For companies and candidates alike, LinkedIn has long since been the place to be for all things recruitment related. Candidates can upload their CVs; companies can advertise jobs. For a long time it appeared to be the perfect professional networking ecosystem. But as we move through 2016, there are rumblings that the business-specific social network could be running past its sell-by date.

A fascinating article by Matt Churchward (‘The Last Word: Can’t see the blog for the trees’) appeared in December’s issue of Recruiter. In it, he argued that LinkedIn was in danger of falling victim to ‘information overload’ and asked the question: when does information become too much information? And he’s not alone. Throughout 2015 analysts began to ask questions about LinkedIn, sparked by a low share price and rumours of a ‘Facebook at Work’ spin-off on the horizon. So in 2016, just how LinkedIn do you need to be to find online success in the recruitment market?

You absolutely, 100% need to be on LinkedIn

With over 400m global users, LinkedIn is now over 12 years old. It pre-dates Facebook, and in the words of TechRepublic has ‘become the de facto tool for professional networking’. It can also be a great tool for candidates seeking to cast themselves in the spotlight. Even if they are still working with traditional CVs (and we recommend they do) it is beneficial to be able to view a LinkedIn profile alongside it, if only to see how the public stacks up against the personal. 

But, like all things, do it in moderation

Where candidates and companies go wrong on LinkedIn is that they expect too much from it, or they place too much emphasis on the platform. Because LinkedIn’s range of products and services has grown dramatically in recent years (blogging, news, timeline) there is a temptation to use it in a way more akin to Facebook, and this is problematic. Endless blog posts, inspirational quotes, individual and company level self-promotion and constant ‘connecting’ could actually be deemed over-exposure and do your brand more harm than good.Candidates are now also catching onto the fact other routes to market are available to them, such as going direct to online jobs boards or recruitment company sites. Since the invention of LinkedIn, other social media sites have developed to make online networking much more informal and organic, and increasingly platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram can be useful in the search for fresh candidates.

From content to conversationOver the years LinkedIn has itself set new standards in online networking, forcing many other sites and indeed recruitment professionals themselves to improve their service. Its aesthetically pleasing layout and front-end content management system make it a dream to use. The concept has revolutionised the way business people network, and it remains a particularly useful — and important — tool for the recruitment sector. 

But with social networking developing and the pool of online platforms growing, recruiters and candidates alike are finding new ways to connect. As content turns into conversation online, the business-specific platform is in danger of getting stuck in an age of broadcast media, noise and self-promotion. Yes, it’s important to be linked in during 2016. But be linked in across the entire web, not only on this single change

Professional networking site LinkedIn has “absolutely transformed” the recruitment industry, serial recruitment entrepreneur James Caan said yesterday at a celebration of the platform’s achieving 20m members in the UK.

Caan was identified at the event as a “power profile” in the leaders category on LinkedIn, along with global recruiter Hays’ chief executive Alistair Cox and entrepreneur and businessman Richard Branson. With 2.5m followers currently on LinkedIn worldwide, Caan admitted to the audience: “Two years ago, I didn’t know what a blog was.”

When he posts his blogs now, he said, “within 30 seconds, thousands of people are giving an opinion”.

Referring to the industry in which he built the first stage of his fortune, Caan said: “Recruitment is an industry I love and I think LinkedIn has absolutely transformed the industry.”

Acknowledging that some recruiters are wary of the platform and the impact of social media upon their work, he added: “I would urge that rather than fighting change, embrace it.”

The 20m LinkedIn members in the UK represent 58% of the entire UK workforce, including students. Students are now a major target for membership on LinkedIn, which has grown by nearly 17m in the UK since 2009.

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We’re now irrefutably in a digital age, and it’s changed the face of the business world.

This shift has brought many advantages – we can reach customers across the globe from anywhere and engage consumers in a myriad of new ways. But it throws up an equal amount of challenges for businesses that must now know how to stay secure and be aware of the fact that competition can now come from unexpected places.

Meanwhile it’s become increasingly difficult to keep up with the ever quicker pace of change in technology and the impact this has on consumer and organisational behaviour.

research, carried out by YouGov, has revealed that businesses view technology as a double-edged sword. Harnessed in the right way, it can be your biggest asset. Yet a real fear of how it evolves so quickly is also one of the things that keeps many business leaders up at night.

