Uscreates undertook a piece of user insight research on behalf of Nesta and the Open Data Institute to support the teams taking part in the Jobs Open Data Challenge. The Jobs Open Data Challenge is asking teams to create products and services that use open data to help people get better jobs or create new jobs.

The aim of the user research is to provide an insight into some of the opportunities and challenges facing potential employees and other stakeholders in relation to employment so that teams can develop appropriate products and services for the Challenge.

From the research we established that there is a huge amount of information available to people about jobs and companies online if they are able to access it including jobs listings and recruitment websites. A small number of more interactive tools exist such as the skills and people matching "No Desire to Retire" website for the over 50s. However, a relatively small number of people are using them at the moment and there is a great opportunity for more effective tools and services to be developed using open data. There are also fewer services which use data to support people to move further down the path of actually getting a job rather than just finding the job advertisement.

The process can be found in the full slide deck which we’ve also published today - this includes further segmentation of users as well as user personas and user journey maps to help develop teams’ ideas. From the research four key themes stood out which teams should consider in relation to their applications for the Jobs Open Data Challenge.

Theme 1 - Making a change

People generally want to change careers or are looking for work at different career stages for different reasons. Some factors could affect people at any stage of their career, such as being made redundant, whilst other factors are linked to particular life stages such as having children. A good work life balance is important to people and is something that employers can help with by offering flexible working, etc

Theme 2 - Developing a network

For employees having a good network of contacts is important for both progression and getting a new job. However it is difficult for people to develop an effective network in a sector that is unfamiliar to them or in a new geographical area. People feel that this puts them at a disadvantage, a feeling that some employers concur with. Employers reported that they often have people in mind when recruiting for a vacancy or new position. Equally, within an organisation progression is usually the result of line managers identifying potential in an employee and highlighting this to management.

Theme 3 - Feeling valued

It is important to people that they feel valued, supported and treated fairly by their employer. This means much more than simply being paid to do a job. Actual size of salary is less important to people than receiving a fair salary and some benefits offered by an employer can compensate for a slightly lower salary e.g. healthcare benefits, support with childcare, feeling like you are making a positive difference in your job. However, a large proportion of employees feel that they are not valued by their employer and that they are not offered any opportunities for professional development. This appears to be a more prevalent perception amongst employees in low skilled or manual jobs. Quality employment is what people want, rather than just a job which helps reduce unemployment figures but does not really benefit the individual.

Employers face the challenge of making employees feel valued whilst continuing to be an economically viable organisation. The workload dictates the workforce requirements for most organisations. Where considerable fluctuations in workload occur, or a short term need for resource is identified, employers often rely on zero hours contract workers, temporary staff or short term fixed contracts and they recognise that it can be difficult to make these employees feel valued.

Theme 4 - Understanding transferable skills

Most employees recognise that they have transferable skills but feel that employers are not always willing to consider these skills if they are also interviewing people with more direct experience. This makes it difficult for people to break into a new sector. Some people also find it hard to identify their transferable skills and are unable to articulate them on application forms and in interviews.

Despite what employees reported, employers said that soft skills and the right attitude were more important to them when recruiting, as opposed to just having experience in a sector. They are happy to train people in the specifics of a job if they have the right mind set and show aptitude.

Other opportunities and challenges

In addition to the four key themes another challenge identified was ongoing discrimination against certain groups of potential employees such as those with mental health issues, people over 50 and those with English as an additional language. However, a lot of tailored support is available to individuals and organisations if people know about it and can access it in their local area.

Teams are invited to use the insights here and the further detail we’ve put in the slide deck to help them understand the user needs they should be considering when developing their ideas for products and services which are relevant for the Challenge. The deadline for applications is 12pm, Monday 30 March, for more information visit the Jobs Homepage.

Photo Credit: flazingo.com via Flickr CC