Got tired of being asked if I knew how to do "Product Management" or even the eternal question of "Road-maps" et al from recruiters. Here is the answer :)

1. Case Study : "LinkedIn - The Business
Network"
by Mayank Banerjee
2nd Aug 2013

2. Content
• Background – LinkedIn Story
• SWOT Analysis
• Talent Acquisition Trends
– Social Network Usage for Talent Acquisition
– Market Study: APAC Staffing Challenges
– Market Study: APAC Hiring Other Trends
2

3. Background
THE LINKEDIN STORY
“Connect the world’s professionals to make
them more productive and successful”
3

4. Registered Members by Region -2013

5. User Demographics - 2013
More than 50 million unique visitors each week
2.6 Billion pages viewed in one month
1% of the addicts are responsible for 26% of all traffic
The average user spends 7 minutes and 22 seconds on the website
25% of all employee profiles views are from co-workers.
Three out of four users want to be approached for other job opportunities.
Over 2.8 million businesses have a LinkedIn Company Page

6. Service offerings: Free and Monetized

7. LinkedIn– Products & Service Offerings
Talent
Solutions
Marketing
Solution
Premium
Subscriptions
7

8. LinkedIn– Revenue Stream: 2013
•
Talent Solutions: Recruiters and corporations
pay for:
–
–
–
•
Marketing Solutions: Target, Publish, Extend
–
•
LinkedIn advertisers pay for pay per click-through
targeted ads.
Premium Subscriptions: LinkedIn users pay for:
–
–
–
–
•
Branded corporate page on LinkedIn, complete
with careers section.
Pay per click-through Job ads that are targeted to
LinkedIn users which match the job profile.
Access to the database of LinkedIn users and
resumes.
LinkedIn Business for business users
LinkedIn Talent for recruiters
LinkedIn JobSeeker for LinkedIn users looking for a
job
LinkedIn Sales for Sales Professionals
Some elements of the various subscription
services are also on a pay per use basis like
InMail.
8

9. LinkedIn Target Users
9

10. Recruitment –Traditional Process
10

11. LinkedIn Differentiator – 3 in One
11

12. What could go wrong?
12

13. Growth Opportunities, Solution Overview, The Approach and Guiding Principle
BUSINESS SOLUTION
13

14. LinkedIn: SWOT Analysis
• Diversified revenue
streams
• First mover and leader
• International presence
• Growing Asian market
• Web branding
• Increased global web
usage
Strengths
Opportunities
SWOT
Weaknesses
• Security vulnerability |
Privacy issues
• Cultural barriers (NonUS)
• Inadequate niche
representation
Threats
• Competitors with large
user bases
• Unreliability of data
• SNS eating the market
14

15. 2010-2012
TALENT ACQUISITION TRENDS

16. Social Network Usage
Twitter
Facebook
Linked IN
45%
55%
47%
54%
55%
78%
66%
87%
2010
2011
93%
2012
Learning:
Twitter
Usage has grown 8%
from 2010 to 2012
Source: Job Vite
Facebook
Usage has grown 11%
from 2010 to 2012
Linkedin
Usage Has grown 15%
from 2010 to 2012

17. APAC Staffing Challenges
Skilled
worker
availability
High
Expectation
of Employee
Coemployment
issues
Branding
Competency
Challenges
International
MNC/China
MNC
India
Staffing
Challenges
China Staffing
Challenges
Turn over
Rate
High Agency
Fees
Contractual
Agreements
Attrition Issues
Economy Slow
Down
Lack of
standardization
in schools and
universities
Learning :
• China and India Two Most Populated countries
• LinkedIn is one of the few social networking sites allowed in China
• Chinese who understand basic English use LinkedIn, however it is not used by people who prefer Simplified Chinese
•50% of all companies surveyed in India use data to make hiring and employer branding choices

18. APAC Hiring : Other Trends
Companies Planning for Social
Media Hiring Budgets
Employers are investing in social
media to recruit talent
In Singapore,17% recruiters rejected a
candidate based on social media
So did 29% of recruiters in Hong Kong
Social media in the region is mainly used for
Candidate sourcing (73%)
Managing employer brand (73%)
Lowering overall recruitment costs (71%).
Australian HR use social
media to help source
candidates

