Hiring involves more than just putting the right people in the right positions at the right times. It also requires making the right first (and lasting) impression on applicants. As a result, organizations in all industries must focus on creating a positive candidate experience.
What difference does it make whether your company wows interviewees — especially those who don’t get the job? If candidates feel your company lacks thoughtful and effective recruitment strategies, that poor reputation could spread to incoming talent.
Of course, the key to mastering the candidate experience is improving it with measurable performance indicators. These steps can help you determine how to measure the candidate experience:
1. Work with a staffing agency. Developing a comprehensive and positive candidate experience journey on your own can be daunting. Working with a recruitment agency can simplify the process, upping the chances that candidates will feel respected and new hires will jump eagerly into their roles.
For instance, an agency like Integrity Staffing Solutions can help standardize your recruitment process and create a consistent candidate experience, which is extremely important if you’re hiring across multiple locations. A good agency will analyze applicants and match them with open positions, leaving your company free to conduct higher-level interviews, make offers, and initiate onboarding.
2. Put a premium on candidate communication. Most candidates are accustomed to being ignored or minimized. While plenty of companies know how to follow up with candidates, many still need to prioritize this aspect of hiring going forward.
Surprise applicants with a candidate experience survey after they’ve been hired. Let them tell you what they thought about their journey. Ask pointed and specific questions: Did you clearly understand the job opportunity? Were the application steps clear? Was the timeline reasonable?
After evaluating the information, you can take steps to make any necessary changes. You may ultimately decide to tweak some of your content and protocols based on feedback. Take these insights seriously to boost transparency and cultivate a positive candidate experience.
3. Partake in social listening. The internet gives job applicants plenty of forums to share their thoughts. From online company reviews to job board threads, people won’t hold back if they have a bad candidate experience.
Check social media frequently for reviews of your organization. If you start to notice a negative trend (e.g., candidates saying members of your hiring team “ghosted” them), investigate immediately and respond to the detractor feedback to show you’re engaged and listening. Many high performers scour online reviews before applying for positions, and you don’t want to miss out on great hires because of misunderstandings.
Still not sure how to build a great candidate experience? Start by providing an application process that leaves people with no doubt that your team is one they’d love to join. Work with your preferred staffing agency to develop a positive candidate experience that fuels stellar reviews and fills your recruitment pipeline with A-listers.
