Sandra Hess — April 1, 2018 — April 1, 2018
A recent study showed that more than three-quarters of all employers surveyed admitted to having trouble finding qualified talent. Note that these employers didn’t have trouble finding candidates – they had trouble finding the ‘right” candidates. This dilemma has forced both large and small-scale employers to take a closer look at the candidate experience and how to maximize the process to attract top talent.
Candidate Experiences Affect Brand Equity
What some employers don’t realize is that the candidate experience directly impacts the company brand. A recent LinkedIn study shows that 75 percent of job seekers take an employer’s brand into consideration before applying for a job. Whether you realize it or not, your online job posting, company career webpage, and online employer review sites all influence how prospective candidates view your brand.
The good news is that developing a strong candidate experience ultimately can help to build a positive brand image.
In fact, a strong candidate experience can have a ripple effect that not only helps to attract talent, it also can develop brand evangelists for your customers.
Changing Your Focus
Of course, attracting top talent and enticing them to accept an offer is a major focus of the candidate experience. But you don’t want to limit yourself there. Consider what happens to all the applicants that don’t get a job offer, or what about those that don’t even get an interview.
One study revealed that 72 percent of those claiming to have had a poor candidate experience said that they would share their experience with others verbally or online. On the flip side, 64 percent of those surveyed said that they would increase their relationship with a company after having a positive candidate experience. These statistics show that it is just an important to create a positive candidate experience throughout the entire hiring process.
How to Enhance the Candidate Experience
There are several things you can do to maximize the candidate experience to ensure that it builds brand equity.
Dynamic Job Posting: When working to build brand equity through the candidate experience, the process must start with the first point of contact – the job posting. Do the design and content really highlight the company brand? Prospective employees should not see only a list of job responsibilities are, but potential applicants should get a real sense of what it’s like to work for the company.
Smooth Application Process: You also should review your application process. Can candidates complete the entire application process through their desktop or mobile device? Have you created a seamless application process? The application process should be as efficient as possible, while still ensuring you gather the necessary data to make sound hiring decisions.
Be sure to use effective hiring tools, such as professional assessment tests and CRM systems to provide a user-friendly experience for the candidates. In addition, ensure that you provide clear and concise directions to make sure that the applicant knows exactly what steps to take to complete the process.
Engagement
Communication with potential applicants is a must. In one study, 68 percent of job seekers surveyed listed not receiving an email confirmation that the employer received their application created a bad candidate experience, while 83 percent said not hearing back as to whether they got the job or not made a bad experience. With the advancement of Application Tracking Systems today, maintaining steady engagement throughout the process is easier today than ever before, yet many employers are still lagging behind. It is vital to make engagement with all candidates a priority.
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