Archived News 2003

22 December 2003

Volunteering a Top New Years Resolution

Looking for a New Year’s resolution other than getting fit and cutting credit card debt? Then consider volunteering says SEEK Volunteer.

Would-be volunteers can search thousands of opportunities at a dedicated website that may be accessed through two doorways: Volunteering Australia and SEEK Volunteer. Visitors to the site can cross-search across areas of interest, physical location and the amount of commitment required, until they find something that suits them.

According to SEEK Volunteer, the Internet is attracting a younger demographic to volunteering with 68% of visitors to the site under 34 years of age. Many not-for-profit organisations are also reporting that they are receiving more inquiries from younger people, and especially professionals.

“Younger people are more cautious about committing to a long-term project, are typically very busy and don’t have time to call around the major organisations to see what’s on offer,” says Rosie Brown, Business Development Manager of Volunteering Australia. “Using the Internet, they can investigate what’s out there anonymously and assess the time commitment required before letting an organisation know they are interested.”

And what is out there makes for interesting reading. Listed volunteer positions include everything from painting pregnant women’s bellies, looking after abandoned donkeys and painting fish on drains to promote environmental messages.

“People don’t only volunteer for altruistic reasons”, says Brown. “Many people want to build new skills, get professional training, make new friends and explore career opportunities like marketing. For example, we are finding many school leavers taking up volunteer positions to gain experience that will help them enter the paid workforce.

Creating a dedicated, national website for volunteer positions was the brainchild of SEEK, the company behind Australia’s largest online employment marketplace, seek.com.au. “We wanted to change the way volunteering was done in Australia by making it more accessible and appealing to more people”, says Paul Bassat, Chief Executive of SEEK.
“By using a similar formula to our online employment site and partnering with Volunteering Australia and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), we have created an efficient and user-friendly database of volunteer opportunities.

“The feedback we’ve received from not-for-profit organisations has been very positive. The site has allowed them to reach a far greater number of people and they have been impressed by the calibre, motivation and commitment of the volunteers they are attracting. They also appreciate being able to recruit volunteers much more quickly and without advertising costs. Less time and money spent recruiting means they can place greater focus on their core activities.

“Our staff at SEEK have really got behind the project as well, not only by creating and hosting the site, but also by volunteering for listed positions themselves”, says Bassat.

A recent SEEK survey found that 40,000 people per month visit the SEEK Volunteer/GoVolunteer site. 80% of those visitors are not current volunteers, 40% have never volunteered and 68% were under the age of 34.

GoVolunteer.com.au, the joint initiative between Volunteering Australia, SEEK and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), was named as the multi-State winner of the 2003 Prime Minister’s Award for Community Business Partnerships initiative and was one of three finalists for the national awards.

About Volunteering Australia
Volunteering Australia is the national peak body working to advance volunteering in the Australian community. Its role is to represent the diverse views and needs of the volunteer movement while promoting the activity of volunteering as one of enduring social, cultural and economic value.

Facts and figures about volunteering
Volunteers contributed 704.1m hours of voluntary work in the year 2000. If that work was paid for at $10ph it would equal more than $7b. In 2000, 32% of the population aged 18 years and over had performed some voluntary work in the preceding 12 months, up from 24% in 1995. (Source: ABS, 2002)

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20 November 2003

SEEK NZ wins Netguide Award for Best Employment Site

Winning the Netguide Award for Best Employment Site has clinched the leading position of seek.co.nz in the New Zealand market. SEEK edged out 119 other websites nominated in this category. Winning sites were those who had the most votes and the highest quality rating.

Netguide organisers described seek.co.nz as offering “a brilliant variety of jobs, something for everyone, helpful, informative.”

The New Zealand operation has had plenty of reason to celebrate lately. SEEK NZ won a spot on the 2003 Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50 list announced last month, which is determined by the rate of revenue growth over a three-year period.

More than 128,000 job seekers visited seek.co.nz last month, 80 per cent more than SEEK’s nearest competitor. (Source: Red Sheriff. Unique visitors, domestic traffic only.)

