A recent poll carried out on 1,000 job seekers in the UK has revealed the top frustrations candidates face when looking for a new role.
These include (multiple answers were allowed):
- Slow feedback (52%)
- Poor communication (44%)
- Delayed decision-making (39%)
- Doing multiple job interviews with the same employer (35%)
- Keeping track of multiple job opportunities with different employers (33%)
- Difficulties scheduling interviews (23%)
- Lack of transparency on rewards and benefits (19%)
- Changing role requirements (16%)
- Disappointment with contractual terms (15%)
With 71% of candidates saying that they regularly receive multiple job offers when searching for a new role, this highlights the importance of offering a positive candidate experience. A recruitment process that’s long, drawn-out and lacks communication, is likely to see top candidates choosing to work for your competitors rather than you.
Aside from losing out on top candidates, a bad recruitment process can also damage your brand. 52% of job seekers surveyed said that they wouldn’t recommend a company as a potential employer if they didn’t receive a timely response about their status. Even more worryingly, they’re then more likely to share their negative experience through word of mouth, on social media or in a Glassdoor review. This puts employers at risk of turning off an entire network of potential candidates and damaging their reputation.
The benefits of offering a positive candidate experience
We know the drawbacks of not taking the time to offer a positive candidate experience but how can re-thinking your employment strategy benefit you?
Firstly, you actually want candidates to do their research about your organisation before they even apply to the role. It’s the job seekers who actually take the time to read interview reviews about your company so that they can decide whether you are the right organisation for them, who turn out to be the best hires. Informed candidates are twice as likely to be hired compared to candidates from other job sites because they’ve done their research and have realistic expectations about your organisation before deciding to apply.
By reducing the number of unqualified CVs to sift through and moving through the funnel faster, informed candidates save you time and money. Not only that, once hired, they onboard faster, exhibit greater productivity, contribute to positive company culture, influence other great hires to come on board and improve employee retention.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the recruitment process doesn’t go according to plan. Perhaps someone who was a key part of the process suddenly left the company or your workload got on top of you so recruitment was no longer a priority. How do you still offer a good candidate experience when you don’t even know what’s going on yourself?
The key is to be as transparent as possible. Don’t just ignore candidates and hope they will still be available when you’re ready because even if they are, it’s unlikely that they’ll be so keen to work with you again.
Be realistic with candidates about how long it will take to get back to them and what the next step is. As long as you keep the channels of communication open, they’re less likely to get frustrated with you.
If you would like help managing your recruitment process or finding your next role, please don’t hesitate to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help.
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