Strategy/Are recruitment firms being replaced by job boards?

• Headhunters remain leaders for senior profiles
• They use job sites to make their offers visible
• Recruitment, increasingly complex

Since their appearance in Morocco a few years ago, job sites, #img1#or job boards, have completely changed the structure of the market. They are now positioned as the primary job search tool, far surpassing traditional recruitment firms. "According to a study we recently conducted, only 30% of candidates use specialized firms. These are in 3rd position after online sites and unsolicited applications," notes Khadija Boughaba, CEO of Invest RH.
The first site to launch into e-recruitment was Rekrute.ma, created in 2006. It is currently the leader in the field of paid job postings in Morocco. "Of the 10,500 ads published in 2013, some 5,670 were posted on our platform. Rekrute.com holds 70% of the market share in value," says Charlotte Lefort, Operations Director. Nearly 83 people are recruited each day on its pages. Its portfolio grows each year by 300 clients and more than 70,000 new candidates. Its turnover increases annually by 8 to 10%.

In 2013, the site had 470,000 candidates and 48,000 positions offered. Nevertheless, do job sites risk, in the long term, replacing specialized firms? "The two operators are rather complementary. The work of a firm cannot be replaced," believes Ali Serhani, associate director of Gesper Services. Indeed, if the sites focus on the quantity of ads, headhunters prioritize the quality of the profiles presented. Candidate screening, interview preparation, advice, training... firms also offer a whole range of personalized services, according to the companies' needs, unlike job sites. "But for CV distribution, we ourselves use job boards. This also allows us to gain visibility, since our logos are displayed on their pages. I would even say that they represent a great opportunity for us," confides Serhani. Operators who have not invested in the web can therefore outsource to the most reputable electronic platforms on the market.

Firms also, according to some professionals, have more aptitude to deal with the increasing complexity of recruitment. "Candidates are increasingly demanding and volatile. Companies, for their part, have more precise demands," says Khadija Boughaba.
On the other hand, certain profiles remain the responsibility of firms. Companies prefer, for example, to use them directly to find skills for management positions, or even top management. The most qualified candidates, for fear of being devalued or for the sake of discretion, avoid posting their application online.
It is true that most firms have not invested enough in the virtual world, despite their pages launched on social networks. However, some have taken up the web challenge by creating their own job site, like Diorh, with Diorhprofiler.com. "Our offer is, however, different. We do not sell CVs, we make them available to our clients," specifies Essaïd Bellal, CEO.

A still tiny market, despite everything
Contrary to popular belief, creating an e-recruitment site is not easy. A multitude of specialized platforms are launched each year, but few manage to maintain their activity.



Read the rest of the article on L'Economiste.

Published February 25, 2014.

Online February 28, 2014.