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09 October 2003

ninemsn deal contributes to record month for SEEK

SEEK's partnership with ninemsn has generated strong results for advertisers on seek.com.au, with SEEK's total traffic leaping 7 per cent to 1.04 million in the two months to September (source: Red Sheriff).

ninemsn is the most visited website in the country, attracting about six million unique visitors every month. SEEK and ninemsn signed a significant deal in August, which gives visitors to ninemsn's careers area access to SEEK's database of job ads and job search tools.

The new careers area is also being extensively promoted on other parts of the ninemsn network. Visitors to Ninemsn websites like Hotmail, News, Sport and Finance are presented with search boxes, ads and editorial which promote the employment channel.

SEEK now reaches a full 70 per cent of the total online employment traffic, it's highest ever.

"By increasing the number of people who view our clients' ads, we have added a lot more value to their advertising budget," notes SEEK CEO Paul Bassat. "The promotion across the ninemsn network is particularly powerful. It's a way for our advertisers to reach passive candidates — those who might be well-qualified but who aren't actively looking for a new role."

"There is terrific synergy in bringing together the number one portal and the market leader in online employment in Australia. We are delighted that through this new relationship with SEEK we can offer our users the largest selection of job opportunities and career services within the one site," says Martin Hoffman, CEO of ninemsn.

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07 October 2003

6 out of 10 Australians hate their boss

It’s a vote of no confidence in managers across Australia. Six out of 10 Australian employees cite “quality of management” when asked if they hate anything about their current job and more people are disgruntled with their manager than they are with their salary, working hours, work environment or career prospects.

The 2003 SEEK Survey of Employee Satisfaction and Motivation in Australia collected responses from 6506 people who were currently employed. It found that quality of management was most criticised by people working in retail, consumer products, advertising and media. Dissatisfaction with management was also highest among employees in their 30s.

As if that isn’t enough to concern employers, when asked how happy they are in their current job, 49 per cent of employees said they are unhappy or very unhappy, compared to just 25 per cent who are happy or very happy and 26 per cent who are neutral.

Half of all survey respondents said they were actively looking for a new job, and 96 per cent said they would consider switching jobs, depending on the opportunity offered.

There were some bright spots in the survey. When asked if they love anything about their job, 54 per cent of respondents said: “the people I work with”, followed by variety and content of work (41%) hours of work (38%), salary (26%). Fewer than 20 per cent said they disliked their co-workers.

But just over a third of Australians (31 per cent) said they felt less secure in their job now compared to 12 months ago and 35 per cent said they thought it would take more than three months to find their next job. Only 8 per cent thought it would take them less than two weeks.

SEEK CEO Paul Bassat said that these findings should ring warning bells in the offices of line managers and HR directors up and down the country: “We are looking at a potent mix of disgruntled employees who would rather be somewhere else but who feel stuck in their current job. That’s bad news for morale and bad news for productivity.

“The best people – the ones you most need to retain – will always be able to find another job, no matter what the state of the employment market. Companies that don’t address the reasons why their people are so unhappy will be left with average and under-performers, especially when the market picks up,” he said.

The survey also found some interesting statistics regarding tenure. Across all age groups, 36 per cent of employees had been with their current employer for less than one year and 35 per cent for between one and three years. Just 12 per cent of survey respondents had been with their employer for more than six years.

“We expected the length of tenure to increase with age, but we were surprised to find that fully 60 per cent of employees aged between 40 and 65 years have been in their current job for less than three years,” Paul Bassat said. “The impact of retrenchment – sometimes multiple times – on people in this age group has been significant. However, our sense is that people who have been forced to find other employment before are often more open to changing jobs again.”

So what do managers need to change? One in four people said that a new or improved management style or attitude was the single most important thing employers could change to make them want to stay in their job. Another 20 per cent said a pay rise would make them reconsider leaving. Greater variety or more interesting work was important to 11 per cent of respondents.

“This survey is saying that companies need to invest much more effort in improving how they manage their people. They need to ensure open and honest communication throughout the company, treat employees with respect and fairness and acknowledge a job well done. They must also let people know how they contribute to the company’s purpose and how they can develop professionally.

