The Situation
Courage, commitment, resourcefulness and independence are always on the checklist when the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) searches for recruits to support its vision to be the best small navy
nation in the world. Traditionally, the Navy’s recruitment drive has been led by television, radio and print media campaigns supported by recruiters located throughout the country. However, in today’s job marketplace, online interaction is king.
Navy Recruitment identified that the online channel is the single biggest employment influencer and source of employment information. A dynamic and interactive website was seen as holding the key to helping potential recruits understand what life in the Navy is like and to explore what jobs best match their personality and interests. As a window to opportunities in the Navy, the new website needed to be professional, positive and dynamic, to encourage people to take the next step towards a rewarding career in the Navy.
The Pain
Frustrated by ageing web technology, the Navy wanted to propel recruitment into a highly interactive online space.
“The internet has the capability to extend our message across a variety of mediums; so this website
is just the start to achieving a greater understanding of the Navy and our role.” Christine Thomson, Digital Content Co-ordinator, Navy Recruitment.
Navigating the online space with Intergen
As a long-standing partner of the New Zealand Defence Force, Intergen was engaged to support the Navy’s online initiative. From a Microsoft SharePoint perspective, these were well-chartered waters.
Bruce Barton comments, “Intergen has a “preferred supplier” status with the Navy as a result of working with us over many years. Intergen is also recognised as one of several companies
with SharePoint expertise and so the combination of their SharePoint expertise and them knowing our business well makes them our preferred supplier for SharePoint customisation.”
Successful go-live for www. navyjobs.mil.nz
Since its launch, www.navyjobs.mil.nz has attracted 17,000 unique visitors with people staying on site for an average of 6.5 minutes. Navy Jobs is a modern, stand-alone website that has its own distinct look and feel. It provides users with a dynamic and engaging experience through interactive areas that give a hands-on perspective to life in the Navy. One of the key features of the website is the interactive Career Profiler that asks the user a series of questions and provides a selection of possible job options to explore. Other well-used tools include the Practice Aptitude Test and an
Eligibility Test that highlights pre-joining criteria.
Christine Thomson says the “clever aspects” of the new website have been well received.
“The website reflects the professionalism of the Navy; the content and tools provide potential recruits with a practical understanding of the jobs, lifestyle and opportunity in the Navy. Feedback has been extremely positive … “Top compliments to the interaction of the new updated Navy careers websites, well done” is one of several emails that arrived.”
Looking to the future, the intention is for other Services within the New Zealand Defence Force to leverage the recruitment online framework that has been created.
The Gain
A new generation of people is getting onboard www.navyjobs.mil.nz to explore a career in the Navy.