Competitor Research for Blue-collared Job Platforms

Indian Blue-collared Job Platforms

Competitor Research for Blue-collared Job Platforms

Background

Competitive Research, as we know, is a great way to learn newer ways to serve our users by looking at the common problems that they might face while using a product and finding the right solutions for them. It also helps in figuring out why a certain competitor’s business is booming and how we can enhance our product in order to reach out to the greater mass of the market. Keeping these in mind, I have recently signed up to check the onboarding flow on different Indian Blue-collared job platforms and made screen recordings of the entire experience.

The User Experience

The screen recordings of the experiences are linked here.

I have tabulated takeaways from my experience below -

Platforms Signed up as Takeaways
GoodWorker Delivery Executive
  • Did not find an app so had to register through their website.
  • The onboarding process was smooth and the platform did not ask for many details for initial sign up.
  • Once I was signed up, I explored around and found a good number of educational videos on creating resumes, communication skills, preparing for interviews, etc.
  • Languages available were based on a person’s knowledge of Hindi and English.
Apna Delivery Executive Logistics/Operations
  • Apna has an impressive UI and auto-detect OTP feature.
  • Languages shown according to the location one chooses and based on the degree of grasp one has over the language. For example, I chose Kolkata, so it gave me options of English, little English with Hindi and little English with Bengali.
  • The visiting card feature was really cool and looked fun too, though it seems the app failed to determine if the picture was of a human or something else.
  • Asked basic questions regarding work experience and education, asked for positions I would like to work in. One can choose up to 4 positions. Thus, one gets onboarded and can start looking for jobs.
  • App provides assistance, along with a tutorial video for guiding workers through the different features of the app.
  • Noticed an instant chat facility while exploring that welcomes and asks if one needs career counselling.
  • Social media like an approach to group chats and finding people in the same field or area.
  • App provides a website dedicated to the worker showing his/her profile as we see on LinkedIn.
MyKaam Chef/Cook
  • The app opens up with more than 10 regional language options.
  • Auto-detects contact numbers and OTP.
  • Gives an option to choose one job position only and then asks to specify the level or type of specific position in that occupation.
  • Ask about work experience, education, government ID as it opens up in the job section of the app.
  • The profile section is quite simple and provides an option to connect with people who are signed up with the app.
  • UI is quite simple, though has a section named ‘Popular’ which has an Instagram-like social media approach. This section works as a forum for posting jobs as well as putting up posts if one is looking for jobs.
GigIndia Wanted to sign up as Delivery Executive
  • The app is quite simple when comes to signing up.
  • Noticed that the app asks for more information about an individual after the initial OTP verification.
  • The application form asks if one has a wifi connection or a laptop, other salary preferences, which made me feel the app was better for grey or white collared jobs.
  • The app asks for WhatsApp number verification.
  • The app mostly had sales and marketing jobs.
Gigforce Delivery Executive
  • Opens up for language options, which are shown as English and Hindi.
  • Auto-detects OTP, along with detecting the phone numbers used in the device.
  • An individual can select up to 3 positions. Even has job position for farmers, which was something I didn’t notice in other apps.
  • The app asks further questions based on the position/positions one has selected as their preference.
  • One distinguishing feature of this app was asking for preferable days and part/parts of the day for working if an individual chooses the Part-time option.
  • The app also asks if an individual has vehicular assets like a 2,3, or wheeler vehicle, other than asking about IT assets like a smartphone or laptop.
  • The app asks for a profile picture at the end of the onboarding process.
  • The app provides rewards to those individuals who help others set up a profile in the app.
Kaam24 Delivery/Field
  • Three primary language preference which are English, Hindi, and Marathi.
  • No mobile number verification at the start. The app just asks for language preference and location settings and starts showing job.
  • The app offers the option ‘Create Resume’ where one can start adding descriptive details about oneself asked by the app in the form of a basic application form.
  • The app shows a range of job positions falling under blue-collared and grey collared jobs.
  • After choosing the position for Delivery, the app asked me the kind of delivery that I would prefer, along with preferable cities where I would like to work.
  • UI is simple with nothing out-of-the-box impressive.
  • The app has been bothering me to pay 100 rupees as a registration fee..
Dhiyo Cook/Hotel Staff Deliver driver
  • Undoubtedly the most fun looking and hassle-free app.
  • Has voice assistance to guide an individual through the features of the app. Also initially shows textual instructions for using the app.
  • An individual can also use the voice assistance to fill in his/her profile details, or can opt for type facility. The voice assistance also works for searching jobs.
  • The voice assistance works with 8 regional languages.
  • Has more than 2 gender options.
  • An individual can select up to 3 positions.
  • Job profiles look impressive and one can apply or discard a job by clicking a tick and cross symbol on right and left while swiping up shows further details of the job. (The app makes the job profiles look more like someone’s dating app profile!)

Overall Learnings

  • All companies provide an online as well as app-based signing up and onboarding option.
  • Most of the apps (other than Dhiyo) are android based and do not have an iOS version. A possible reason can be that the apps focus mostly on blue-collared workers who in maximum cases won’t have a premium smartphone, like an iPhone.
  • All the apps have multiple language options, out of which Hindi and Hinglish (which seems like a text-friendly language of Hindi and English) is the most common ones. Few apps also provide specific language features after a worker mentions his current location.
  • Guiding an individual through the app would be something to think about.
  • The voice assistance of Dhiyo was pretty impressive and something we can think of incorporating in our app.
  • Regular competitive research of these apps along with newer apps will be a great way to improve marketing strategies, identify market gaps, and ultimately make our app more user-friendly.