“These initiatives cost less to implement than an across-the-board salary increase and as our research findings suggest, they will be far more effective in reducing turnover and increasing employee satisfaction and productivity”, he said.

About the Survey
The 2003 SEEK Survey of Employee Satisfaction and Motivation in Australia collected responses from 6506 people who were currently employed. Data collection was via an online survey. Invitations to participate were published on seek.com.au and sent via email to 650,000 people who had registered with SEEK in the past five years. It measures employees’ perceptions of their current employer, their employment prospects and their intentions.

The full 2003 SEEK Survey of Employee Satisfaction and Motivation in Australia will be released in November 2003.

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04 August 2003

SEEK and ninemsn sign content distribution deal

SEEK and ninemsn today announced a major content distribution deal that will see SEEK, Australia's leading online employment service, become the exclusive careers content provider for Australia's leading internet portal, ninemsn.

As part of the two year agreement, ninemsn users will now have access to Australia's leading job search service, together with online training, certification tools and career development advice. With over 6 million unique visitors to its site every month, ninemsn offers SEEK unmatched reach as well as integration with other ninemsn content and tools.

Martin Hoffman, CEO of ninemsn, said, "There is terrific synergy in bringing together the number one portal and online employment service in Australia. We are delighted that through this new relationship with SEEK we can offer our users the largest selection of job opportunities and career services within the one site".

Andrew Bassat, Executive Director, SEEK, said, "This is a great opportunity for SEEK. By partnering with the most frequently visited site in Australia, we are significantly extending the reach of our services. Through ninemsn we bring more value to our customers by connecting employers to more job seekers".

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04 August 2003

PBL acquires 25 per cent of market leader SEEK

SEEK's mission to develop the primary marketplaces for employment in Australia and New Zealand is set to accelerate following Publishing and Broadcasting Limited's (ASX: PBL) agreement to acquire 25 per cent of the company.

SEEK was formed in November 1997 by Paul Bassat, Andrew Bassat and Matthew Rockman, who identified the potential that Internet technology held for both recruiters and job seekers. They launched seek.com.au in March 1998.

Announcing PBL's investment, SEEK CEO Paul Bassat said: "We are delighted to welcome PBL as a significant shareholder. This is a strong vote of confidence in SEEK's business model and recognises the success that we have achieved to date.

"PBL has unparalleled expertise in the media sector and their ability to anticipate and pursue growth opportunities in new areas is a key strength. We believe that SEEK's offering is a complementary fit with PBL's existing interests and we look forward to the contribution PBL's Executive Chairman, James Packer, will make as a new member of the SEEK Board."

Chief Executive Officer of PBL Mr Peter Yates said: "PBL continues to see great strength in the online business space. Employment classifieds is a well established and profitable sector and SEEK has already demonstrated an ability to capture a significant revenue share.

"There is a strategic fit with our existing stable of media businesses and we believe there are considerable synergies to be gained. We look forward to working with SEEK to grow their business."

SEEK has achieved consistent growth over the past five years. Ranked the fourth fastest growing company in Australia in BRW's Fast 100 Index for 2002, SEEK averaged turnover growth of 227 per cent per annum during the past three years. The company is in its second year of profitability and it recently received a special commendation award in the Best Employers to Work For in Australia 2003 survey, conducted by Hewitt & Associates.

"In seek.com.au we have created one of Australia's best known Internet brands. We have a reach that exceeds 55% of the online job seeker market. On average, the number of people visiting our site each month equates to ten per cent of the Australian workforce." says Paul Bassat.

"We are continuing to see significant revenue growth in our business particularly as Internet employment advertising becomes accepted as mainstream and more companies include it as part of their recruitment mix. PBL's investment will allow us to pursue this growth more aggressively," he said.

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16 July 2003

SEEK extends reach with Yahoo! deal

SEEK has signed a new deal with Yahoo!, SEEK ceo Paul Bassat announced today. Yahoo! is a long-standing alliance partner and the latest deal further extend SEEK's profile across the Yahoo! network. SEEK is the exclusive supplier of job ads on Yahoo! Australia & NZ, which is a significant source of candidate traffic. "This is great news for everyone who advertises on SEEK," said Bassat.

