DSM Blog

The big talk these days is mobile and how it will pave the way for the New Internet.  Granted, we are all addicted to our mobile devices.  Whether texting, watching videos, posting on social media sites or simply browsing, it is vital we have our mobile devices with us 24/7.  With the recruitment industry in transition, there have been multiple articles published exploring the concept of mobile recruiting.  But will this be the next big thing for recruiters and/or HR departments?

From a job seeker perspective, I believe mobile is a great way to browse jobs if seeking a career change.  Having your daily cup of coffee at Starbucks, taking the subway home from work or being anywhere and having spare time to search.  From this perspective, it makes sense.  However, how can every aspect of job seeking and applying for jobs be done via a mobile device?  It can’t!  A job seeker needs access to send and update his/her resume, upload a cover letter, answer online questionnaires and walk through an entire application process via an employer’s site from start to finish.  If you have a few hours, you may be able to complete most of it (assuming your device allows you to complete these tasks), but you can’t replace a standard PC for ease of use.  Thus, although searching for jobs and emailing them to yourself is a good way to begin, when it comes to completing the full application process, you still need a standard PC.

Now, from a recruiter or HR Department perspective…How do you integrate your mobile device with your full blown ATS system?  How do you sort through hundreds of candidates on your iPhone or Blackberry?  Even if you find a few quality candidates, how do you qualify them via mobile to ensure they are a viable candidate to set a phone interview or face to face?  It is nearly impossible to do this.  If you are a small company with only one or two positions, this would be more of a fit.  You could probably qualify a lot of candidates by simply browsing social networks via your mobile applications.  But how would an organization do this with 50+ openings at any given time?  Many companies have taken a crack at breaking open the recruiting industry with new methods and technologies only to fall flat or go out of business.  It is too hard to fill all voids with a mobile device.

Perhaps “mobile recruiting” should be renamed “mobile browsing” as there are too many parts involved in the overall process.  Although many have stated that the next big shift in recruiting is mobile and that we are at the transition point, I don’t see it happening anytime soon.

I was recently at a social media conference in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.  It was a half day affair with various panel discussions pertaining to several different industries.  The one I found fascinating was a panel discussion involving social media and healthcare.  Social media seems to be the big topic these days but there is much reluctance being there are no true ROI tracking tools in place yet.  Numerous organizations use it for many different functions, but the two biggest are pushing out announcements (new products, specials, coupons, contests, etc.) and using it as an addition to internal recruitment processes.  Among the panel of speakers were key influencers working for leading healthcare systems.  The discussion took me by great surprise as it seemed social media is more of a detriment rather than a useful ingredient for healthcare facilities.  The majority of the discussion consisted of the number of legal issues between doctors, patients, employees and potential hires.  Comparing this panel to the other panels that are using social media on a daily basis made me ask one question…is social media a fit for the healthcare industry?

Granted, there could be potential issues between doctor/patient confidentiality and doctors providing information to the general public, but are there key facets that it should be used for?  What about from a recruitment standpoint?  This was a short lived topic with only a few people stating they use it for this reason, but don’t see a great return.  Hospitals have so much turnover and job openings that having to oversee Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Twitter and the 10+ Job Boards they use, seems to simply add more work for HR employees.  For example, try tweeting 100 job openings and let me know how it goes.  Granted many job boards are now implementing social media with their sites to blast out openings to the main social media sites as a one stop shop.  Recruitment, when it comes to multiple openings to fill, is a hard process which requires a great deal of time and effort.  Adding social media to the mix of HR functions seems too time consuming.

From the other standpoint, the problem with social media and healthcare is it is BORING!  No one wants to read about a new wing being built for the local hospital in their area or the latest cardiac advancements at ABC Hospital.  People use social media to talk to friends, win a contest or connect with others to better their businesses.  Healthcare, although one of the most important aspects of our lives, is typically not a stimulant for great conversation.  So how will this marketing instrument shape this industry?  I guess time will tell.  Healthcare is usually the last industry to adopt new technologies, so maybe the niche has yet to be found.