Kristina FinsethMarch 21, 2017
Topics: Candidate Experience

Candidate Experience Should Be One of Your Top Priorities



I work very closely with our sales team here at Phenom People, and by very closely, I mean that I sit right next to them in our very open office space. I often hear conversations with prospects, and I’m amazed at how often they are told that candidate experience isn’t a priority right now.

Of course, some companies don’t flat out say that candidate experience doesn’t matter to them in so many words. However, they are willing to turn down viable solutions to enhance their candidate experience in lieu of fighting the war on talent with the same outdated weapons.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve worked on the recruiting side. I know how difficult it can be to pull yourself out of the straight reactive side of business to start thinking about deeper strategy. If you don’t begin tackling your candidate experience as a priority, you risk being left in the dust by your competitors who are catching on quicker than you.

Let me put things into perspective here.

Bad candidate experience can cost more than actually fixing it For example, take Virgin Media. In their case, many of their candidates are also customers of their products. Graeme Johnson, former Head of Resourcing and Employer Brand at Virgin Media, decided to look deeper at the actual “cost” of a bad candidate experience with the company.

According to his analysis of approximately 123,000 rejected candidates each year, Virgin Media was losing about six percent of those candidates as customers as well. This means that they were losing out on $5.4 million dollars annually. That cost is a lot more than it would take any company to spend on improving their career site, employer brand, and candidate experience.

This just goes to show that candidate experience should be a priority or you risk losing out on valuable customers, company revenue, and your employer brand will take a huge hit.

Walk in your candidate’s shoes, and see your process first-hand Many companies don’t want to invest in something that isn’t broken. Trust me, I’m not saying that your career site, ATS, or other technology isn’t functioning properly. However, today’s candidates expect more out of their experience as they learn about and apply to your company. It needs to be as exceptional as their everyday consumer experiences with Amazon, Spotify, and Netflix.

If you just aren’t sure your candidate experience needs help, take the time to walk through your own career site and application process from their point-of-view. As you go through the process, you can identify the areas that need improvement and experience the candidate pain points first-hand. You can also begin surveying your applicants, even if they aren’t selected to move forward in the interviewing process. Don’t just focus on your new hires. You need to capture the meat of your candidates – the applicants who aren’t selected.

You can even get a candidate experience audit done by a third party. At Phenom People, we offer a free gap analysis audit to qualified companies. You can request an audit of your career site, here.

Candidates have options so drive them to choose you Candidates have the power right now. They are no longer hunters, but savvy shoppers. You have to impress them, engage them, and nurture them every step of the recruiting process. It’s understandable that you should evaluate the options. Take the time to evaluate recruitment marketing solutions, and choose the right provider to help your company meet its people goals.

The focus has to be from the outside-in and not the inside-out. This means that your candidates should have a seamless candidate experience from the time they learn of your company to when they navigate your career site to applying for opportunities via an easy and intuitive process.

--- Is candidate experience a priority for you in 2017? How are you working to improve your candidate experience?

Get the latest talent experience insights delivered to your inbox.

Sign up to the Phenom email list for weekly updates!

Loading...

© 2024 Phenom People, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

  • TRUSTe
  • CSA logo
  • IAF
  • ISO
  • ISO
  • ISO
  • ISO
  • ANAB