Reasons to love digital

Over the past five years British businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes, have embraced technology to improve how they work. From enhancing the way they develop products and services, to facilitating a better working environment for employees and making their organisations work more efficiently, it’s all been possible thanks to digital.

In fact, the power of digital is stronger than ever – 90% of organisations surveyed felt that technology is essential to their success. And the proof of how it can transform is in 1 in 4 having completely overhauled the way they do business since adopting and implementing digital technology.

The key benefits of digital technology that respondents gained:

· Let employees work flexibly / remotely (52%)

· Became more responsive to customer queries (47%)

· Improved access to, and flow of, information across the business (44%)

· Improved the way the business stores and manages company & customer data (43%)

· Better streamlined internal processes (38%)

 But it’s not all good news…

Working in a digital world has also brought a number of pressures to bear on businesses – in particular, handling what both customers and employees have come to expect. The decision makers surveyed told us the most significant are:

· Customers expecting an almost immediate response to their enquiries (73%)

· Customers expecting to be able to purchase a product/service through a variety of different channels (70%)

· Customers expecting a consistent experience on and offline (53%)

· Employees expecting to be digitally connected to colleagues and information from anywhere, anytime (56%)

· Employees expecting flexibility in working hours (43%) 

The fear of not being able to keep up

Half of British businesses fear and worry about how their business will keep up with the pace of digital over the next 5 years. For 1 in 7 (14%) it’s one of their biggest fears over this period. Top of the list were:

· We don’t have the right skills in the workforce (38%)

· We don’t have the cash flow to make the investments we need (36%)

· We can’t find people with the right skills to hire (26%)

· We can’t justify the investment needed with decision makers (22%)

The danger of not responding quickly enough

Worryingly for the future, the majority of British businesses aren’t responding quickly enough to the things keeping them awake at night – which could leave them in a precarious position: only 22% businesses say they have a plan to address these issues, including their fears around digital.

“The next five years will be a critical period for British businesses in terms of digital development. It won’t be sustainable for business to meet evolving expectations if they continue to operate how they used to. The big concern is that, whatever their perceived fears, only 22% of organisations said they had a plan to address them and were implementing it already.

In a digital world, the 70% who have yet to implement a plan or don’t have one may find they are being too slow to respond. Businesses that don’t look at transformative processes won’t just end up behind the digital curve and unable to meet customer expectations, they could end up with an outdated business model that has no hope of being successful as digital disruption continues.” 

Three places to start getting up to speed

For those businesses that don’t have a plan to stay with the pace of digital change yet, here are three potential starting points:

1. Look at how you can use digital technology to improve your employees’ access to your business networks so they can collaborate as easily as possible. Give them up-to-date devices. It’s worth the investment!

2. Look at the power of social media. The tools at your disposal can greatly improve the relationship your business has with its customers.

3. Look at how your business and its processes are set up. Put your employees at the heart of technology decisions. This will improve their work life balance and your balance sheet in the process.

Brits are more likely to find career contentment before marriage

• Three job moves leads to work fulfilment
• Workers rate work/life balance over salary when it comes to career happiness

New research  reveals the average age workers experience career contentment is 32. It seems there’s truth in the saying life begins at 30, as more people are likely to find fulfilment at work, as well as in their relationships*, in this decade.

Three is the magic number for most Brits as the survey also shows that it takes an average of three job moves before British workers find career contentment. According to the reed.co.uk Career Contentment Index, striking the perfect work / life balance (20 per cent) is the biggest factor impacting job happiness, topping both salary (18 per cent) and job security (15 per cent).

The little things matter too with almost a third of respondents (31 per cent) stating that an easy daily commute helps them feel happier at work. A further one in three (29 per cent) believe a cool office environment is key, whilst one in sixteen (15 per cent) put their contentment at work down to their colleagues.

Of those respondents (39 per cent) not currently content with their careers, a quarter (24 per cent) are considering changing jobs in a hope to find ‘the one’, one in seven (15 per cent) are considering additional training to advance their career, whilst one in eight (12 per cent) are pursuing personal projects to change their job. For one in 12 people (eight per cent), starting up a business is the answer to achieving true job satisfaction.

“A recent stat claims that 91% of young workers expect to stay in their jobs for less than three years – our research reveals why: they’re on the hunt for career contentment.

