Best Corporate Careers Website: Deloitte

Deloitte has long been a leader in both recruiting and retention, and now it has broken new ground by building a global careers website designed from the ground up to focus on the candidate experience. Unlike most corporate sites, which are dull and serve as nothing more than "front-ends" to applicant tracking systems, the Deloitte solution uses cutting-edge marketing approaches and the latest technology to serve candidates consistently around the world.

Quick facts:

  • The site is a living example of "a global strategy executed locally."
  • It leverages both localization and personalization engines to dynamically deliver content relevant to the site visitor.
  • It is a single site supporting more than 80 country-specific recruiting strategies.
  • Deloitte delivers a consistent brand message around the world in 10 languages.

Best practices:

  • Target audience research. Deloitte conducted extensive usability research with two external candidate groups — students and experienced professionals — to help create the original design specifications. Ongoing surveys and focus groups with candidates sourced both inside and outside the organization help to guide refinements and changes. (This research led Deloitte not to follow a trend of using extensive flash and graphic-heavy page design, as their target candidates found such elements a barrier to usability.)
  • Use of localization and customization. The use of these two technologies ensures that candidates are presented with information unique to their specific needs. College students in France, for example, are presented with different information than college students in Australia and both are presented with different information than professional hires. Extensive research is conducted to help determine what type of content each target demographic needs/wants.
  • Employment brand measurement. The messaging of the site is adapted continuously based on input from candidate surveys and third-party market research which details how Deloitte is perceived in the talent market.
  • Localized content management. Deloitte custom-built a content management tool to allow local HR professionals — who are not technical experts — to manage local content.
  • Robust analytics. Because the global site is truly one site versus a portal that forwards users on to local sites, all movement throughout the more than 7,000 web pages can be monitored and analyzed.
  • Multiple presentation formats. Because the site is powered by a robust content management tool, the same type of content can be delivered in multiple ways. For instance, a day "in the life" story maybe be presented as text, short video clip, or in-depth dynamic video.
  • Web-based screening. Candidates who move from the site into the recruitment management application are screened using questionnaires tailored to each position.
  • Introduces an online network for interns.
  • The employee referral program offers a $30 reward just for the first referral, even if the person is not hired. Deloitte includes corporate alumni in the referral program.