Sunday, 21 October 2007
Thursday, 18 October 2007
How could the ICAS website be improved?
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is a world renowned and highly respected professional organisation. The ICAS qualification is widely regarded as the premier accounting qualification to obtain within the business industry.
Due to such prestige, it is understandable that many wannabe accountants and professionals alike visit the organisation’s website regularly. An organisation of such magnitude and reputation undoubtedly boasts an impressive professional website which fulfils user needs successfully. Unfortunately however, the ICAS website falls well short of this expectation.
Unlike rival organisations, ICAS have opted for a second rate website which does not engage or interest the user in any way. Website users generally “equate a poor site design with a poor organisation” (http://www.webreference.com/), meaning that the organisation’s reputation could be adversely affected. Subsequently, interested job candidates visiting the site may be put off applying - an outcome which ICAS surely wish to avoid.
In order for the website to succeed, drastic improvements are required. Initially, changes should concern the layout and content of the home page. As well as a poor colour scheme, there is far too much material on the home page, highlighting a lack of organised structure. Font sizes in the side category list are too small and there are too many headings and non-important information.
ICAS should instead create a colourful welcome/home page with a shorter condensed list of user tailored options (headings) to choose from, similar to what is displayed on the ACCA (http://www.accaglobal.com/) and CIMA (http://www.cimaglobal.com/) websites. On these pages, a much more efficient and attractive use of the screen is evident. This will help users when navigating around the site. A further improvement relating to this could involve the addition of a site map for navigation purposes, again with user needs being considered.
Recruitment is a very important area for ICAS. Currently, the vacancies section can be accessed at the almost unnoticeable bottom of the category list on the home page. It would appear that ICAS do not want to attract any new talent! Instead, the recruitment heading should be made a focal point of the home page. Also, more detailed employer comments on the benefits of the ICAS qualification should be provided to further encourage potential members to apply.
The only advertisement on the page is an out of place flashing advertisement for CArecruitment.com. Surely other employers would pay good money to advertise on such a prestigious organisation’s main page to take advantage of marketing opportunities, something which ICAS should consider implementing. This would not only help job hunters and employers, but would highlight the link ICAS have with premier business organisations, thus encouraging students to pursue the qualification.
The site clearly does not take advantage of current technology which would unquestionably make the site more interactive and attractive if utilised. For example, latest news which is scattered across the screen could be presented in a scrolling news panel which would minimise the amount of screen space taken up. In relation again to recruitment, podcasts entailing recorded interviews could be made available for users to view, as is currently the case with many other recruiting organisations. Videos with younger happy looking employees would also help eradicate the stereotypical consensus that accountants are old and boring, thus helping to attract young recruits.
Finally, because the ICAS website does not reside at a dot com address (currently http://www.icas.org.uk/ as opposed to http://www.icas.com/ which is occupied by a different company) like rival bodies do, it may be presumed by people that ICAS is perhaps inferior to their competitors, when this is not the case. If possible, they should rectify this.
All of the above suggested improvements are not difficult or costly to implement. If ICAS wishes to maintain its global reputation, then it is necessary for them to maintain a respectable professional website.
Due to such prestige, it is understandable that many wannabe accountants and professionals alike visit the organisation’s website regularly. An organisation of such magnitude and reputation undoubtedly boasts an impressive professional website which fulfils user needs successfully. Unfortunately however, the ICAS website falls well short of this expectation.
Unlike rival organisations, ICAS have opted for a second rate website which does not engage or interest the user in any way. Website users generally “equate a poor site design with a poor organisation” (http://www.webreference.com/), meaning that the organisation’s reputation could be adversely affected. Subsequently, interested job candidates visiting the site may be put off applying - an outcome which ICAS surely wish to avoid.
In order for the website to succeed, drastic improvements are required. Initially, changes should concern the layout and content of the home page. As well as a poor colour scheme, there is far too much material on the home page, highlighting a lack of organised structure. Font sizes in the side category list are too small and there are too many headings and non-important information.
ICAS should instead create a colourful welcome/home page with a shorter condensed list of user tailored options (headings) to choose from, similar to what is displayed on the ACCA (http://www.accaglobal.com/) and CIMA (http://www.cimaglobal.com/) websites. On these pages, a much more efficient and attractive use of the screen is evident. This will help users when navigating around the site. A further improvement relating to this could involve the addition of a site map for navigation purposes, again with user needs being considered.
Recruitment is a very important area for ICAS. Currently, the vacancies section can be accessed at the almost unnoticeable bottom of the category list on the home page. It would appear that ICAS do not want to attract any new talent! Instead, the recruitment heading should be made a focal point of the home page. Also, more detailed employer comments on the benefits of the ICAS qualification should be provided to further encourage potential members to apply.
The only advertisement on the page is an out of place flashing advertisement for CArecruitment.com. Surely other employers would pay good money to advertise on such a prestigious organisation’s main page to take advantage of marketing opportunities, something which ICAS should consider implementing. This would not only help job hunters and employers, but would highlight the link ICAS have with premier business organisations, thus encouraging students to pursue the qualification.
The site clearly does not take advantage of current technology which would unquestionably make the site more interactive and attractive if utilised. For example, latest news which is scattered across the screen could be presented in a scrolling news panel which would minimise the amount of screen space taken up. In relation again to recruitment, podcasts entailing recorded interviews could be made available for users to view, as is currently the case with many other recruiting organisations. Videos with younger happy looking employees would also help eradicate the stereotypical consensus that accountants are old and boring, thus helping to attract young recruits.
Finally, because the ICAS website does not reside at a dot com address (currently http://www.icas.org.uk/ as opposed to http://www.icas.com/ which is occupied by a different company) like rival bodies do, it may be presumed by people that ICAS is perhaps inferior to their competitors, when this is not the case. If possible, they should rectify this.
All of the above suggested improvements are not difficult or costly to implement. If ICAS wishes to maintain its global reputation, then it is necessary for them to maintain a respectable professional website.
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