Your career is a serious business and for many, is one of the most important parts of their lives. That’s why finding a job that makes you happy is vital. What’s more, if you’re not content with your work situation, it can also have a knock-on effect on your home life. If this is the case for you, it might be time to search for your next job.”

Top ten factors that lead to career contentment

1              Easy daily commute

2              Cool / fun work space

3              Good work / life balance

4              Salary

5              Job security

6              Work social events

7              Working alongside inspiring colleagues

8              Good promotion prospects

9              Extra holiday

10           Dress down Friday

Employer brand is more important than ever and is a key driver in gaining the interest of job seekers, according to research.

Survey findings show that one in four job seekers believe that company reputation is important when making their next career move.

The study questioned more than 200 US job seekers. It found that candidates are increasingly seeking employers with a clear corporate identity and positive reputation.

Brand reputation is now as important as the type of work and pay when it comes to a candidate’s motivation.

 “Employer brand is an increasingly powerful tool for creating competitive advantage in today’s marketplace.

“HR professionals that can draw out the uniqueness of their company’s brand and reinforce a compelling dialogue with candidates, but also current employees, will find top recruits heading straight to them – creating a robust talent pipeline for filling present and future positions within the organization.”

The survey also revealed that nearly nine out of 10 candidates use company websites as their preferred  source of information about a prospective employer. Search engine results (52%) and peers (45%) ranked second and third, respectively.

Company websites are critical to brand development. 36% of job seekers cite that detailed company information, job opportunity and compensation is the most valuable information

The UK has ranked within the top 10 of countries where workers would most like to change jobs, according to findings from recruitment  company in 2015.

The research reveals the UK ranked 9th in a list of 34 countries surveyed. While four in 10 (39%) UK workers are not actively looking for a new job, 28% are not looking but are open to a move if a role comes up, 23% are looking around a bit, 4% are specifically orientating themselves for a move and 6% are actively applying. 

Overall, Indian and Malaysian workers were the most open to change jobs, while the Czechs and the Portuguese were the most reluctant to move.

Researchers surveyed at least 400 employees in each of the 34 countries

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In research conducted by London law firm, Thomas Mansfield, graduates were asked to relay the worst questions they’ve received this year using placards to pose with.

The results were a collection of rude, sexist and racist questions asked by potential employers, with one job applicant, with a BSc in Physics, being asked: “Can you wear more make-up next time?”

Other questions included a woman with a degree in Journalism being asked: “Can you flirt with customers to make them stay longer?” and a male BA History graduate being asked: “Is that a hickey on your neck?” referring to what was actually a birth mark.

One notably illegal question was to a woman with an MSc in Personnel Management who was asked: “Are you planning on having children soon?” Under discrimination law and the Equality Act 2010, interviewers and employers are not allowed to ask either female or male applicants about their plans for children in the future.

Meredith Hurst, an Employment Lawyer at Thomas Mansfield, commented that: “Without even realising it, employers can ask seemingly innocent questions and break the law in the process.

“However, with employment law information so readily available online, there really is no excuse for insensitive questions or illegal practices.”

Other questions by employers to graduates included a dark-skinned applicant with a business administration degree being asked: “Will you be going back to Jamaica to work?” despite actually being French, and an MSc Economics graduate who was asked: “When was the last time you did drugs?”

Also asked was a graduate with an MSc in International Events Management, who received the question: “Would you do this for free?” and a female graduate with a BA in English Literature who was asked: “What do you think about dating someone in the office?”

Changes to legislation regarding zero-hours contracts

28 May 2015

One of the final pieces of legislation introduced by the last coalition government was a prohibition on exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts.

This has now become law (from 27 May 2015) within section 153 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

Whilst the ban on exclusivity clauses will have an impact on many direct employers reliant on such contracts, the measure is unlikely to affect recruiters, who are already restricted from preventing work-seekers from taking up work with a hirer by virtue of Regulation 10 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

Other measures to follow in secondary legislation include penalties for failing to meet the National Minimum Wage.

Although the ban on exclusivity clauses was included within the Conservatives manifesto pledges, no further action on zero hours contracts is expected from their new majority government

The new Conservative government has also committed to creating three million more apprenticeships by 2020, as part of their broader drive to get two million more people into work by 2020. A new Jobs Bill is also likely to abolish National Insurance Contributions for apprentices under 25 years old and replace the Jobseeker’s Allowance for 18-21 year-olds with a Youth Allowance that will be time limited to six months.