Many companies miss the most important part of the hiring process – the positive candidate experience.
A 2018 report by Human Capital Institute backs this with some staggering statistics:
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60% of job seekers reported a negative experience with employers
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72% of job seekers reported posting a negative review online regarding their experience with the employer.
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55% of job seekers report avoiding certain companies after reading negative reviews online.
Your company brand and hiring process could be scaring away your best employees before they even apply! Thankfully, there are some simple ways to turn this around. From predictive hiring systems to simplifying the process, these strategies are proven to help. For more information on executing a great candidate experience, check out this blog.
1. Research your company as a candidate.
Simple as that. Start a job search for a current opening in your company. Take note of how easy it is to find your openings. Read reviews from employees/candidates about your company and your process. Take a look at your company website and career page to ensure they are attractive, informative, and inclusive.
2. Communicate.
Keep candidates informed of where they are in the process. A personal email thanking them for their application is ideal. This can be done manually or setup as an automatic notification in most applicant tracking systems. Don’t leave candidates guessing the next steps. If a candidate is brought in for an interview, provide a timeline of when a decision is expected to be made and if a position is closed, make sure all candidates who applied are notified.
3. Simplify your application process.
Complete an application to get an idea of how long the process takes. According to a study done by Paycor, applications that take over ten minutes to complete, businesses can experience a 50% drop off rate! Make your application short and to the point. Include other options for completion, such as resume parsing, mobile-friendly, and remove the need for accounts to complete an application.
4. Review your job descriptions.
Your job description is the candidates peek into a day working for your company. Make it informative, appealing, and personable. Ensure the requirements you are listing match the actual position. Many companies lose out on great candidates by requiring years of experience for an entry level role.
Push out a campaign to have employees complete reviews on popular boards such as Indeed and Glassdoor. If possible, implement an employee referral program. Employees will have a better insight to the day to day of the company and if they are compensated, are more likely to refer quality candidates.
Turning around your candidate experience will take some time on your part, but the result will be quality candidates genuinely interested in working for your company!
Learn how Sprockets’ predictive hiring solution for small businesses can help your company.