WebCruiter Research Quarterly - Q1 2009

- 10 things we can learn from the Better Place story

Every revolution has its heroes. For the burgeoning green revolution of our lifetime, it may well be Shai Agassi of Better Place who will best be remembered in 100 years’ time. If you have not heard of Better Place yet, it is only a matter of time. Building on his basic idea on constructing an infrastructure for the operation and rental of electric cars, and using marketing similar to that of mobile phones, Agassi has succeeded in capturing the attention of world leaders and commerce alike.

Better Place is important because its concept will enable ordinary consumers to follow the principles of sustainable consumption – in their everyday lives. Better Place cannot immediately halt all the environmentally hazardous emissions from heavy freight transport. Nor can it put a stop to unclean energy entirely. But this breakthrough will make it reasonable and politically achievable to raise the bar for green and sustainable standards in all the value chains that benefit us as consumers.

In this way, Better Place may be “the moon landing of our time”.

Most companies have green initiatives they can point to, often as part of an overall strategy for corporate social responsibility. Nevertheless, many companies forget to highlight this aspect of their business to potential future employees.

Recent research shows that this is not making the best of it.

A 2007 survey conducted in 15 countries (by Ipsus Mori in cooperation with Tandberg) concluded that 80% of job seekers in 15 countries would prefer to work for an organization with a reputation for environmental responsibility. A survey by MonsterTRAK found similarly that a full 92% of younger employees would like to work for an environmentally friendly business.

Mesta is Norway’s largest road construction contracting group – with the country’s largest community of experts for the construction, operation and maintenance of roads. Mesta has nearly 3,000 employees nationwide who possess unique expertise in constructing roads around, under and over Norway’s mountains and fjords.

The group can trace its roots all the way back to the 1800s, and can lay claim to several generations’ experience in this line of work. Still, Mesta needs to continually attract new personnel and expertise, and fully intends to acquire our generation’s best minds in their specialties.

Companies around the world are making use of video more and more as a tool for e-recruiting.

Video is primarily used in five ways:

• Company presentations
• Occupational and career presentations
• Trainee and apprentice recruiting
• Job opening presentations
• Portal presentations

We have selected a sample of recruiting videos that we feel demonstrate well how companies can implement video in a recruiting context.