Why do we delight in maligning people in a particular chosen profession? Why not celebrate their strengths, their contributions, and the economic and social good that results from people in work across myriad different sectors? And, if there are inefficiencies in an industry, isn’t that an opportunity for transformation?

The staffing sector has its detractors like other sectors have theirs. Teachers have too many holidays, bankers are wankers, lawyers are bottom dwellers, and journalists are hacks or reds or fascists. Farmers are whingers and council workers are slackers.

Recruiters are evil middle men and women who rip everyone off.

I just read this message again in the business pages of the Australian Financial Review. The quote came from the Chairman of a newish job board, recently floated on the ASX, seeking some press in the business pages. He was gloating that he was going to run out of town the no-good recruiters with his ‘Direct Employer Jobs, No Agencies’. I remembered the founder of LinkedIn once referenced to the staffing sector as one to be destroyed – all the while taking recruiters’ sign up fees with glee…

In fact job boards per se don’t solve hiring dilemmas. Hiring good people is often fraught with huge challenges and unexpected disappointments during and post getting a new recruit on board.

What we’re waiting for is improved Artificial Intelligence and on towards that end we’re loving those creating learning machines that can help make better hiring decisions. Take for example predictivehire.com: large volume recruiters can overlay predictive talent analytics to increase hiring performance.

And then there’s seek.com.au. SEEK was the first technology disruptor in the recruitment market, and the recruiters, way back in the late 1990s, were scared. SEEK was smart, they partnered and supported recruiters as they got used to a new way of doing business. The founders were whippet smart and could see room for everyone in a market, notwithstanding there would be winners and losers resulting from the ease of online efficiencies. Timely and needed.

The rest, as they say, is history. In spite of LinkedIn and a plethora of crash and burn attempts by competitors such as One Page, Jobs Jobs Jobs, CareerOne, My Career and others, such as our friend quoted in the AFR,  SEEK has continued its growth path. SEEK is now crawling with smart management consultants, analysts and strategists. No longer ‘first to market’, its ‘best to market’ product development mantra is paying dividends.  Job boards per se are now just a tool, but SEEK’s innovations in candidate searches are proving valuable to recruiters and employers alike.

Job boards are just one of many tools used to source, identify, screen and assist talented employees, but no longer the most important. So good luck with launching a ‘new’ Old School Job Board… While SEEK’s shares have a BUY attached today, let’s see what happens to the others –  less smart, less strategic and small minded.

Anita Ziemer

Anita is the Executive Director of Slade Group, and a member of the advisory board. In a career spanning roles working in government, not-for-profit, public company and the SME sector, Anita has a broad view of the landscape of Australians at work. Committed to making a difference in her professional and personal life, Anita is a Director of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing & Ideas, previous Chair of Melbourne Girls Grammar School, and a Non Executive Director of online men’s lifestyle publisher Boss Hunting.