19. MARKET ANALYSIS
[PEER-COMPETITORS AND LEADERS]
19

20. Content
•
•
•
•
•
Nominal Dimensional Analysis Overview
LinkedIn Functional Coverage: Gartner 2013
Functional Coverage and Global Presence : Other Vendors
Findings – Top and Bottom 3 Functional Areas
Growth Area/ Opportunity for LinkedIn
20

21. Approach Overview
• In a bid to understand the closest competitors and their
service offerings, I undertook an analysis of the market using
Nominal Dimensional method. A scoring of LinkedIn Vs. Peerscompetitors based on:
–
–
–
–
Weighted average cumulative scoring based on service offerings
Data culling on dimensions of geographic presence, market cap.
Regional biased scoring for emphasis in APAC/MEA.
Final consolidation of clustered ranked peer organizations with market
leaders
• In addition, Gartner reports on LinkedIn’s functional coverage
area as well as it’s peer vendors, was also used as an input to
arrive at the top & bottom 3 functional areas for global
players as well as in the APAC/MEA market
21

22. Peer – Competitor Scores and Clustering
22

23. LinkedIn Summary (Gartner 2013)
23
Source : Gartner Report

24. Final consolidated list of Vendors
24

25. Final consolidated list of Vendors
25

26. Findings : Top & Bottom 3 Functional Areas
Strongest 3 functional areas for Global players
Weakest 3 functional areas for Global players
TOP 3 functional areas for ROM (rest of the market)
Bottom 3 functional areas for ROM
26

27. What are the growth opportunities?
• Based on the trend analysis on
the market, few areas of growth
stood out for LinkedIn:
–
–
–
–
•Improve Job Posting
Board
•Sourcing
•On boarding and
Interview
Management
•Applicant Work
Flow
•Workforce Planning
Engagement
Proposed roll-out (next 1 year)
Short Term ( < 3 months)
Job Board Posting (Internal, External,
Corporate)
•Social Software
Posting/Integration
•Candidate
Relationship Mgmt.
•Job Description
Mid Term ( 3-6 months )
Applicant Workflow
Customer
Value
Branding
Increasing user engagement
Improving customer value
Monetizing Brand value
Providing analytics based services
Analytics
•Background Checking
Long Term ( > 6 months )
• Workforce Planning
• Background Checking
• Job Descriptions/Vacancy Management
• On boarding/Interview Management
27

28. SOLUTION OVERVIEW

29. Content
•
•
•
•
•
Solution Overview
The Approach
Guiding Principles
Business Opportunities
Solution Details
– Usability Improvements
– Premium: LIVE (LinkedIn Verified Entities)
– Dashboards
• Reference & Supporting Documents
29

30. Solution Overview
Talent Solutions (Recruiters & Jobseekers):
• Usability Enhancements – A minor set of changes made in the InMail,
Notifications , Job application Workflow .
Targeted at adoption by recruiters, increasing engagement and
improving customer satisfaction
• Dashboards – Involves providing Competency Matrix reports for all user
roles.
Long term returns are envisioned via increased user adoption of
LinkedIn as de-facto vendor of choice.
Premium Subscription (NEW) :
• LIVE: LinkedIn verified entity (new feature : Addresses one of the key pain
points in APAC i.e. Background Verification)
30

31. The Approach
Following is the approach I have used for the current proposal. It is a flexible yet powerful approach that
enables the organization to choose the right long term strategy and still deliver short term value to the
organization. Note: Only the items highlighted in orange have been covered.
Business needs
Inception
(1-3 weeks)*
uncover user and
business needs
Design and implement
(2-8 months)*
Roadmap Define
assess operational
readiness
Design
Build
Test
Roll-out
Roll-out
Roll-out
develop business
case
User needs
Consolidation and roll-out
(ongoing)*
Roll-out
Pilot
Consolidation / migration
Result:
• lower cost
• increased value
• improved
customer
satisfaction
define solution
concept(s)
Covered
Partial
Out of Scope
* timelines not to scale

32. The Approach | Uncover user and business needs
Uncovering user and business needs informs the underlying strategy and approach – what do users and the
business really want? What do users and business really need? Understanding these needs can involve
everything from interviews, work sessions, surveys to in depth user research.
Questions to be answered
• What are user’s real needs? What are
their current frustrations?
• What information is of most value to
users?
• What is important for you and your
team/business? How can LinkedIn
help?
• What is working well and what is not?
Example activities
• Stakeholder/User interviews
• Secondary research: Map functional
areas to skill sets of people in network.
Filter by limiting to Top verticals with
highest employee turn over trends in
APAC. i.e. IT, Consulting, Healthcare,
Advertising/Marketing, Recruitment
• Scenario research (online and
interviews)
• Gathering business requirements, user
stories
• Whiteboard user journey
Example deliverables
• Target audiences
• User Stories
• Business drivers
• Business opportunities
• (Prioritized) business requirements

