Recruitment 2.0 Asia Pacific - membership survey results

[Paul Jacobs]

Thanks to all those members who completed the member survey - I appreciate your time and contribution. Also, thanks to Graeme Harre and his team from The Survey Company for partnering with Recruitment 2.0 and providing a very professional end-to-end service.

The survey results are attached as a PDF (see below). I've only had a quick glance at the report and the comments from members (NB: no names are attached to the comments, nor do I have a record of who said what).

What are your thoughts of the results? What patterns stick out to you? What resonates with you? Do you agree or disagree with what some people said? What would make some of you more comfortable with loading a profile photo (even if it is of something like your favourite flower) and contribute to the community?

It would be great to have some conversation around these things. I will withhold my thoughts, just for now.

Thanks, Paul

[Paul Jacobs]

UPDATE 1: I've just been contacted by one member (who didn't complete the survey) - they felt the survey results should not be shared in any form. My answer to them and anybody else is that I view the concept of community to be about openness, transparency, wisdom of the crowd, participation, engagement, conversation, a shared sense of belonging, a vested interest in the community, etc.

[Keith Mockett]

I agree with you Paul. Bottom line is that if they aren't participating the site will eventually die from a lack of interest. You are right to survey your "customers" to find out what they want. That way you know what's needed so thay can participate. As for sharing, absolutely! There weren't any identifying tags so it was anonymous. What's the problem?!

As for the results, there is obviously still some work to be done around getting people to participate rather than observe from the sidelines. That's true for life online and offline.

I've put my suggestions in the survey and to you directly so I won't push them again. Cheers.

[timdej]

I think keep being transparent is a great idea. Its funny how those who contribute nothing are the first to offer an opinion.

[Simone Baird]

You know my opinion from yesterday Paul but I feel strongly that a community can only be as good as the people participating so if you think we are talking too much get involved and drown us out!

[Paul Jacobs]

Response 1:

I’ve had a chance to digest the survey responses. I appreciate people’s honesty and their contribution. It is always a valuable process to gauge what people like, what they don’t like and what needs to evolve.

Obviously a big chunk of members did not complete the survey, but that is not unusual in most surveying exercises - maybe I should have included a prize. Reading the responses, my initial thought was that there appears to be a diversity of views and expectations. Different members want different things from the Recruitment 2.0 community However, some themes jump out to me.

Here are my thoughts and perceived priorities:

Foreword:

Building this community has pretty much been a labour of love for me. I felt there was a real lack of networking, knowledge sharing and debate in the Southern Hemisphere (especially compared with North America) around recruitment matters and the evolution of recruitment - particularly around the role emerging technologies were going to play. On a personal level I want to make a contribution to the HR and recruitment profession in this part of the world. I believe there is the potential to make the site a world class niche-focused community.

Unlike some similar community managers in North America, I don’t work full-time on the platform. I would spend about 1 hour per week updating the site, sending out broadcast messages, responding to member queries etc. Like many of you I’m busy on other stuff. Though I share some of my thoughts, presentation slides etc I never wanted the platform to be ‘Paul Jacobs 2.0’. I see my role as like that of a DJ - I provide the venue and the music and you dance to the beat of your own drum. I don’t see my role as having to be one of bouncer, but for those of you that feel I’m soft I have banned about 4 members over the last few years. I was also very sad when of our members passed away and had to remove their profile. I want the environment to feel safe and some of you know that I have addressed issues with members that were pushing the boundaries. On a lot of overseas communities people push their products and services - I don’t mind a little bit of that, but will intervene when members feel hassled with direct approaches.

The site is not a business service from me to you. You are not charged to belong to the community. Therefore, there should be no expectation from members that white papers, case studies etc will be presented - unless these are added by the members themselves or a site / company sponsor.

I’m a real advocate for the power of community and I firmly believe there will be more examples of harnessing online technology to encourage collaboration in the coming years, both from inside and outside companies.

Visual appeal / usability:

For a significant number of users, Recruitment 2.0 is the only social networking platform they belong to - they are not on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. It’s a bit like driving a car or using a computer, the best way to learn and find your way around is to just start using the thing.

There were a lot of comments around the aesthetic appeal, readability and user-friendliness of the site. I’ve taken these on board and have already made a few changes that I hope will help. Please either leave a comment or send me a direct message if you have any ongoing feedback / suggestions.

Unfortunately the site looks different on different browsers and screen resolutions. It looks terrible on Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) and if you are using IE6 you should upgrade to IE8, Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari (Mac). Some workplaces have blocked some of the features that the site integrates with (e.g. YouTube videos, twitter feeds etc).

I’m restricted somewhat by the Ning platform on which Rec 2.0 is hosted. However, Ning is bringing in some features soon that will help my job and make life easier for users.

I could slap on a new front end to the site, but at the end of the day, you can have the prettiest looking site that just just gathers dust. Some other communities have added badges to be a call to action to start a discussion etc. I will explore this option.

The current logo appears to irk a few members, so will revisit this too.

