

I hear what you say about consultants versus internals and the challenges for the internals. Nonetheless I still maintain the suggestions I put forward. Quite possibly Post brokered an outside consultancy / agency to assist them?! Fair point about frames etc, but as someone who is familiar with the Applicant Tracking System space, I believe it is a nice-to-have to achieve brand alignment between ATS and careers site (but recognize all the practicalities around that happening).

Any other views are welcome.

[timdej]

Paul I caution you on this behavior :) see attachment LOL

[Andrew Turnbull]

Hi Paul

Yes..I tend to agree with you on the Post Site Paul. It seems new and fresh on the surface...but old and clunky on the back end.

I encourage you to re-thingk the status of Database's, especially new ones. The technology has changed. Fair enough, alot of newer sites still use old database models that don't work properly...but the new fully customised database's, specifically catering for the Job Search and Find industry...is a different ball game all together.

You will see in 2010, the power of the Database.....

There is now an undercurrent of Job Boards (Providers) and Corporates, scrambling to building talent pools and all trying to melt some sort of Database ATS into their product offering to capture information. They call these Databases various things....but at the end of the day, even you an I understand what the word Database means.

We even Launched our "Talent Pool" Digital CV Database product to power corporate careers sites a month ago. The uptake has been interesting. If anyone is interested in talking to me about this, feel free to message me...

People re-inventing the statust of Database's, calling it membership or followers, is just a way for them to push a new thought process into the rankings. Why not call things as they are?....A "Database"

Just a thought...