A few months back we published the Corporate Mobile Readiness Report, an assessment of the Fortune 500′s presence on the mobile web. We evaluated the companies on six criteria ranging from native apps, to mobile optimization of the corporate site, the career site, as well as the continuity between them.  It was not surprising to find out that most companies are not ready.  Less than 30% have mobile corporate websites, and only 13% have a mobile optimized career site.  This is pretty much what we expected.

But when we applied the scoring methodology to differentiate the leaders from the laggards, we were astonished.  You would have expected companies like Apple, who pretty much instigated the mobile revolution by creating the iPhone, and Cisco one of the highest of high tech firms in Silicon Valley to be at the forefront.  But their CMRi score was -1 and 0 respectively.

It was McDonalds who topped the list and companies like Humanna, Macy’s and Hertz coming in as early adopters. After taking a few minutes to ponder this it all started to make sense. The high tech companies are focused on attracting high tech professionals. High tech professionals tend to spend most of their day in front of a laptop or desktop.

Companies in retail, food service, manufacturing, and healthcare have a different challenge. The target audience is out on the front lines, interacting with customers and may not see a computer until they get home after work.  But most of them have a smart phone in their pocket all day long.  Getting mobile for these industries is a much higher priority and a bigger opportunity.

So unlike most technology revolutions, the high tech companies are lagging when it comes to mobile recruiting. But while they have the luxury of a target market that remains connected  to the web via desktops, the ability to connect with talent anytime, anywhere is still a big opportunity and will eventually become a necessity.

Author Description:

ED NEWMAN

Ed is an entrepreneur with a deep background in Human Resources and Talent Management. As the Chief Analyst for Inside TMT, he is on a mission to bring clarity to the Talent Management Technology industry. Prior to this, Ed was the founder of The Newman Group and served as its President from 1999 through 2012. In 2007, The Newman Group was acquired by Korn/Ferry International