Maria just spent three hours perfecting and submitting her application for a new job, only to receive an automated “We’ve received your application.” After three weeks passed without a word from the company, she was left to understand that she didn’t get the job.
Frustrated, when a friend of hers spoke about applying to the same company, she left them with a quick warning: “If your application doesn’t go through, no one is going to tell you.”
This approach to candidates, thought extremely common, can also be detrimental to your business. Potential employees are left with a bad taste, and realize that employees aren’t valued at your organization.
How does this affect you? Potential employees who might’ve only made it till the interview stage won’t apply again when there is another job opening. Moreover, they might even share the bad experience with those in their network, making more top talent wary about applying and working with your organization.
What is the candidate experience and why does it matter?
Candidate experience refers to everything a potential applicant perceives and feels during their application process. It includes everything, from the job listing they apply through to the onboarding process.
The whole experience often has a significant impact on whether a candidate goes on to join the position they applied for, or even apply again in the future when another opportunity arises.
How can candidate experience impact employer brand?
You aren’t the only one looking for great talent. So, what makes you stand apart from the crowd such that candidates want to choose to work with you?
A competitive salary and great benefits are a start, but nowadays that usually isn’t enough. Employees want to be valued, and how you design your candidate experience can give them a pretty good idea if your organization will really value them.
A great candidate experience can improve your employer reputation increasing your chances of hiring great talent while also impressing candidates who didn’t make it past the interview stage. In fact, in a recent study it was discovered that 66% of candidates said a positive candidate experience influenced their decision to accept their job offer, while 26% state that they declined their offer owing to a bad experience.
They are also more likely to talk about their experience within their network, many of whom would look forward to applying when the time comes.
How to improve your candidate experience in 8 steps
Did you know that only 26% of candidates state they’ve had a good candidate experience? And this number hasn’t changed much over the last decade. So, what can you do differently to improve the quality of your candidates’ experience? Here are some candidate experience best practices to keep in mind:
-
Map out the Candidate Journey
To understand where you need to improve, first map out the candidate journey. Which touch points will your candidates encounter? What are the most likely roadblocks they will face? Once you understand the common bottlenecks during the process, you can get started on optimizing it.
Perhaps candidates often wait a week before getting an update about their application process, sometimes longer. Make sure the tasks are flagged and prioritized, especially during a hiring spree when candidates are most likely to fall through the cracks.
-
Communicate clearly
A common cause for dissatisfaction is miscommunication, or even lack of communication. So, from the very beginning, prioritize setting the right expectations. If you are going to take a week to respond, let candidates know as soon as their application comes in.
As it turns out, distrust begins early as over 40% of candidates state they’ve seen information on career websites that wasn’t credible. So, double-check the job listing to make sure you’ve got the details right so that there is no confusion when the interviews roll around.
-
Provide a designated point of contact
Perhaps a candidate is confused about the timelines, or has another question about the hiring process. Instead of having them guess who they need to connect with, provide a designated contact person for them to reach out to.
This can help ease the anxiety that comes with not knowing, and shows them that their comfort is valued within your organization.
-
Structure your interviews
The world has changed, and with that the way we work. Hybrid work has become all too common, with candidates often preferring remote work opportunities. As the candidate-expectations evolve, it’s important to keep up. So switch to online interviews wherever possible — it can help with saving time and even increase the number of qualified candidates applying for a job!
Be sure to prepare before interviews, ask candidates about themselves and look to get to know them well. Also, once the interview has begun, avoid rushing through it. Candidates should have enough time left to ask questions in the end.
-
Personalize interactions
This is an often-overlooked small detail, especially in big organizations that see a lot of candidates applying for open positions. But it can make all the difference.
Reach out to candidates, especially after the interview, to tell them it was great meeting them, thank them for their time, and let them know by when they can expect a decision.
-
Provide timely feedback
When candidates don’t make it past the interview process, the most common question they have is simply: why?
Follow up with constructive feedback where needed, and wish them well. Small acts of courtesy can go a long way in showing candidates that they are valued, and in turn build your employer brand.
-
Optimize onboarding processes
This is the final stage of the candidate experience, and often the moment where candidates confirm what they felt during the application process. It’s important to introduce new employees gradually to their tasks and responsibilities, making sure they feel welcome in their new role.
Now is the time to introduce them to managers, teammates, and colleagues. Show them the ropes and create a seamless transition from hiring to hired!
-
Listen and act
How impressive is your candidate experience? The answer lies with your candidates; ask them. Follow up with a candidate experience survey to both new employees and ones who didn’t make it past the interview stage. Ask them what they think, and listen closely to where they want you to improve.
Oftentimes the concerns they air might not even be on your radar! You might think you follow up well, but if multiple candidates tell you that they were a little concerned with how long it took you to get back to them, maybe it deserves a second look.
Be equipped for success
The first step to a great experience is to understand expectations. That’s why experience management solutions can be the ideal candidate experience software you need. They help you connect with your candidates, capture insights, and analyze trends to identify experience gaps.
Sogolytics can help you do just that. Our comprehensive platform helps you reach out and follow up with potential candidates with automated reminders. See responses in real time with our live reports, and better understand what keeps your candidates engaged by drilling down on responses.
With actionable insights backed by data, you can make a real and measurable improvement in your candidate experience.
Candidate Experience in action
The best candidate experience is intentional. That’s exactly what Airbnb showed by storyboarding every moment of the candidate journey, optimizing the process to ensure that candidates feel valued every step of the way.
By doing so, you have candidates raving about their experience in sites like Glassdoor, improving their employer brand and encouraging more top talent to apply, allowing Airbnb to get top talent at their doorstep.
But Airbnb isn’t alone in this endeavor. Even booking.com completely transformed their candidate experience by focusing on candidate queries, presenting insights and information for candidates to go through and explore “a day in the life” at their various locations, and more. By creating a candidate-first experience, potential employees were immersed in the booking.com culture before they even began. This helped them transition from prospect to employee more easily, and even improved their level of job satisfaction by setting the right expectations early on.
Get started today!
The first step to a thriving business is hiring the right people. You need to find the top talent that aligns with your business goals to help you succeed. That’s why your candidate experience really matters; it lays the foundation for success.
Sogolytics can help you with that. Understand what you’re doing right and where you need to improve so that you can see your acceptance rate increase exponentially.
