Securing top talent isn’t about a single moment in the hiring journey; it’s about the entire candidate experience, and whether candidates—successful or not—walk away feeling positive about their interactions with your organization. Proactive communication, a mutual sense of respect, and personalized attention can elevate your organization and help you gain a reputation as somewhere that top talent wants to work.
Looking for ways to improve the design of your candidate experience? Here’s what to consider.
Developing a Quality, Personal Experience
How would candidates describe their experiences with your organization? If words like smooth, knowledgeable, communicative, and individualized are on the list, you’re on the right track.
According to a 2023 study by ERE Media, over the last decade, only about 26% of job candidates say they had a ‘great’ experience during the process. Candidate ’resentment’ about a poor experience, meanwhile, ticked up to 13% among North American respondents. What are the top three reasons why candidates withdrew themselves from consideration? 1. My time was disrespected during the recruiting process. 2. Salary didn’t meet expectations. 3. The recruiting process took too long.
A lack of feedback is one of the biggest factors in a negative candidate experience – and one of the easiest to improve upon and personalize. ERE Media’s report found that 74% of employers said they ask for feedback after a candidate is hired” (emphasis ours), while 50% give limited feedback to internal candidates, 33% to referral candidates, and just 17% to external candidates. Put another way, candidates want to be treated like valued individuals, whether they get hired or not.
Your external-facing reputation can also impact a candidate’s experience. Potential Park’s 2024 careers site study reported that over 40% of US candidates have seen information on a career website they felt was not credible. An outdated or unprofessional website can reflect poorly on you and potentially turn top talent off. Additionally, Workable reported research that found 42% of candidates will not apply for a position at your company if they’ve had a bad experience with you, and 22% will actively advise their peers not to apply. Remember, your candidates might also be your customers, and if they have any kind of bad experience with you, they won’t hesitate to share that. This could cost you in more than just the talent marketplace.
The following are a few things you can do to ensure your candidate experience is smooth and appropriately individualized:
- Be sure you have defined parameters for the job before hiring. A lack of clarity is frustrating.
- Write clear, relevant job descriptions.
- Have a streamlined application system and technical experience.
- Move the process along promptly and communicate proactively.
- Personalize communications along the way.
- Recognize why a candidate is currently searching and meet them where they are.
- Be personal, warm, and respectful, via email and in person.
- Ask for feedback, and use it.
Strike a Balance with Tech
In today’s fast-advancing world, it’s easy to think that advanced HR technologies will solve your candidate experience issues. In reality, it’s much more critical to seek a balanced approach.
As discussed above, candidates want a streamlined, simple, intuitive process for applying and managing the job search process. What they don’t want, however, is for that process to become too impersonal. This can be a particular concern when AI automation enters the picture, promising to remove the need for many human interaction touchstones.
Near’s ‘State of HR Tech’ report found that 82% of current job seekers are frustrated when they encounter overly automated processes. Even more, 87%,say they think technology developments have made job searching more impersonal. While AI and similar tools can seem like boons to overworked hiring teams, the reality is more complex, and while they may be helpful to the hiring process, they can damage the outcomes.
Consider integrating AI and other advanced technology to streamline the basic parts of the process. This could include simplified resume screening, initial contacts, calendar scheduling, and so on. Don’t rely on AI for serious decision-making, and limit how many points in the candidate journey require them to interact with clearly non-human elements. That way, you can reap the efficiency benefits of technology without removing the personal touch that makes candidates want to work for you.
How Recruiters Can Help
Designing and maintaining great candidate experiences are just two of the many ways experienced executive recruiters can help your team. Essentially, you are paying professional recruiters because they have the time to do what you cannot. Recruiters are trained to ensure the candidate experience is everything you want to protect your brand. They enhance the personal approach, getting to know the candidates before they land in front of you for interviews. They can find out why candidates are looking for a change, what they value in their work life, and what they’re interested in doing with their careers in the short- and long-terms. In turn, this information allows your team to better tailor your ‘pitch’ during the interview.
In some ways, you can think of a recruiter almost like a matchmaker between the company and the candidate! An effective recruiter emphasizes how your organization aligns with the candidate’s goals, dreams, and plans, better ensuring a long-term good fit. Recruiters can also help provide that much-needed personal experience, without taking up the valuable time and resources of your existing internal team.
Even in the most competitive markets, CHROs and their fellow HR leaders can elevate their abilities to land top talent by crafting responsive, thoughtful, and positive candidate experiences. In turn, building that reputation can attract even more great talent in the future, creating a self-perpetuating and very positive cycle. With a nearly perfect candidate satisfaction rating of 98%, Blue Rock Search and our team of experienced executive recruiters are here to help! Contact us to learn more.
About the Author
After a 25-year career in Corporate Human Resources and HR Executive Search, Ruben Moreno and his two partners co-founded Blue Rock Search based on a simple but ambitious vision of creating a firm that would “Change Lives and Organizations One Relationship at a Time.” Ruben leads the Blue Rock HR Executive Search practice specializing in the identification, assessment, recruitment, and onboarding of Chief HR Officers and Chief Diversity Officers and their respective teams — inclusive of leaders in Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, HRBP’s, Learning & OD, HR Technology, HR Operations, and HR Analytics. Ruben has helped place hundreds of HR Executives and built deep relationships within the CHRO community across multiple industry verticals. His clients consider him a trusted partner who takes the time to understand their business and add value beyond executive search.