"We're absolutely confident the new arrangements will result in even greater exposure of jobs ads posted on SEEK. Our presence on a portal that has such wide appeal also helps us reach the so-called 'passive candidates': those who aren't actively looking for work but who can be motivated to take a look at what jobs are available."

Yahoo! Careers is a fully functional employment area, powered by SEEK's back-end technology. Yahoo! is the third most trafficked network in Australia. It recorded 5.2 million unique visitors in June 2003.

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13 June 2003

SEEK cements market leadership in NZ

The online employment market is growing rapidly across the Tasman and SEEK has firmly established itself as the most popular employment website in New Zealand. A local team based in Auckland has used the same technology and business strategy that worked in Australia, to great effect: seek.co.nz has twice the amount of traffic of its nearest competitor. According to Red Sheriff, seek.co.nz welcomed 125,000 unique visitors from within New Zealand and more than 2.5 million page impressions in May. As of 12 June 2003, there were 57 per cent more jobs listed on seek.co.nz than on NZ Jobs.

SEEK NZ assumed the #1 spot in late 2001. Since then it has continued to aggressively grow market share. SEEK has benefited from a "virtuous circle", says General Manager Jude Manuel. "We've invested in effective marketing to attract candidates to seek.co.nz. The more candidate visits, the more searches and job applications are made. This makes advertising on seek.co.nz more effective and attracts more ads. More ads in turn attract more candidates and so forth."

As in Australia, SEEK NZ has benefited from being an independent operation without ties to a parent company that may have competing interests, says Manuel. "We don't approach online advertising as a defensive strategy to protect old media revenues," she says. "The Internet is our whole business."

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06 June 2003

SEEK leads pack in healthcare, finance

SEEK ceo Paul Bassat pointed out today that SEEK's market leadership in online employment advertising is very evident in specific areas like healthcare and finance. "SEEK publishes many more ads and welcomes more candidates in healthcare and finance/accounting than its competitors. On 3 June for instance, SEEK had close to 10,000 jobs in accounting and finance (391 per cent more than Monster) and double the number of healthcare jobs."

Bassat recommends that advertisers evaluate their online advertising spend in the same way they would any other media buy. "You have to look at exposure. How many people does your ad reach and at what cost? And what results does your advertising generate?," he said.

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06 June 2003

SEEK leads pack in healthcare, finance

SEEK ceo Paul Bassat pointed out today that SEEK's market leadership in online employment advertising is very evident in specific areas like healthcare and finance. "SEEK publishes many more ads and welcomes more candidates in healthcare and finance/accounting than its competitors. On 3 June for instance, SEEK had close to 10,000 jobs in accounting and finance (391 per cent more than Monster) and double the number of healthcare jobs."

Bassat recommends that advertisers evaluate their online advertising spend in the same way they would any other media buy. "You have to look at exposure. How many people does your ad reach and at what cost? And what results does your advertising generate?," he said.

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04 April 2003

Recognition for outstanding recruitment firms

Recruitment firms will be rewarded for outstanding service thanks to the launch of a new award programme. The SARAs (SEEK Annual Recruitment Awards) were quietly launched on 1 April. SEEK, in conjunction with the RCSA, has established the awards as a way to support the recruitment industry.

The SARAs are a "popular choice" award. Finalists and winners will be those which receive the most votes cast by job seekers in Australia or New Zealand. SEEK CEO Paul Bassat says his company investigated a number of leading awards overseas before deciding on the shape of the SARAs.

Bassat emphasised that SEEK is not involved in judging or evaluating entrants but rather has invested in a programme whereby candidates can directly reward their favourite consultancy. Measures are in place to prevent individuals casting more than one vote.

"The SARAs are an opportunity to highlight the value recruiters provide to clients and candidates and to reward those firms that treat candidates exceptionally well," he said. "Job seekers are already grabbing the chance to nominate a recruitment firm that has gone beyond the call of duty."

