The Importance of a Good Candidate Experience
Understanding Recruiting Candidate Experience
Candidate experience refers to how candidates feel about an organisation after they go through the hiring process. These candidates’ feelings, whether positive or negative, have an impact on the hiring and selection process and even in the decision making before accepting the job offer. One candidate’s experience also influences thoughts of other candidates who have applied or are planning to apply in that organisation.
Therefore, after experiencing the managing of applicants and the following recruiting process, a good candidate experience will make them feel positive about your organisation. A better applicant experience may encourage them to tell others about their positive thoughts, which will help you develop your reputation. A negative candidate experience, on the other hand, will cause candidates to lose trust in you as an employer and a brand.
The Impact of Candidate Experience
1. Positive Candidate Experience increases offer acceptance rate
Companies spend a lot of money on job advertising and other recruitment fees merely to attract the best people. With the increased competition, these expenses will rise even more. All of your efforts and money will be wasted if your candidate experience is unsatisfactory. According to the findings, candidates who are happy with their hiring experience are 38 percent more likely to accept the offer. As a result, investing in a great candidate experience will help you not only raise your hiring rate and hire quality, but also save time and money.
2. Candidate Experience matters because it is linked to advocacy
A recruiting process has the power to influence candidates in a variety of ways. Advocacy is one of the most significant results. Candidates who have had a good recruiting experience would be inclined to suggest the organisation to others, just as happy consumers would refer the product to others in their social circle. As a result, a favourable candidate experience is associated with increased advocacy.
‘According to an IBM study, applicants who are overall pleased with their recruiting experience are 34% more likely to promote the company to others.’
3. Best-in-class candidate experience enhances Brand Equity
The effects of applicant experience are far-reaching, affecting areas other than recruiting as well. Even if these aren’t the most immediate effects, they must be considered. Those who have had a favourable recruiting experience are 53 percent more likely to become customers of that organisation than applicants who had a poor hiring experience (only 25 percent say they will be interested in being a customer). This is clear proof that candidate experience has a direct influence on company indicators like sales, and that the results may be compounded since candidates will spread the word.
Best Practices to Enhance Candidate Experience
1. Make a statement with your brand’s online presence
Employer branding may have a big influence on your hiring process, especially if you’re hiring remotely. One of the first things prospects look at when applying for a job is how excellent of an employer your firm is. According to LinkedIn, 81 percent of job candidates study a firm using online information. Your website, social media profiles, and job descriptions are some of the touchpoints that establish the initial impression of your company.
2. Simplify the Candidate Application Process
According to research, some candidates abandon their applications in the middle of the procedure if it is lengthy and unclear.
- Ensure that the application process goes smoothly and does not take too long
- Make the process mobile-friendly;
‘90% of job searchers use their phones to look for work’
3. Communicate
Adopting a method that keeps your applicants updated on the status of each recruiting stage is a good approach to generate a pleasant candidate experience when there is very little human touch with your candidates.
- To begin, an automatic email verifying their application’s submission and progress, as well as following progress update emails, would be beneficial
- Ensure that your material is dynamic and that the tone reflects your culture
- Make it very obvious to your applicants who they should contact with any questions or concerns
- Be open and honest about your expected schedule, including when you expect to have the next round and when you aim to conclude the position
4. Provide Feedback to Unsuccessful Candidates
If a candidate does not advance to the following round, inform them.
Sharing the reasoning behind your candidates’ rejection will help them recognise how fair your selection process is.
- Give input on what you liked about your candidate
- According to LinkedIn data, 94 percent of candidates desire feedback following an interview
- Nothing is more frustrating for a candidate than being kept in the dark regarding the progress of their application
- Recruiters ghosting candidates is a common topic of discussion on LinkedIn, and it typically reflects negatively on the organisation
5. Engage in Online Reference Checking
It’s a good idea to complete an online reference check once you’ve limited down your interview prospects. Invite your pre-hires to utilise your online reference-checking tool and ask them to connect you with previous colleagues, bosses, or peers. Online reference checking is convenient and expedient, and it is critical to your ultimate selection. It would be advantageous for you to complete it on time so that you do not lose your hire to a competing offer.
Conclusion
If you want to attract top talent, you must improve the candidate experience. Making your employer brand more appealing through your careers page, social media accounts, and job descriptions; streamlining the application process to make it more candidate-friendly; communicating with candidates; and providing feedback are all important aspects of a positive candidate experience. You’ll want to check in on your approach on a frequent basis to make sure it’s operating as it should and to add new methods to make it more positive and enticing. As a consequence, top talent will join your company and become brand advocates for their peers.
SAP SuccessFactors is a comprehensive recruiting solution to attract and engage top talent and provide a good candidate experience.
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