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Delivering a good candidate experience is vital; failing to do so can have severe consequences, not just on your application numbers but also on your employer brand and reputation.
In fact, 69% of candidates would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed, according to 50 HR and Recruitment Stats That Make You Think from Glassdoor.
With this statistic in mind, it’s important to make sure that you’re treating your candidates appropriately and providing them with a positive impression of your company. Webrecruit suggests following these four tips to improve the experience of your candidates:
1. Keep your application process simple
How easy is it to apply for one of your roles?
A confusing application process can result in frustrated candidates and abandoned applications. Therefore it’s important to keep your application process as short and simple as possible.
An online application form can help to streamline this process, however we advise that you keep the number of questions to a minimum (we recommend including no more than 5-7). Make sure that your application form and careers site is responsive to ensure that candidates using mobile devices are able to apply.
2. Provide candidates with updates throughout the recruitment process
Sometimes, providing a good candidate experience can be just as simple as keeping candidates informed about the status of their application.
However, this can be a frustration for many HR professionals who would love to provide each candidate with feedback but who might lack the time to make contact.
This is where an applicant tracking system, such as Webrecruit’s Fusion, can really help you out.
Fusion allows you to build email templates within the system, which can automatically be populated with candidates’ details to personalise them. When you mark a CV as ‘rejected’ or ‘shortlisted’, an email will automatically be sent out to candidates to make sure that they’re kept informed.
Not only is this an excellent tool from a candidate experience point of view, it will also help to reduce the number of calls that your HR team receives from candidates asking for feedback.
3. Make your interviews as candidate-friendly as possible
You shouldn’t just view your interviews as a chance to grill candidates; it’s important to make a great impression as an employer as it’ll likely be the first face-to-face contact that the applicant has with your company.
Before the interview takes place, make sure that you provide candidates with details of the location, who they’ll be meeting with, the expected duration of the interview and a detailed brief for any interview tasks, such as a presentation.
Most importantly, make candidates feel at ease when they arrive for their interview; chances are, they’ll be nervous already, so try to make them feel relaxed to bring out their best qualities.
4. Keep candidates informed throughout the decision making process
Put yourself in your candidate’s shoes: you had an interview two weeks ago, you’ve sent numerous follow-up emails but still haven’t heard anything. This doesn’t form a great impression of the hiring company, especially if you now have a face-to-face relationship with them.
Make sure that you keep candidates fully updated throughout the decision making process. If it is taking a while to come to a decision, send your shortlisted candidates an email and provide them with an idea of timescales.
Want to learn more about how an applicant tracking system can improve the experience that your company offers to candidates? Find out more.