33. The Approach | Define Solution Concept
The solution concept is the initial definition of how to address the user needs and realize the benefits
presented by the business case – it represents the executable vision for the solution and covers user
experience, process, organization and technology. The solution concept informs the business case and
roadmap. Note: I have not covered the technical solutions in detail.
Example questions to be
answered
Example activities
• What kind of API do we need?
• Technology/IT research
• What processes will the technology
support?
• Business user interviews
• Industry best-practice analysis
• What kind of organizational structure
and work flow will support the
solution?
Example deliverables
• Solution scenarios (user, content,
process, people and technology)
• Consequences of solution scenarios
(effect on business, how will solution
meet drivers and requirements)
How all tracks feed into the solution definition
• Concept for operational model(s)
• Technology options & solutions

34. Guiding Principles
• LinkedIn already has a market advantage, however based on
the approach defined earlier, I propose that the following
opportunities be addressed :
– Quick win : Any enhancement that can be made on an existing product
feature with minimal resource requirement and maximum customer
value
– Do not reinvent the wheel: Consider existing APIs and platforms.
– Listen to the customer: Based on the user interviews done as part of
this assignment, key pain points were captured and they should be
given priority
– Show me the money! : Monetizing the research findings.
34

35. LinkedIn Business Opportunities
Customer Engagement & Value
Customer Engagement
Increase user base of 225M significantly by
 enhancing usability , actively training users
 adding new premium services LIVE : LinkedIn Verified Entity
 providing “Free-mium” value added services
Usability
Usability
 Site navigation in LinkedIn is not intuitive at times
 Call to action buttons and notifications need enhancements
 Job application improved workflow can provide increased
customer satisfaction and increase engagement
Analytics
Monetizable
Analytics
 LinkedIn has ventured into the analytics and business
Business Value
intelligence space ,however additional Dashboard features are
not available to recruiters and members . This could be easily
implemented providing greater customer satisfaction
Premium Service - Background Verification
Leverage Linked in global brand equity and financial strength to
counter first mover advantage and increase market share.
Business Risk : Naukri.com currently provides BGV services (APAC).
35

36. Other areas considered
Key Finding : “80% of Customers polled for user stories
were unaware of LinkedIn’s training resources and
capabilities.”
Recommended : Investment in advertising, public evangelism,
training events around LinkedIn capabilities required.
Recommended for further exploration :
– Branding Enhancements
– User Productivity plug-ins app store.
36

37. Concept- 1
USABILITY IMPROVEMENTS
37

38. List of Enhancements
• Simplifying the “Connect – to - Call Candidate” multi-step
process for the recruiter
• Simplifying the “Interview scheduling” process
• Removing the “Phone screen / data collection” step for the
Recruiter
• Simplifying the “Communicate Status of Job Application” for
the Job seeker and the Recruiter
38

39. Benefits
Recruiter
•Less Time consuming process
• Scheduling is easier as system based
• Less number of calls to be made for a
Single Job Position
• Easier tracking method instead of
Multiple excel sheets
• Access to update tracking through
Laptop, Android, Apple devices
.
Job Seeker
• Receives regular status of the
candidature hence avoid multiple
calls and discontent
• Calls received at a convenient time

40. Typical recruitment process
Problem
•It’s a Time consuming process
•Prefer to skip the connect step by getting
contact info from other Job Portals
•Connect only if and when they have spoken
• Low adoption because contact info not
readily accessible
•Job Description not visible upon
acceptance of Connect
40

41. Typical recruitment process
Problem
•Time consuming process as needs to
connect multiple times to obtain
information for e.g. Skill set clarification
• Recruiter calling at inconvenient time
• Repetitive questioning
41

42. Typical recruitment process
Problem
•Calls directly with no regard to availability
of the candidate
•Recruiter calling a inconvenient time
42

43. Typical recruitment process
Problem
• Manually Updating tracking sheet
• Has to keep calling/emailing for updates.
Waste of time for everyone which is
annoying
43