The awards will be heavily featured throughout the SEEK website and also promoted on other major Australian websites like Yahoo!. "This marketing campaign ensures a high profile for the awards, even in their first year, and the involvement of the largest possible voting public," said Bassat.

Voting closes on 30 June and winners will be announced at the RCSA national conference in July.

Recruitment firms can direct their candidates here to vote: http://www.seek.com.au/if.asp?loc=sara.

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13 March 2003

Consolidating online spending saves time and money

Some recruiters are starting to consolidate spending on employment website advertising, says SEEK ceo Paul Bassat. Bassat thinks it's a good thing: he argues that some recruiters' "fragmented use of employment websites" is counter-productive and is frustrating candidates.

"Listing the same vacancy on up to five different websites confuses and annoys candidates and wastes recruiters' time and money," said Bassat. "During recent research, candidates described applying to an ad on one site only to see an ad which looks the same or similar on another site. Sometimes they unwittingly apply twice, which is embarrassing for them and annoying for recruiters."

"There may be several major employment websites worth using. But many second tier sites offer marginal value. There's lots of evidence to show that many job seekers use multiple media in their search for a job, particularly in candidate rich markets."

Bassat says this means advertising on one or two sites will reach the vast majority of candidates in the market. Additional online advertising simply wastes budget and soaks up processing time as ads are re-published and applications collated from multiple sources.

"The proof is provided by those recruiters, such as Icon, which are measuring what advertising delivers the most placements and adjusting their spend accordingly. If recruiters evaluate their advertising ROI, they can feel confident about making significant adjustments to their media buy."

Jane Beaumont, md at Spherion Recruitment, says her company has also reduced the number of employment websites they advertise with. "There's no indication that applications or placements have been affected. We'll continue to reduce the number of websites we use - it's saving us time as well as money."

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13 February 2003

SEEK lead in NZ confirmed

In the past, Internet publishers and advertisers in New Zealand sorely lacked an independent, common standard by which to measure website popularity. That's changed now that Red Sheriff has launched in New Zealand. January 2003 was the first month that full comparative figures were available for the employment category.

Red Sheriff figures confirm SEEK's market leadership in New Zealand, as well as Australia. seek.co.nz recorded 136,405 unique visitors in January 2003, 43 per cent more than nzjobs.co.nz and a whole 102 per cent more than monster.co.nz. seek.co.nz also made it into the list of top 10 most popular NZ websites in any category.

Paul Bassat, ceo, SEEK, attributed the success of the New Zealand's website to the local knowledge and commitment of the dedicated team in New Zealand.

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22 January 2003

AOL|7 helps users SEEK out New Year’s resolutions

Whether it’s a New Year’s resolution to find the perfect job or to take the next step in an already exciting career, Careers@AOL equips Internet users with the employment advice and opportunities they need to turn resolutions into reality.

Australia’s leading Internet employment site, SEEK is the exclusive jobs and employment content provider to AOL|7. Through SEEK, Careers@AOL is able to offer users a full range of career management tools and a comprehensive listing of job vacancies, which can be easily and conveniently accessed around the clock.

“We are delighted to have been chosen by AOL|7 as its long term partner in employment. This extends what has already been a strong partnership with AOL|7 and allows us to continue working together to provide a great service to the loyal AOL|7 member base," commented Andrew Bassat, Executive Director of SEEK.

A one-stop career expert, Careers@AOL helps users with much more than simply finding a job. It also delivers valuable career information and opportunities to employees, employers, trainers and recruiters.

According to Amanda Lacaze, CEO, AOL|7 Online Services, “Through our partnership with SEEK, Careers@AOL takes the leg work out of looking for a job and empowers users with expert employment advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Careers@AOL users benefit from access to a full range of employment services, including SEEK Zones, Job search, My Account, My Resume, Application Tracker and various career resources including helpful articles, advice and tools.

The Careers@AOL service is available to AOL members at AOL Keyword: Careers and to all Internet users via the AOL|7 network of websites.

The AOL Internet online service and AOL|7 websites are brought to Australian consumers by AOL|7 Pty Limited, a joint venture between America Online Inc., AAPT Ltd, and Seven Network Limited.

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