LV= is taking its goal to be a strong local employer further as it customises jobs by user location

Mutual insurance, retirement and investment group LV= has taken a major step in its aim to be seen as a strong local employer in areas where it has offices by delivering a location-based experience on its career site. Paul Smith, LV= head of resourcing, told Recruiter that it is part of the company’s Own our Town strategy.

“Where we have local sites, we strategically place our advertising in those towns so that people make a connection between the office, the location and us as a strong brand,” he explained. “Our message is that we are a local employer and are looking to create jobs in that community. That resonates with people living in these areas.”

In five years, LV= has grown from three sites with around 1,500 employees to 22 offices and almost 6,000 employees. Having established itself as a major national employer in the insurance sector, Smith explained that it decided to switch to the Own our Town strategy last year. 

Using the new website, individuals within a 20-mile radius of an LV= office are automatically served up local jobs and information. The website recognises a person’s location by using their internet protocol (IP) address, which is then mapped to the nearest LV= office. 

The technology estimates a user’s location based on local service information such as a telephone exchange rather than their home or work location. If a user wants to look at opportunities with LV= outside their area, they can override the automatic selection using a drop-down menu. 

It is claimed to be the first time IP recognition has been used on a careers site and Smith explained that one of its objectives is also to be seen as an innovative employer. “Everyone has iPads, iPhones and other devices and are looking for quick, simple technology that can help them get into the job market,” he said. “We want to be seen as an innovative and interesting employer. It enables us to be easier to do business with.” 

The website is also central to its strategy of reducing its reliance on agencies. Smith explained that two years ago its agency-to-direct recruitment mix was 82% agency but this has dramatically reversed to 97% in favour of the direct model and has helped the company make major cost savings.

“Two years ago we spent around £4m on the recruitment budget but now we spend less than a £1m and believe we provide a better candidate experience because it is about the company recruiting the candidate,” he said. “The business recognises this as a real commercial driver and we can invest in growing our brand awareness, website, technology and social media strategy.”

LV= uses social media in a number of ways, including setting up a social group to engage with actuaries. “Actuarial recruitment is high-touch and specific, and there tends to be more recruitment through agencies, but this social strategy has worked well for us,” Smith explained.”  

Going forward, Smith said that next year it will focus on mobile technology (one in five visits to the website are through a mobile device) as well as making more use of visual recognition technology. At the moment candidates can scan a code with a mobile phone on a job advertisement which will take them to a recorded telephone conversation of someone who does a particular job. 

“We want to take this to the next level and allow the candidate to have a dialogue with the business,” he said. “We are looking to be innovative wherever we can and stay ahead of the curve.”

www.jobs.lv.com