Community participation / engagement:

Most online communities have low participation. What is pleasing is that there is a high percentage of members who PLAN to load up a profile photo and contribute to the discussions. On the flip-side there are some members who do not plan to do one and/or both. Part of me says they should not be part of the community, but I recognise some of the reasons for anonymity and non-participation. I want to create an environment where people want to contribute and have a profile on the site. I’m not going to start making loading a profile photo compulsory, as I’m aware some members have tried to load a photo with no joy - often their workplace servers are blocking uploading.

Sometimes a member, may not say boo for a year or two and then they contribute and then disappear from view again. That is just the nature of things.

Often in social networking, the more you put in, the more you get from it. Some members suggested face-to-face meet ups. I will not manage this, but any member can load up an event on the site.

I was a little bit surprised to see a couple of comments around the relevancy of certain discussion topics. For example, the taking your dog to work discussion was viewed as flimsy by a couple of people. On a personal note, I believe this to be a very relevant topic. In the USA there are studies that demonstrate taking one’s pet to work lifts productivity and it is an important EVP for a lot of job seekers - they spend longer hours at work and don’t feel guilty about rushing home to feed and exercise the dog etc. Google, one of the top workplaces in the world allows dogs at work. You can search Simplyhired.com for dog-friendly workplaces. Research also shows that companies who offer free food at work do better in engagement surveys - NZ / Australian grad employers list that EVP on their career sites. Recruitment 2.0 encompasses employer branding. You may not be a dog person, but the topic is not trivial. I don’t want some members censoring the topics and making others feel uncomfortable about contributing. I’m 100% happy if discussions go off topic. Any contribution is better than none - as long as it is not demeaning, offensive etc. Also, we are all individuals and have personalities outside our professional persona. It is alright to mix these. If at any time a member feels annoyed with a topic, feel free to say so - add your voice - tell us, rather than complain to others (as was the case). Also, if you don’t like the content, please add some fresh stuff - maybe share an article you have come across.

A couple of members suggested industry gossip, news feeds etc. I’m exploring these options. I’m conscious I don’t want to overload the site, and cause issues like site loading problems.

I will continue to send out broadcast emails to members - they get people visiting the site. If you don’t want to receive these emails, you have the option at the bottom of the email to control what you receive. I will also continue to encourage members to contribute, load a photo etc in a non-pushy way. If you find my style pushy, it’s not my intention.

Some of you are welcome to leave the community, especially if you’ve realised the platform is not for you. It shouldn’t be an annoyance.

In the interim, can you please:

1. Load up a profile photo if you haven’t already - can be of anything that captures the essence of you (or a pic of your pet etc). If you have tried to load a photo without success previously can you please try again, or maybe try from your home PC. Click here for easy to follow instructions on how to load your profile photo. It can take about an hour for the change to register on the site.
2. Complete your profile information if it looks blank.
3. Invite your colleagues to join.
4. Join in a discussion or start one (maybe ask a question etc).

Any changes to your profile will not now show on the Activity section on the homepage, so please feel free to experiment a bit.

Community evolution:

Some members want an avenue to promote their products and services. I will introduce a
Marketplace section, where products and services can be showcased. Would any company like to sponsor / manage this section?

Some members suggested more live events. Some of you may have noticed that a twitter-stream has appeared from time to time. I’m working on some innovative stuff that will bring events and content to life - some of this will be using other technology platforms outside the actual website. Still working through the concept and technologies!

I’m talking with a few members who may manage some parts of the site and share the community leadership duties - it’s all good experience.

I will eventually finish the Talent section.

Please keep the feedback and suggestions coming!

[Stephen Morgan]

Great work! keep it up!

[Richard Westney]

A lot of good points there Paul. I was interested to read this week that "ownership" of a similar HR forum in the States is about to be auctioned on ebay by its two founders who believe it's time for someone else to take it on and take it to another level. Not suggesting for a minute that you should do the same - but it's interesting how things are going.

I'm kind of intrigued by the whole social networking versus anonymity question. Doesn't one defeat the object of the other? If you don't want to share your views, don't take part. It's simple, it's social and it's netowrking. If you don't like what you are seeing or getting then either opt out or say so on the forum and try and change it.

[Paul Jacobs]

HRMToday.com sold on ebay for US $4,075.00.

[Andrew McNaught]

Paul, I think the community is a great idea. I was speaking to an american friend the other day who said Aussies and Kiwis are great natural networkers we just need more avenues to do it. This site is a great opportunity for a group of professional, motivated HR, Recruiters to share ideas on new technology, techniques and trends. I for one will attempt to participate more and just wish I had more time to look at all the interesting areas on this site.

Thanks for the hard work and effort so far.

[Sue Jones]

Thanks for the great work and summary on the survey Paul. I particularly enjoyed your info on dogs in the workplace! We definately need to keep pushing that as attractive retention practice. Well the responses we certainly diverse, but hey, that is what makes this stuff interesting.

[Mark Chote]

Good Stuff Paul...For too long we've looked to the US and elsewhere for thought leadership in our game. Sure they have scale and are early adopters of technology innovation but having our own forum may just be a catalyst for some very cool local stuff to evolve.
Glad you're so committed to this... stay with it!
Mark.

[Graeme Harre]

Good review of results and write up. Your response rate was a good one I felt, and comments typical of a diverse group.