Gone are job fairs. Now, webinars allow companies to reach potential candidates in the comfort of their homes, and in real time. The practice is still uncommon, but some companies are successfully using webinars to attract and recruit talent. We shine the spotlight on an unconventional recruitment method.
Doctors Without Borders Canada (MSF) has been using webinars to recruit doctors, nurses, midwives and technicians of all kinds for the past four years. From British Columbia to Newfoundland, candidates interested in humanitarian work can listen to a doctor tell their experience in a refugee camp in Yemen. This privileged access allows them to ask any questions they may have.
For MSF, which has to recruit 16 types of professionals to work in demanding conditions, the webinar was a perfect solution. “It's hard to find a place where you can put all these profiles together. It is a fairly large country, so having one-on-one conversations with the public gets quite expensive and it takes a lot of resources,” says the head of Human Resources, Owen Campbell. “Webinars allow us to do this at an affordable price, in addition to targeting professionals in the areas we want.”
Know how to differentiate
Not only are webinars more affordable, they also allow to reach potential candidates who are not actively looking for work. The best prospects, already hired by a competitor, will not come to job fairs and will not see display boards. To reach them, the company must be ingenious and make its recruitment process more attractive than others.
This is what Oracle does when it conducts a webinar moderated by the Vice-President of Sales and Finance, Paul Hewlett, a golden opportunity for these prospects to converse in small groups with an industry leader. Thanks to this outstanding event, Oracle was able to keep twenty participants and initiate the hiring process for ten of them, in order to ultimately find the gem.
Opening up the discussion with a seasoned professional rather than a human resources officer makes it possible for a company to differentiate itself from other organizations. Campbell also believes that showcasing an aid worker who is back from the field greatly increases the attractiveness of the organization. “By having humanitarian workers talk about their own experiences, it allows candidates to clarify their choices. They may say that it is not for them or, conversely, they are motivated to apply,” he explains.
Once the webinar is completed, MSF Canada keeps in touch with candidates interested in continuing the recruitment process. Although the event is over, the webinar video stays online so that other applicants can view it. “If our selection criteria does not change, the webinar continues to be a good resource for candidates. For example, not all of us have the chance to interact with a midwife, so this is where you can hear others' questions and get direct information,” states Campbell.
The webinar obviously needs to be well publicized for it to function, but this rarely used method can be helpful to a company wanting to stand out and attract better talent than it would at any job fair.