A roadmap to transforming your candidate experience
Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.
– Drake
Who would have thought the same person who brought us “Hot Line Bling” could also provide an insightful lesson about candidate experience? He makes an excellent point though. The level of care and attention we pay to our candidate experience is the first demonstration of the workplace culture candidates can expect as employees. Employers with the ability to create exceptional journeys for candidates have their pick of top talent.
87% of candidates say a great recruitment experience can change their mind about a company they once doubted. While 83% say a negative interview will arouse doubt and cause them to potentially change their mind about a company liked.
It’s worth investing in your candidate experience to determine how to demonstrate the quality of the destination. Here’s how.
Awareness
“What is this place?”
This is the very first introduction a candidate has to your organisation. It could be through your job ad, online presence, or an employee referral. At the time they may not even consider themselves a candidate. They could be a customer, client, supplier or partner to your organisation.
“What’s it got to do with me?”
Beyond pure brand awareness, candidates need to know you need for them and their skills. Does your organisation value transferrable soft skills (insert link to soft skills article)? Does it value inclusion and diversity?
Takeaway tips to invest in the awareness stage of your candidate experience:
- Participate in or sponsor events and webinars for brand awareness in topics of interest to your target talent pool.
- Get involved in online conversations or publish topical content on industry platforms.
- Get public and vocal about your diversity and inclusion values and share stories about the varied professional backgrounds of your employees.
- Foster and maintain positive relationships with all external partners or suppliers as well as with your customers and clients.
Curiosity
“Would I like to work there?”
They’ve gained awareness about your organisation. Now, they’ve begun playing with the idea in their mind, and they’re going to start looking for fodder to feed their fantasies. They’ll wander your website, stalk your socials, read your reviews to see what you have to offer.
“Is it worth the trouble?”
Candidates will begin weighing the potential costs and gains of uprooting their current situation to work for you. After family and health, career events have the biggest impact on people’s stress and happiness.
Takeaway tips to improve the curiosity phase of your candidate experience:
- Ensure your business is putting its best branded foot forward with a cohesive online presence across social media and your website.
- Advertise salary in your job ads – most jobs ads perform better when they list a salary.
- Show and tell your values. A value statement on one page of your website is great; but highlighting employee profile stories and content to demonstrate how you act on your values is integral.
- Lead with what makes your organisation unique. What makes you stand out from your competitors?
Application
“Is it worth the trouble?”
Yes, this is a question your candidates will continue to ask themselves throughout the many stages of the experience. 60% of candidates will abandon an application if it takes too long or is too complex.
“What do they want?”
Gendered language, lengthy job requirements, complicated English, unnecessary jargon and contradictory stipulations for experience and seniority levels in your job ads will make your candidates’ heads spin and won’t net you quality applications.
Takeaway tips to improve the application segment of your candidate experience:
- Only collect the information you need prior to screening candidates by phone or video interview.
- Spend more time writing clear and informative job ads, remembering to remind candidates about the unique culture your organisation offers.
Interviews
“When do I have time?”
Top talent candidates aren’t going to sit around waiting for you to call them. They’re likely to be busy with their current jobs and may not yet feel comfortable disclosing when they’re interviewing for other roles.
“What do I do now?”
Did they like me? When will I know if I’m shortlisted? Should I call or email them? What if I said something wrong? So many questions, and so little communication. 81% of job seekers said continuous communication would greatly improve overall experience.
Takeaway tips to improve interviewing in your candidate experience:
- Let candidates know as their application moves through each stage, offer timelines for when they can expect results.
- Share content to help them prepare for each new stage of the process.
- Eliminate the back-and-forth scheduling hassles by utilising the latest technology, such as Alcami Interactive’s video interview platform.
After the offer
“Why didn’t they choose me?”
Even if candidates are unsuccessful, those who are satisfied with their candidate experience are more than twice as likely to recommend your organisation to their networks, compared to those who had a poor experience (62% vs. 28%). Candidates are also 4x more likely to consider your company in the future if you offer constructive feedback.
“Have I made the right choice?”
Within 3 months of being hired 65% of people will look at new jobs. This is where all the promises of culture and positive work environments need to prove their word.
Takeaway tips for your candidate experience, as candidates transition to new hires:
- Ensure all applicants have been notified of the outcome (and offer feedback to those who reached the later stages, if possible).
- Between your successful candidate signing their contract and their first day, ensure they feel informed and prepared about what will be expected of them.
- Consider requesting feedback from successful and unsuccessful candidates at various stages in your recruitment process to understand areas for improvement and ensure your candidates feel their opinions are valued.
Even in an employer-drive market, the evidence about providing a great candidate experience to net top talent is indisputable. Consider every aspect of your candidate experience, from awareness to after you’ve made a successful hire (including notifying and providing feedback to unsuccessful candidates). Developing your organisation’s employer brand with an exceptional candidate experience is one of the most effective ways to attract top talent.
