Mutual insurance, retirement and investment group LV= has developed a new careers website which delivers a customised experience based on a user’s location. The content of the site is determined by the LV= office that is located nearest to the user. Depending on their location, the user will see a unique list of available jobs as well as film footage, location images and articles specific to that office. The website aims to deliver potential candidates an enhanced user-experience by enabling easier identification of suitable roles and relevant company information.
David Smith, LV= HR Director explains: “We are focused on attracting the best people to work for LV= and this website is part of that objective. Looking for a new job can be a time consuming process, so by providing a personalised service based on a candidate’s location we can improve the efficiency of their search ensuring that they are only presented with relevant information to help them more easily identify suitable roles.“
The technology works by identifying the user’s location via their Internet Protocol (IP) address which is then mapped to their nearest LV= office. Users can override the automated location selection by using a drop-down box on the home page. This is a non-invasive, privacy-sensitive piece of technology that estimates a user’s location using local service information (often the telephone exchange) and not their specific home or work location. It is the first time IP recognition has been deployed on an employer’s careers website.
The LV= careers website was first launched in January 2009 and the number of applications via the site has grown steadily. Over the last 12 months* there were more than 200,000 visits to the site compared to 130,000 over the same period in 2009/10. There are currently around 11,000 unique visits to the website every month. The website helps support LV=’s recruitment effort, with 14,500 applications leading to 1178 hires in the first half of this year. 96% of these new recruits were hired directly and not through an agency. Alongside the customisation, the new website has been designed specifically with tablets in mind, with one in five visits made using a mobile device.
