Online Recruitment Comparison

In the contemporary world, the need for the acquisition of the best labor force in the market has continued to be of paramount importance. Human resource managers are now forced to search for more innovative ways in which they can find the best talents that can help follow the company’s agenda and goals. However, the traditional methods of finding talents through physical assessment have proved to be ineffective because in addition to being time-consuming, they are also very expensive for any organization. Currently, human resource managers have approved of the idea that the use of the internet is the best alternative method, as it helps collect a large pool of potential employees, thereby giving the company a chance to choose the best specialists from the most qualified ones (French & Rumbles, 2010).

Background of Online Recruitment

The Recruitment and Selection Functions

Recruitment and selection are among traditional key processes the human resource department conducts in an organization. Owing to the fact that enterprises expand to capture new markets, labor requirements are increased; thus, they are forced to search for more employees. Moreover, working employees might leave the organization as a result of sickness, retirement, finding better position, job dissatisfaction, and self-employment among others so that the company is tasked with the obligation to replace the employees (French & Rumbles, 2010). Thus, the process of advertising and attracting potential employees, choosing the best among them, and offering them the position in the organization is perceived as recruitment and selection functions.

Online Recruitment in Its Different Forms

Unlike the traditional recruitment method when potential candidates had to attend face-to-face interview with an employer, the online system allows the entire recruitment to be performed on the internet. On the website, the vacant positions are posted online, and individuals are asked to apply for the most suitable one as well as proceed to undergo the test and interviews which examine their skills (Parry & Wilson, 2009). After the entire process is completed, those successful are offered positions at the company. There are two main online recruiting methods the organizations use today. First, there are businesses which have developed their recruiting website where they conduct the entire process of online recruitment on their own, while the others find new employees via agents who own recruitment websites.

Recruitment and Social Networking

The online recruitment has another feature, which is different from the traditional hiring method, namely social networking of professionals. Most recruitment websites, especially those dedicated to recruitment only, are developed in such a manner that the potential employees and employers can communicate, thereby forming active networking (Parry & Wilson, 2009). The networking occurs when the administrator of the website places all the registered candidates for a given position under the same database. Thus, these individuals are able to find their peers with much ease, thereby increasing the network scope.

Comparison of Two Online Recruitment Websites

In this section, ZipRecruiter used in United States and Bayt.com utilized in the United Arab Emirates shall be analyzed. ZipRecruiter is a website which allows all professionals to upload their resume to secure employment at several organizations that seek new employees (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). As a popular website in the country, this site attracts candidates from all parts of the country and, thus, is suitable for comparison.

On the other hand, Bayt.com is currently a leading online recruitment website in the United Arab Emirates and is even used in other Gulf countries (Bayt, n.d.). The site acts as a third party recruitment agency, and it also has a database which helps any organization find information about all potential employees.

Comparing and Contrasting Website Features

ZipRecruiter web features. The website has several features which makes the hiring process much simpler. In fact, once a person visits the site, they can find a detailed report about the company. Such report explains what the website does and directs the possible employee or employer how to use the site (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). If someone needs extra help, the website has a twenty-four-hour live chat which assists new visitors handle all issues that occur.

The website also has a blog section where most of the recruitment processes take place. In this section, employees and employers are required to complete a registration form in which they upload their resume and jobs respectively into the system (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). There is, thus, the possibility for employers and employees to communicate with each other.

Lastly, the website has a feedback section in which individuals and organizations that have used the site provide information on how they found the needed professional or job (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). The testimonies and comments keep updating and increasing so that a website visitor can see hundreds of them and choose the one they wish. However, unlike Bayt.com, this website does not have more than one language option feature.

Bayt.com web features. Similar to ZipRecruiter, this site offers details of the website and the contact information. These features give the visitor the possibility to have a quick and easy navigation throughout the site (Bayt, n.d.). However, unlike ZipRecruiter that has a 24 hour support system, the website does not have any live support.

The same as ZipRecruiter, this website has a workspace feature which has the data base for all registered candidates (Bayt, n.d.). However, the site does not provide the employer’s registration section like it is done in Zip Recruiters. Thus, there is no interaction between the two parties.

How It Works

This site has the feedback section the same as in ZipRecruiter. The section comprises rolling comments so that a visitor can also view several testimonies which can motivate them to use web services (Bayt, n.d.). However, one feature that makes this website better is that it gives users the possibility to use and switch between different languages taking into account their preference.