44. 44

45. 45

46. InMail Enhancement : Call-to-action button
Recruiter
JOB ID: URL
Recruiter
JOB ID: URL
Company Website : URL
Accept
Call me, Now.
Call me, Later.
46

47. New InMail : Schedule a Meeting
I’d like to schedule a Meeting with you
Recruiter
JOB ID: URL
Company Website : URL
Face to Face
Telephonic
Mr XX
Interview
Available
Slot
Available
Slot
Available
Slot
47

48. New InMail : Status Update
Recruiter
Job ID Application Status
Custom text
For Eg. “ thank you for your patience”
Mayank
Set Periodicity
2 days
5 days
7 days
Job ID Application Status
Custom text For Eg.“ We
thank you for your
patience”
Recruiter
Open
Closed
In Progress
Set Periodicity
2 days
5 days
7 days
48

49. Status : What do stake holders see?
Mr. XXX has
requested a
Status update
for Job ID
Recruiter has
updated Job ID
status.
Email Notification sent to recruiter and job seeker
49

50. Removing the screening call step
Problem:
For a recruiter, the Skill Set information needs to be embellished as their Client’s/Hiring
Manager’s request for “Number of years of Experience with skill XXX”. This results in multiple
calls to collect information.
Solution :
50

51. Feature- Additional User Stories
As a
Want to
So that
CANDIDATE
Wants to have the ability to Job seeker is able to plan day better
without the fear of losing out on
set a preferred mode of
calls.
communication (Phone,
Skype, Chat) and a time slot
of availability.
Business value
Solution
(desired outcome)
Higher engagement. Passive high end candidates
are more comfortable.
System should provide fields
for selection of time slot and
mode of communication.
CANDIDATE, RECRUITER, Ability to integrate a
ORGANIZATION
scheduled/accepted
meeting/call requests into
calendar of preference.
Reminders can be set, in a calendar
of my choice.
Planning is more efficient and seamless.
Provide calendar Widget. Or
add to Outlook/Gmail (any
mail client of choice) for
recruiter and candidate,
mobile (Android /iOS)
calendar integration for
both.
CANDIDATE
/RECRUITER
Connect with
recruiter/candidate and
provide /receive contact
details in one step
It is less time consuming
User engagement
Implement an embeddable
call to action button. Backed
by One-time Use URL ‘s as
per regular LinkedIn
implementation
CANDIDATE
Provide a preferred time
slot for discussion
To avoid multiple calls from recruiter User engagement
at inconvenient times
Implement an embeddable
call to action button. Backed
by One-time Use URL ‘s as
per regular LinkedIn
implementation
CANDIDATE
Upon connect job
description to be saved
under the saved jobs
sections
Easy navigation and availability of
historical information
User engagement
Implement an embeddable
call to action button. Backed
by One-time Use URL ‘s as
per regular LinkedIn
implementation51

52. Background
Verification
LinkedIn verified - Trusted
choice of recruiters
Get LinkedIn verified & win
recruiter's trust!
PREMIUM SERVICE: “LIVE”
LINKED-IN VERIFIED ENTITY
52

53. Feature- User Stories
As a
Want to
So that
Business value
Solution
(desired outcome)
CANDIDATE
(undertaking Advance
level verification)
Wants the resume to be
verified once (at all levels)
and stamped with a seal
of approval.
Wants the verified resume
to be then retained with
LinkedIn for future
references.
Candidate is able to provide a preverified BGV report to the
prospective employers
authenticating his/her resume.
Due to which the employer saves
time, effort and money required
for such an investigation.
Trusted seal of approval brings a new level of
confidence in the candidate.
This increases the chances of the candidate
being contacted by the employer as against
someone not verified.
System should retain
Background Verification
information of the
candidate for nominal
annual charges.
RECRUITER/
ORGANIZATION
(conducting Advance
level verification)
Wants to conduct a
thorough background
verification for each
candidate. (For senior
level hire)
To avoid adverse selection and
resultant loss of time and money.
Making the right hiring decisions and reducing
avoidable risk are two of the most crucial
success metrics for employers. Both offer the
potential to have immediate and lasting effects
on a business. BGV through LinkedIn provides
the solution to this.
The recruiter/ organization
pays LinkedIn for verified
resumes of each potential
client they intend to hire.
CANDIDATE
(undertaking selective
levels of verification)
Requests for individual or
a set of checks.
Candidate acquires clearance on
selective levels of verification as
per his/her specific needs.
The candidate gets a BGV report, summary of
rights prescribed by the Federal Trade
Commission, statement that LinkedIn is not the
decision-maker, statement of right to dispute
report.
System should retain the
requested check
information of the
candidate on nominal
annual charges and allow a
more thorough verification
to the candidate.
RECRUITER/
ORGANIZATION
(conducting selective
levels of verification)
Wants to request BGV
To avoid adverse selection and
package when engaging in resultant loss of time and money.
bulk hires. (For mid and
beginner level hires)
LinkedIn creates a list of the uploaded verified The recruiter pays LinkedIn
documents along with a digitally signed consent as per the levels of checks it
form from the candidate and sends it to the
wants to engage in.
recruiter /organization.
53

