Skip to content
With the coming changes in employment law and the ongoing need to make sure you are attracting and retaining the right people, it’s important to make sure all aspects of the recruitment chain are working for you.
One of these is the sometimes under-considered area of the candidate experience.
Why Candidate Experience Matters
Candidates not only hope for a good experience during the selection process, but they also respond in a very positive way when they encounter it. In fact, in a recent survey, 75% of job seekers said they would not apply to a company again after a poor recruitment experience. Conversely, a positive experience can leave candidates excited about the role, even if they’re not ultimately selected.
In a world where employer brand heavily influences not just the success of your initial recruitment response, but also the likelihood of retaining and developing a great team, a positive recruitment experience can make a big difference. In many ways, the initial recruitment process, and particularly the candidate experience, is the foundation of ongoing trust. It stands to reason then that a candidate who is enthusiastic because of a great recruitment experience will be far more likely to accept an offer and also bring that enthusiasm into their performance once onboarded.
Creating a good experience for candidates.
A good place to start when you are looking for a good experience is to consider when you encountered a bad one in the past. I am sure we have all been down the road of a less than enticing employer experience at some point. Fortunately, sitting waiting for what seems like hours in a reception or facing a panel of grim-faced managers behind a desk, are rare experiences these days.
The good candidate experience is the opposite of the cold, bureaucratic, form-filling, red tape filled, interview and selection process. It is an open, honest, transparent process that will help the applicant and potential employer make the right decision. A new job is a major life change and one that often comes with an amount of stress and trepidation. Therefore, the candidate is looking to be treated fairly and seen as a person, not an asset. After all, they are taking a big leap of faith in joining a new employer.
Transparent communication and defined expectations – If the initial experience for a candidate is the start of trust in the employer, then transparency about the recruitment process is a must. It’s important to be clear from the start about timelines, interview stages, and decision-making factors.
Equally important is defining the role, the conditions, and your expectations of the candidate, in clear terms. A realistic job preview will help candidates understand the core responsibilities, and objectives of the role. The clearer the expectations the better the chances of reducing any misunderstanding about the role and improving retention. Show the best aspects of the job but also be wary of accidentally overegging things. Not all aspects of a job role are fireworks and excitement, and candidates will respect a true reflection of what the role involves.
Can you involve current team members? – The workplace is about more than just arriving, working and going home. In fact, many people make friends for life and even meet their life partners in the workplace. Initially, though, it could be a big boost to the candidate experience if they meet the team. If they have a management role it could well be worth giving them time to meet their own team members. Meeting potential colleagues gives candidates insights into the workplace environment that can’t be found in the job description. You can say your team is friendly and dynamic, but the proof will be in the face to face.
If it’s appropriate, allow candidates to ask specific questions about the work culture, collaboration style, and company values directly from those they’d be working with. This also gives the team a chance to begin to accept their new colleagues.
Opportunities for candid conversations – Have real conversations and give plenty of opportunities for questions. That includes the difficult ones. A perfect candidate is a rare thing, but a close fit is far more likely. If the candidate feels free to ask questions, they will also be able to identify the strongest and weakest areas of their application. If you can have an open discussion about career progression, training opportunities and so on, the candidate is more likely to see the employer as an opportunity to develop.
If there are challenges inherent in the role, giving the candidate a chance to discuss these and then begin to formulate potential solutions also taps into a cognitive bias known as the Ikea principle. This is when we have more affection for something because we were part of building it. A candidate who can ask questions, meet the team, discuss challenges, and see opportunities to develop, is building their own future with the business.
The End Result of a Good Candidate Experience.
By investing in a transparent recruitment process, companies can ensure they hire individuals who are well-suited to their roles, reducing the costs associated with rehiring and retraining.
We will have already pre-filtered candidates for you, so you will only be seeing applicants who are fitted for the role. The bottom line is that research and experience tell us that when candidates are treated well and given an accurate view of the job and company culture, they’re more likely to accept that role. This, in turn, improves job satisfaction, can increase productivity, helps prevent bad hires, and potentially increases the speed at which a new candidate settles into their long-term employment with you.
If, after you have given them a good candidate experience, the role still doesn’t appeal to them or they don’t think the job or company is something they are not aligned with, well, that’s unfortunate. However, would we rather find that out early or when we have all invested time and effort into the wrong hire?
Recruiting well is not about selling a role or just getting someone in place. It is about reaching out to the right people initially and then welcoming them into your team via a showcase experience that is transparent, honest and really demonstrates who you are as an employer.