Comparing and Contrasting Website Functions

ZipRecruiter web function. First, this site plays the primary role of recruitment which is advertisement for the available jobs, thereby attracting the interested individuals. Once a person opens the website, the first thing that catches their attention is that there are 90 million jobs available (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). Such figure, thus, helps attract potential employees and encourage them to place their application.

In addition to attracting potential employees, the website is also useful to potential companies that wish to find employees possessing necessary skills. First, the client company gives the list of specific skills needed and pays a fee to get the labor they require (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). After the payment of the fee, the web administrator selects the best candidates online and successful candidates are forwarded to the company for their placement.

The second option that the website offers is the online recruitment by the customer’s company itself. Companies are allowed to advertise their job by posting the position and can also use the hiring process such as tests and interviews offered by the website (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). In the end, the site enables the company to recruit new staff online, without having to create a recruitment website.

Bayt.com Web Function. Similar to ZipRecruiter, this site advertises jobs to attract potential employees in UAE market. The first message that the visitor sees when opens the site is ‘find a job’ (Bayt, n.d.). In fact, this is a strong signal to inform all visitors that there are some vacancies within the website that can suit them.

Bayt.com the same as ZipRecruiter aids in online hiring process. However, unlike in ZipRecruiter where the website manager conducts the selection, Bayt.com gives only companies in need of employees the permission to use the website to hire the needed labor force (Bayt, n.d.). The hiring process such as interview and assessment are, thus, administered within the site, while the selection is made online as well.

Unlike ZipRecruiter, this site provides learning lessons for those who intend to get hired fast. It gives guidelines on aspects to which employers pay attention at a little fee (Bayt, n.d.). Furthermore, such training is offered online so that visitors can undergo it from any place they like.

Comparing and Contrasting Website Usability

ZipRecruiter Web Usability. One thing that makes online recruitment site difficult to use is having a hard time finding if there are any job offers at one’s location (Parry & Wilson, 2009). This site using a map of the United States makes the jobs available within the map using proportional circles. This map with other additional features helps job seekers apply for the positions they want without difficulties.

The navigation is also very simple because once a person accesses the site, the first item that they can do is search for the jobs that they want on the basis of preferred specifications (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). Afterward, they are instructed to register and finally apply for the job once their personal information is in the database.

Once a visitor opens the site, the first item to see is a beautiful city background which gives a sense of a busy environment (ZipRecruiter, n.d.). The website also uses pictures showing employees who are happy working as a team, thereby making the visitors believe that the website will help them get satisfying jobs.

Bayt.com Web Usability. Compared to ZipRecruiter, this site is characterized by ease of use. It offers a direct link to registration form in the first page for users so that they do not spend time searching how to become members (Bayt, n.d.). Similar to ZipRecruiter, it has a job search section, making it easy to see relevant jobs.

Unlike ZipRecruiter, Bayt.com has difficult navigation process. The arrangement of the features seems to make navigation more difficult because it is not chronological (Bayt, n.d.). For example, workspace which is the database should not come before resume registration to avoid confusion.

Bayt.com also differs from ZipRecruiter relating to beauty aspect of its website. The only beautiful features that are shown are three cover pictures which keep rolling in the background once a person opens the site (Bayt, n.d.). These pictures, however, are not even clear as they are covered with words.

Recommendations

By comparing the two recruitment website, it becomes evident that ZipRecruiter is more superior, as compared to Bayt.com. One change that Bayt.com requires is the provision of the possibility for the website manager to conduct recruitment on behalf of the client company. It also needs to add beauty on its web page, particularly on the first page. Importantly, some people are not interested in beauty of wording or planning of words but on the color and shapes seen on the website (Parry & Wilson, 2009). Lastly, Bayt.com needs to adjust its layout so as to ensure that navigability becomes more straightforward and efficient. The navigability of the website should be such that features follow a chronological order.

Conclusion

The above analysis of online recruitment included the comparison of two online recruitment websites, including relevant recommendations for change. It has been revealed that online recruitment is a modern way of hiring staff, without having any physical contact like it used to be in the past. ZipRecruiter from the United States and Bayt.com from the United Arab Emirates have been used as websites for comparison. The comparison has revealed that Bayt.com has less beauty appeal and is hard to navigate; thus, it has been recommended that these aspects should be improved.