Among America’s favorite past times, enjoying a few cold ones during a given week is right up there with baseball and reality TV. Just take a look at these consumption stats from the folks Gallup:
- 66% of American’s consume alcohol on a weekly basis.
- 67% of 18-34 year olds drink, knocking back 5.4 drinks on average in a given week.
- 72% of 35-54 year olds drink, knocking back 3.6 drinks on average in a given week.
- Consumption increases with income level.
With those figures, it’s no surprise that business is thriving over at Three Sheets Research, a marketing firm focused on improving everything from websites to product concepts to marketing campaigns. And, as their name suggests, they do all their testing while under the influence.
Now some of you may be scratching your head trying to draw the connection between boozing and an HR/recruiting blog, so let me get to my point with an example of the research being performed by the team at Three Sheets…
“Following the release of Windows 8, we wasted no time in trying out Microsoft’s new operating system on a drunken subject. Jennifer, a 40-year-old mother of 2, is an active consumer of PCs, software and alcohol. She agreed to sit down with us the afternoon following the product’s launch to share her thoughts on Windows 8, all while imbibing several rounds of her favorite tequila.
Highlights
- The Start screen was overwhelming. The tiles’ functions, fonts and photos were unclear.
- She searched in vain for conventions, often punching the Esc key to no avail.
- She resented the omnipresence of Microsoft properties, like IE and Bing, referencing “Big Brother” and “Ass”.
- She frequently expressed a feeling of being trapped, powerless and “in retreat.”
See more at: http://threesheetsresearch.com/#sthash.JPEGUnIM.dpuf”
Oh, and did I mention that majority of alcohol consumption takes place after 7pm? Which just so happens to be the same time Job Seekers are searching for opportunities on their mobile devices (see the chart below, email subscribers click through to view chart):
Now I know we learned in Stats 101 that correlation is not causation, but I still think these kids at Three Sheets are on to something …
And that something is usability matters.
So, with your mind on your money and your money on my mind… how are you working to improve the usability of your mobile (and standard) application process, and ultimately your candidate experience in 2014?
Please Note: Three Sheets isn’t actually a real company, but hey, those creative geniuses still make a pretty compelling point! And I dig it.
Holland Dombeck McCue is the former editor turned blogger here at Fistful of Talent. She plays in the employment branding and B2B marketing space and currently heads up Recruitment Marketing and Global Employment Branding for Delta Air Lines. So, it goes without saying that the opinions shared on FOT are hers and hers alone. She wishes it could go without saying, but hey, Legal runs a tight ship…