Employers’ Use of Job Matching Services

The indicator measures the extent to which the targeted employers have used the promoted job-matching services, such as dedicated websites with job advertisements, print-media advertising, career counseling, job fairs or the services of recruitment agencies. It shows the effectiveness of activities that promote employers’ use of job-matching services.

This guidance presents the two most common approaches to gaining the required data: collecting it from the providers of promoted job-matching services or from the targeted employers. Select the one that is more feasible in the context of your intervention. 

Collecting Data from the Providers of Job-Matching Services

If the providers of the promoted job-matching services have a database of the employers who in the assessed period used these services, ask each of the providers for a list including the names of these employers (i.e. the companies / enterprises). It is recommended that you agree with them on this requirement from the very beginning of your collaboration (ideally as a part of your written agreement), so that you later avoid difficulties with obtaining the lists.

Since some of the employers are likely to use several different providers, you will face the risks of counting the same employers several times – which is something you need to avoid. Therefore, consider listing the names of employers from all the lists you received in a single Excel file, then sort the names in alphabetical order and ensure that all names are listed only once.

To calculate the indicator’s value, count the number of employers that within the surveyed period used at least one of the promoted job-matching services in the specified timeframe.

Collecting Data from the Targeted Employers

Collect the following data from the staff of the targeted employers responsible for recruiting new employees by using one of the following methods: personal interviews, phone interviews or e-mail communication. Be aware that this approach is feasible only if you target a relatively small number of employers (e.g. up to 50 employers), otherwise it can become too time-consuming. If you target a large number of employers and cannot gain the required data from the providers of job-matching services, you can calculate the indicator’s value based on using a representative sample of employers. However, this is possible only if you have reliable data on the total number of employers.

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTION (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: In the past [specify the period], did your company use [specify the promoted service and who provides it] for finding new employees? (consider showing the respondent the website, logo or address of the service provider so that it is easier for her/him to visualize it)

A1: yes / no / does not know

Repeat the question for all the other promoted services.

To calculate the indicator’s value, count the number of employers that within the surveyed period used at least one of the promoted job-matching services.

Disaggregate the data based on the type of business the employers do, the number of employees they have and the type of job-matching service used.

1) If there is a risk of the respondents saying that they used the service even though they did not (e.g. due to a desire to look good or because they know that it was expected of them), consider rephrasing Q1 to: In the past [specify the period], what were all the online, printed or face-to-face services that your company used to find new employees? (instruct the data collectors to keep probing: What other services did you use in the past [specify the period]?)