Improving the Candidate Experience, One Step at a Time

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the candidate experience, namely focused on the importance of trying to make it a positive experience for all candidates. Some companies say that improving the candidate experience is a high priority for their recruiting efforts. Others say that the candidates’ impression of how they source, recruit, and connect in general is important to them. And then there are others who don’t put much stock into to what candidates think or feel about their application process at all. No matter where your company aligns itself on this spectrum, job applicants and candidates (the difference lying in whether or not individuals make it past the initial application phase) should be treated just like your customers. They should receive incredible service from all parties involved and should be communicated with as often and as necessary as possible. Although companies continue to say this is a major priority for their talent acquisition efforts, the reality of the situation, though, is that not many companies truly understand what it takes to do so. In fact, per Aberdeen’s Talent Acquisition 2014: Reverse the Regressive Curse research, only 21% of companies identified the candidate experience as a top talent acquisition priority for 2014!

Companies looking to attract quality employees while simultaneously looking to stay ahead of their competition must treat their candidates with attention and respect, particularly with potential employees with critical skills that are in high demand. In most situations, such an approach requires a different mindset altogether that includes new modes of communication and innovative tools. This renewed attention directed toward candidates can help overcome many of the critical recruiting challenges organizations face today, especially considering that 79% of companies indicated that their top recruiting pressure for 2014 is the shortages of critical skills available in the labor pool. Putting more effort and attention on candidates won’t immediately solve this growing skill shortage (only 55% indicated the same challenge in 2012), but it will help companies attract better, more vested talent as candidates will be more informed and more committed to the prospect of working for your company.

When it comes to attracting the personnel, companies want the employees who are interested because of the job opening, the company, and everything in between, not because it’s any, random job opening or because that is the job that’s available when mass-applying for jobs. The desire for qualified and motivated candidates is all the more reason to make the candidate experience top of mind. Companies from Aberdeen’s Talent Acquisition 2014: Reverse the Regressive Curse research indicated that they believed candidates want to join their organization because of more enticing and more thorough reasons. In fact, companies think the main reason why employees join their businesses is because they believe they’ll be challenged by their jobs (36%), followed by the impression they’ll be working for a great place (27%), and finishing with the understanding that the employer brand is worth applying and pursuing (25%). When considering the candidate experience, organizations must ensure that these messages are reflected in the brand and are transparent to both active and passive candidates. In addition to strengthening branding efforts through a positive candidate experience, Best-in-Class organizations invest in new technology and develop talent communities far more than their all other counterparts (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Improve the Candidate Experience Now!

As technology plays an increasing role in our lives, organizations need to increasingly react to and understand that candidates want to engage with potential employers in new, more robust ways. They want an engaging career site that can answer everyday questions and provide insight into the application process; they’d appreciate the ability to communicate with recruiters and hiring managers via video, social, or even texts on phones; and they want the ability to interact with current employees to find out more about the organization and to hear their perspectives about the company culture, the relationships with colleagues, and other aspects of your company that can’t be found by searching online.

The truth is that technology plays a gigantic role in any organization’s ability to attract top talent. What’s more, Aberdeen’s research found that talent communities are one of the fastest growing areas of talent acquisition, with Best-in-Class companies three times as likely to build an engaging talent community as All Others (42% vs. 18%). This speaks directly to the top strategy identified above by building a candidate pipeline regardless of hiring needs. By creating a community of individuals who are already aware of your organization and are inclined to think well of it, organizations can greatly speed up the hiring process, as well as have plenty of opportunities to understand who might be best aligned to perform well within your organization.

Just how important is the candidate experience to top organizations? Find out by reading “Talent Acquisition 2014: Reverse the Regressive Curve” to find out, and discover why you might want to change your attitude on the subject as well.

Improving the Candidate Experience, One Step at a Time