Building a positive candidate experience: towards a networked model of e-recruitment

Purpose – The ubiquity of the social web has forced online recruitment to change dramatically. This paper introduces the first e-recruitment network business model, the Private Talent Network© to support the practice of online talent resourcing. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded theory was the research approach adopted, using mixed method data collection and triangulation of results. A study of six FTSE100 companies was conducted from different industries. This was an explorative study into network theories and models in context of e-recruitment. Findings – The key outcome was the identification of a positive candidate experience. This was central to realising cost benefits and candidate quality and was influenced by nine internal and external factors. Theoretically actor network theory provided a flexible and representative framework of the online ecosystem adopted by businesses for talent resourcing. Research limitations/implications – Limited to UK FTSE100 target group only, the research is presented as a first step in defining a structured e-recruitment business model. Practical implications – Direct support to enable practitioners to improve or/and initiate e-recruitment initiatives and further this management discipline. Originality/value – Drawing on actor network theory the Private Talent Network© is proposed as the first e-recruitment network business model.