Good candidates are always hand to find, and it is difficult to find and hire good candidates with suitable skills for an open position. Next, management must consider how to retain these hires. A bad hire can cost a lot. Losing a good employee and rehiring for that position is also an expensive affair. So, businesses are concentrating on creating positive candidate experiences to hire talented candidates and reduce attrition.
What is the candidate experience?
Candidate experience is a crucial part of the hiring process and is essential for an organization to attract, recruit, and retain top talents. It is determined by what job seekers encounter during the hiring process and their feelings about the potential employer. It depends on the quality of the candidate interaction during the hiring process. Also, it includes all the touchpoints of the recruitment process, such as the job search, the application process, the interview process, onboarding, and communication during these activities. Hiring technologies and solutions like applicant tracker applications, or ATSes, or candidate management systems, or other recruitment software applications can help a lot in delivering a good candidate experience.
Why is candidate experience important to your organization?
Positive candidate experience can assist an organization in multiple ways to grow its business and set it apart from the competition.
It boosts your employer’s brand
A positive candidate experience goes hand in hand with a strong employer brand. The employer brand is the perception the candidates and employees have of an organization. Thus, the employer must treat their candidates properly to maintain their reputation.
Candidates who have had a terrible experience are unlikely to remain quiet about it, especially in specific industries and professional networks where word spreads quickly. We know that 7 out of 10 candidates who had unsatisfactory interaction with a firm discussed their experience online, with family, or with co-workers.
When considering possible organizations, many job seekers depend on employer review sites like Glassdoor and others for reviews. Receiving unfavorable internet reviews on a regular basis might make it practically impossible to recruit excellent prospects.
It decreases the time to hire
A structured recruiting process and effective communication are required for a favorable candidate experience. This will not only keep the candidates satisfied, but it will also allow businesses to hire more quickly.
When the hiring team and all stakeholders know exactly what should happen at each stage of the hiring process, they won’t have to start from scratch every time a new position opens up. And this can significantly reduce the time it takes to recruit a candidate. In essence, if organizations improve the candidate experience, the entire recruitment process will be enhanced.
It increases the offer acceptance rate
An excellent candidate experience, particularly for sought-after individuals, might be a determining factor in selecting whether or not to take a new role in an organization.
In fact, candidates who are happy with their experience during the hiring process are 38% more likely to accept the offer. Simply stated, happier applicants are more likely to want to work for your organization. And, because recruiting involves a significant expenditure, giving an exceptional applicant experience will result in a higher ROI.
It improves customer loyalty.
Companies prioritize customer experience since it is more closely linked to income. However, ignoring your candidate’s experience will cost you in the long run.
In fact, 64% of job seekers said that a bad applicant experience would make them less inclined to buy from that company. Consider the impact that 100 dissatisfied prospects may have on your company. You might be missing out on a hundred prospective consumers.
Common causes of a negative candidate experience
Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a job seeker for a moment: It’s easy to feel dissatisfied with the entire process, from hours spent searching for a job and filling out difficult application forms to interviews that don’t seem to go anywhere.
No one wants to be the reason a job seeker drops out in the middle of the hiring process. So, let’s examine the following seven possible reasons why candidates may feel dissatisfied with the hiring process of your organization,
1. Inefficient hiring timeframe
When you tell your candidates, “We’ll be in touch soon,” but don’t specify who will contact them and when they may become confused and dissatisfied. Instead, at each stage of the recruiting process, inform prospects when they may expect to hear from you. Inform candidates about how quickly you hope to fill the position and any changes that may occur along the way. Applicant tracker software can automate the workflows and communication processes. ATS can provide alerts and notifications for the timely completion of tasks and activities.
2. Inconsistent communication
One of the most prominent causes of candidate dissatisfaction is irregular or lack of communication. during the hiring process
81% of job seekers believe that if companies provided frequent status updates, their whole experience would improve significantly.
Going weeks without communication and then asking for an interview with barely two hours’ notice will only irritate your applicants. Prioritizing communication may significantly improve a bad candidate experience.
Applicant tracker software often has automated emailing and messaging capabilities with options for personalization. These can help to connect and maintain the flow of communication with prospects.
3. Poor job descriptions
Have you ever advertised a junior position that needed at least five years of industry experience?
Unless you’re looking for a more senior or executive role, don’t expect candidates to have unattainable levels of experience. Requiring specialized degrees and experience may not always make sense for all positions.
Will a candidate’s university degree tell you if they can sell products in a fast-paced situation if you’re employing a sales assistant for your retail store? So, make sure your job posting has realistic expectations and is effectively targeted the preferred prospects, and make qualified and skilled candidates who are suitable to apply for a position. Many applicant tracker software or applicant tracking solutions offers to post job descriptions on internal and external sites automatically, helping the organization to reach more prospects faster.
4. Inefficient processes
Poor communication and ambiguous recruiting timelines are typically the results of an inefficient hiring process.
When hiring managers and recruiters don’t have a clear foundation for how hiring should function, it’s natural for them to become overwhelmed during handling multiple candidates. So, the candidate experience will suffer if they are collecting applications to several systems and through multiple emails or if the organization is unclear about the recruiting responsibilities.
A solid hiring strategy and the process will provide the groundwork for consistent hiring success. It is pointless to spend on employer branding if the company does not have a basic hiring procedure in place.
Again, recruiting technologies like applicant tracker software or applications can automate the hiring workflow and prompt all users to perform tasks sequentially.
5. A lengthy or difficult job application procedure
The motto is to keep it brief and straightforward. Assume you’re applying for a job and submitting your resume. You hit the next button, and you’re then prompted to describe your employment experience, talents, and education. In other words, you’re being asked to repeat your resume.
Your applicants may just shut the tab and move on to another opportunity after ripping out their hair in despair. Applying for a job through an applicant tracking system or candidate management software with ease can create a positive candidate experience.
6. A negative interview experience
A poor interview experience can drastically influence a candidate’s opinion of your company and brand.
Consider how you’d feel if you attended an interview, and the recruiter just did not show up because they forgot. Furthermore, the feelings of the candidates if they showed up late with no explanation.
Asking the same questions during a phone or video interview and then again during a face-to-face interview might create the appearance that you are unprepared and not organized. In Remote hiring, recruiters must ensure all equipment are ready and candidates are informed of the technical requirements before starting the interview.
7. Inefficient onboarding
Failure to develop an effective employee onboarding procedure may result in the loss of new recruits within the first few months.
If a new employee does not receive basic information, such as where to park their car, or if they are given outdated onboarding materials, they will form the idea that your organization is disorganized. Failure to demonstrate that you are involved in your new employee’s long-term success may cause them to reconsider their decision and seek new possibilities elsewhere. Onboarding software can help streamline the onboarding process making their new hire experience better.
Wrap Up
The outbreak has changed the face of the hiring and candidate experience. the great resignation clearly revealed priorities of job seekers have changed. so, now, more than ever organizations must make sure that hiring strategy and operations are in the optimum state and that they are delivering excellent candidate experience.
