A portfolio of solutions

Just a few weeks after the (March 4^th) relaunch of exec-appointments.com, Ri5 caught up with FT Recruitment Solutions' managing director Steve Playford (pictured) to discuss the thinking behind this development and other topics.

"The main reason for relaunching exec-appointments.com was simply that nothing much had really been done to it for seven years," says Steve.  "It was still the original site.  It worked very well; there was nothing wrong with it - it wasn't a question of needing to be fixed.  It was just that it had become a bit outdated, and didn't really fit with the FT brand.

"We were also keen to start a period of continuous product development to improve functionality and add some new features to make it easier for candidates and advertisers - like the superior search, an intuitive jobs shortlist, fully customised daily job alerts, and much more.  We realised that we could do more things with it, from both a user and client perspective - which, to be honest, in the executive end of the market is to be expected.

"So we surveyed our users and advertisers about what they wanted, and we got some very interesting results back.  For example, there was a lot of interest in having somewhere where people could post their CVs.  We've also simplified the functionality to make it easier to find jobs.  And from the client perspective, we've introduced Flash capability and enabled them to upload video.

"In all, we asked well over two hundred clients what they'd like to see.  The final question was, ‘Would you use exec-appointments.com again?', and we got a 100% ‘yes' response to this, which is fantastic.

"So we set about building the new site based on all the feedback from candidate and clients, and I'm pleased to say we've had really great feedback from both groups - and competitors, too!  People say they find it really easy to use now.  One of the other things we've been able to do - again, based on candidate feedback - is to ‘match' jobs to their search better, giving candidates better-quality results and also helping with SEO to push the site further up the Google rankings."

Recent marketing activity in support of the relaunch included the deployment of little red figures (tying in with the new campaign) dispensing E-A fliers at key tube stations such as Bank, Liverpool Street and, exclusively, at Canary Wharf.  "There's been a lot of interest in the relaunch," says Steve.  "The day after the new site went live, we emailed all our users and got four times the normal amount of traffic we would have expected as a result.  Also, job applications - that key metric - have gone up by 11% year on year since the relaunch.  So far it's all good - it all seems to have been very successful."

A further strategic imperative for exec-appointments going forward is to boost the site's international footprint.  "We're looking to increase the number of global jobs and candidates we have," says Steve.  "This fits in well with the FT, which sells more copies outside the UK than inside.  The aim for exec-appointments.com is to become the number-one global executive job-board, which we've already started working on with our offices in New York and Dubai."

For all the positive online developments, Steve remains absolutely committed to the multi-platform approach for Financial Times Recruitment Solutions.  Which means print remains an important part of the mix.  "Our overall goal and strategy is to provide great candidate experiences, and client results, whichever platform they use," says Steve.  "For clients, it's a question of finding solutions that meet their needs and budgets.  If the requirement is brand-focused, it's maybe print; if there's a need for quick CVs, it may be online.  In practice, most campaigns involve a mix of both.  It's whatever works for the client.

"Interestingly, following the recruitment research we did in 2008, executive candidates expect to see the top jobs in print and think it says something about the employer - e.g. investing to find the best person for the job.  Operating at the executive end of the market like we do, our candidates all over the world use both print and online regularly."

Steve also stresses the importance of quality content for both platforms.  "It's very important to our users and readers," he says.  "On exec-appointments.com, we have a feed from ft.com that matches the right jobs to the right content.  So, for example, if you're looking for IT jobs you'll be fed IT-related editorial.  And we're continually looking to strengthen the content in our print product as well."

We move on to the Financial Times Non-Executive Directors' Club, which has become an increasingly important part of the portfolio.  "We've done the same to the non-execs.com site as we did to exec-appointments.com," says Steve.  "We branded it FT, started using FT content to strengthen the proposition, and secured more jobs for our members.  Since we did this, membership has doubled over the past eight months.  It's something I've personally been really amazed by - the power of the FT brand and its content."

Looking after a membership-based club is quite a departure for Steve, given his traditional recruitment advertising background.  "It's been great fun getting the team to sell events, seminars and membership," he says.  "Having a business model where you charge members and candidates rather than just selling to advertisers is completely different - it's a real eye-opener!  And we'll also be introducing a couple of new products shortly to help the Club become even better, so watch this space."

With short-term uncertainty looming on the political as well as economic fronts, we turn to the wider state of the market.  "We've definitely seen the executive market bounce back," says Steve, "though for the moment it's a case of ‘cautious optimism' - there are still a few nervous clients out there.  We're not back to 2008 levels yet, though we've had a really good start to the year.  It'll be interesting to see how things pan out after the election.

"Looking at things from a competitor perspective, there are a few other sites entering the market while existing players are also upping their game.  There are lots of other challenges as well - like what will happen with social media, for example.  But whatever happens, we want to be at the forefront of it.  These are exciting times.  There's certainly a great future in digital, and we also see a good future for print.  And nothing else could be quite as scary as what happened to the industry recently."

For our final topic, we touch on exec-appointments.com' new status as headline sponsor for the 2010 CIPD Recruitment Marketing Awards.  This includes sponsorship of this year's new category - ‘agency of the year', which is certain to ruffle a few feathers.  "We were really excited when Redactive started talking to us about it, and the direction they want to take the awards" says Steve.

"For us it's a great opportunity to raise the profile of the exec-appointments.com brand even further, and reinforce our market-leading position.  It was clear through our discussions with Redactive that we share the CIPD's enthusiasm for awarding the ‘best of the best' in the recruitment industry, recognising true innovation, creativity and outstanding results."