A great employer brand depends on a strong candidate experience. Understanding how your organisation is viewed both by clients and potential employees, and attempting to improve that image, is all part of employer branding. Candidate experience is a part of this. Ensuring that your organisation cares for its applicants and employees, from the very start of their interaction with your business is all part of ensuring a high quality experience.
An engaging and positive candidate experience can differentiate employers and recruiters from the crowd, helping them to attract, secure, and retain top-tier talent.
I recently read an interesting statistic on candidate experience.
“Nearly four in five candidates (78 percent) say the overall candidate experience they receive is an indicator of how a company values its people” SOURCE
The candidate experience starts from the very first click. It starts at the company web site or job board. When recruiters are thoughtful about each step that the candidate goes through, it creates a positive experience. How you treat your applicants also says a great deal about your organisational culture; it is a window into your company.
Below are three tips that make for a great candidate experience.
First impressions are important. If the initial communication with an applicant isn’t satisfactory, it can hurt their overall candidate experience with your company. It is reasonable for candidates to expect to be well informed throughout the application and hiring process. It is no surprise that poor communication is a key for a negative candidate experience.
Candidates, especially quality ones, appreciate human contact. If you value those candidates on your shortlist reach out and let them know that you’ve received their application. You will also need to let candidates know what’s going on at each stage of the hiring process. Updating your candidate via email or text and setting realistic expectations throughout will help keep them informed about the next step forward.
It’s important that you support each candidate throughout the process, so they know exactly what’s expected of them.
It is beneficial to let them know how long the role will be open for applications, when you’ll shortlist and when you will conduct interviews. Giving candidates some expectations about the timeline of the hiring process can help alleviate a lot of concerns. By informing your candidates about the structure of the interview, they’ll be better prepared, and more able to deliver their best on any task or presentation you put before them.