54. Background Verification Process
54

55. Badge of Honour
Gold (L3 Certified)
Silver (L2 Certified)
Bronze (Partially )
55

56. As a Recruiter/ Organization
You need to conduct a
BACKGROUND VERIFICATION
during the hiring process for
Source: 2012 HireRight Employment Screening Benchmarking Report
56

57. As a Job Seeker
Benefits of Undergoing
Employment Screening
•Resume once verified may be retained
forever and the same may be used every
time for any new job.
•Knowing that the new employer has taken
steps to build a working environment of
You need to undergo a
BACKGROUND VERIFICATION
during the hiring process
High Integrity,
Competence,
Security,
Safety
57

58. Concept- 3
DASHBOARDS
58

59. Analytics and Business Intelligence
• Getting the right information to the right people at the right
time to support better decision making and gain competitive
advantages” (Waite, 2006).
In a survey by Gartner, over 59 per cent of CXO’s surveyed, identified Business intelligence (BI)
as a key aspect subject to increased investment during 2014.

60. Dashboard and the Competency Matrix
To present information in a way that people can rapidly monitor, fully
understand, and effectively respond to, we cannot format the appearance of
information nor lay it out on the screen in just “any ole’ way.”
The impact of visually appealing dashboards • Lets the data tell their own story.
• Helps present data in a more efficient and
pragmatic method
Solution Recommended: The Competency Matrix app
would be generate an online dashboard for those
looking to connect the dots between qualifications,
units of competency, skill sets and job roles , be it a
recruiter, a job seeker or an organization for its internal
staffing.
60

61. Feature- User Stories
As a
I want to
So that
Business value
Solution
(desired outcome)
BUSINESS HR(competency
level matrix)
Want to identify and
understand competency
levels of all employees Functional, Managerial &
Behavioral .
Can understand competency
gaps, identify training needs,
design company programs
basis this information. Can
identify who is best fit for a
role. Can do effective
succession planning as well.
If readily available, will ease
the time and effort involved
in getting this done.
If the solution offered is one
which can give a report with
limited time spent, then this
will be seen as something
that can be adopted with
ease.
RECRUITER(competency level Want to understand
matrix)
competency level of
prospective candidates with
ease.
Can map competency level of
potential candidates against
given job description.
Therefore be able to identify
who is best qualified for a
particular role.
Due to which the recruiter
saves time and effort
required for such an
investigation.
For a charge if this
information is made available
and recruiter is able to do a
more effective search and
closure of positions they will
readily avail such an offer.
CANDIDATE (competency
level matrix)
Understand clearly his/her
career path because
candidate then knows where
his/her strength lies and
which areas have room for
improvement.
The right recruiters can
approach the candidate for a
given role. The candidate is
also confident about his
abilities for taking on the role.
Will be able to develop and
grow career in a better
manner with such a tool
which is in-built.
If the candidate gets more
suitable calls from recruiters
also sees better match of jobs
in the LinkedIn option due to
this they may opt for it as a
premium solution.
Understand individual
competency level to be able
to assess right fit for a
role/job.
61

62. References & Supporting Documents
• References
– faberNovel, LinkedIn, The Serious Network, June 2013
– Gartner Reports
62

63. Author’s note and Disclaimer : Most of the content used to build this
presentation was sourced from online articles and resources, and was
displayed in the spirit of a "Free-Use", not for profit. Author has tried his
best, to attribute original content to its source and any infringement of
copyrights is accidental in nature. Please reach out to me at :
mayank[dot]banjo[at]gmail[dot]com, in case you the reader, find your
original content in the presentation. I would be more than happy to
attribute it to you.
63