The way businesses recruit is constantly evolving. 😵
And an increased focus on candidate experience has become a significant part of this change.
Candidates are 38% more likely to accept a job offer if the candidate experience has been a positive one.
Recruitment and Human Resources teams are tasked with the vital role of representing their company and brand among candidates and providing a respectful, transparent and consistent recruitment process. 📋
Company's see the value of a positive reputation among candidates for many reasons. These include:
Just as positive candidate experiences can improve positive recognition and support for companies, a negative candidate experience can cause disaster. 🤦♀️
It could cause you to lose customers, damaging your revenue, or have your brand and reputation dragged through the mud across the Internet.
This article will explore ways in which your organization can avoid and prevent horrible candidate experiences. We will look at:
All of these methods can help provide all candidates with a respectful and positive recruitment process regardless if they were successful or not.
And deliver something to write home about!
The search for the right candidate requires proper consideration and time. That is undebatable.
But does it need to drag on for several weeks or months? With candidates often left in the dark, expecting news and not receiving any in some instances. 🕰️
This can explain why candidates have significant frustrations with the recruitment process and causes terrible candidate experience.
🙋So, what can I do?
If possible, companies shouldn't let the recruitment process drag on. Make it exciting and enjoyable, don't have your candidates sitting there waiting for your emails and calls. Make them an active part of the recruitment process.🏃♀️
There is nothing quite like boredom and frustration at a lack of communication to turn candidates off a company.
You've lost a potentially excellent candidate and possibly sullied your company's brand and reputation through inaction. You are losing customers and money. Not great. 🙅♀️
Here are some practical tips your company can use to improve your recruitment process and turn bad experiences into excellent candidate experience, whether they are successful in getting the job or not:
Following these points will not only turn bad candidate experience into something far more positive. But is also capable of boosting your brand image.
By promoting a transparent and open brand that is considerate of all candidates and individuals it interacts with— this is a brand reputation you can be proud of. 😁
When searching for recruits to fill a position within an organization, a company's priority is to find the one person who fits perfectly.
That is entirely understandable.
You have finite time and resources, and in most cases, need to fill the role within a specific timeframe.
But should that singular approach come at the cost of ignoring, casting aside the 50, 100 or 1000 others who were unsuccessful applicants for the role? 🧑🤝🧑
🙋Can you have both?
75% of applicants never received news or feedback from a company they expressed interest in.
Suppose you want to stop the horrible candidate experiences and the negative association on your business and reputation. To do that, the focus needs to be on all candidates.
And make sure you are providing them with the necessary support and personal touch during the recruitment process.
You can do this by:
Simple, personal touches that should not be too time-consuming. To ensure your candidates have a great experience of your recruitment process. 😀
This style of approach reflects well on your business. It helps to maintain interest among candidates, meaning they are actively involved in the recruitment process, rather than waiting around, dragging their feet, as they await a meagre yes or no.
And if it is a 'no', at least your organization can say that you did everything in your power to make sure all candidates were treated fairly and honestly.
Rather than have all the built-up resentment and frustration among candidates explode across the Internet, pouring negativity across your company's reputation.
Like anything, education is key to personal and group development. 📚
Organizations need to know and understand what constitutes a bad candidate experience and the methods required to make it an excellent one.
Through this, you can prevent future issues and bring a company-wide approach to interacting with candidates during the recruitment process.
This company-wide awareness needs to extend to the whole of the company from top to bottom.
From your Senior Management to your Junior Recruiter fresh from University, they must all be well-versed in the importance of candidate experience.
The benefits of this new approach for your business and the horror stories of what negative candidate experience can do commercially or reputationally to a business.
You could achieve this through:
The journey to an excellent candidate experience may be a long one, but a company must agree wholeheartedly.
It is vital everyone takes part and understands the new direction a company is following.
It is all well and good, doing something because you are told to do it by your boss. But organizations and teams need more than that. They need to be aware of their work's positive impact if they provide excellent candidate experience.
This makes employees feel proud and value the work they are doing, enhancing their job satisfaction. You want to create an environment of motivated and hungry employees desperate to improve personally and help the company achieve their goals.
Employees like these understand how vital their role is in the company's future and ensure that every interaction they have with candidates is exceptional.
It is never easy to listen to negative things being said about you. 😠
We don't like criticism, it is in our nature. Sometimes we think ignoring bad news will make it go away. 🪁
But here's some cold hard facts that will force you to wake up:
From a business perspective, seeing those numbers is massively worrying.
As is Virgin Media's estimated losses of £4.4/$5.4 million per year! Before they got their act together with ensuring excellent candidate experience.
Awful candidate experience brings negative consequences to a business.
Candidates will have negative opinions about companies that they did not hear back from or feel were treated disrespectfully.
Your reputation and revenue are interconnected. Damage to one, which a terrible candidate experience can cause, will inevitably affect the other. And potentially dry up your future pipeline of talent willing to work for you.
So, it is time to open your ears to candidates. 👂
Please provide them with a platform to engage with you and your company. Listen to the candidates and what they have to say about the recruitment process and what they thought of their candidate experience.
And what they have to say about their recruitment journey from beginning to end, what was good, what needed to work, what did they wish was done differently?
🙋But, what do I get out of communicating with more candidates?
So much! You can:
And perhaps the most essential thing that can come from listening to a candidate's feedback is that you can improve.
You can absorb the feedback, see what could work within your recruitment process and implement positive change. And in doing so, ensure positive experiences for all candidates.
Companies must form lasting relationships with candidates who will aid your organization in meeting future talent demands.
A respectful and personal application process can improve the experience for all candidates.
It increases the likelihood of your top candidates accepting a job offer, buoyed by the excellent treatment they have received. And also can help to make relations with rejected candidates better.
They know that their experience, although unsuccessful, was conducted in a respectful manner, which may lead them to refer your company to friends and family also searching for jobs, consent to be contacted for future job opportunities and stay a customer of your company.
To prevent bad candidate experience, your organization should follow these essential steps:
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