From Application to Offer: Getting The Candidate Experience Right
By: Jude Bateman
Summary
The candidate experience includes all the interactions a job applicant has with your company and is a pivotal factor in attracting top talent.
Strategies for creating a positive candidate experience include inclusive job descriptions, user-friendly applications, clear communication, and more.
Going the extra mile with gestures like thank-you emails and virtual gift cards makes a difference.
Key metrics like application completion, satisfaction surveys, time-to-hire, and offer acceptance matter.
Leveraging technology, such as ATS and integrated surveys, streamlines data collection.
1. Introduction.
Did you know that job seekers who have a negative candidate experience are 185% less likely to be willing to refer other job seekers to your company? That's an alarming statistic!
You already know that candidates do their research before applying to your company. They will look at your Glassdoor reviews. They will ask your employees what they love about working at your organization.
And during the recruitment process, they can sense and judge your organization based on how you treat them.
That's why your secret weapon to getting top talent faster and cheaper is to start working on your candidate experience. Besides that, your employer brand should be a top priority.
2. What is candidate experience?
The candidate experience includes all the interactions a job applicant has with your company. These interactions occur when they apply for a job, get interviewed, and get hired. Each step in the process shapes how candidates see your company. It also affects how likely they are to recommend it to others.
3. How to create a positive candidate experience?
To improve your candidate experience, delve into your existing processes. Start with:
Inclusive job descriptions.
Use gender-neutral language to appeal to a broader audience. A game-changer tool is the Gender Decoder.
Use inclusive language and highlight your commitment to diversity. One tool that can change the way you approach diversity in your job descriptions is Textio.
The focus is on skills and qualifications. Avoid unnecessary requirements that may exclude qualified candidates. For example, replace the years of experience with a ''strong background in the field.''
User-friendly application process.
Simplify your application process to make it quick and easy for candidates to apply.
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
Use AI to match a candidate's qualifications with any openings you have posted.
Clear communication.
Respond to candidates promptly.
Communicate the hiring process, timelines, and expectations.
Keep the candidates informed about their application status throughout the process.
A responsive recruitment team.
Do not send your rejection emails from no-reply@yourcompany.com. Candidates are expecting transparent communication along the way.
Your recruitment team must be accessible and approachable.
Upgrade your interview experience.
Standardize your interview process. Ask the same questions in the same order for all candidates.
Have representation across the board. Create an interview panel with people from different backgrounds. This will help the candidates feel that their voices are being heard. It will also help them feel that they are being represented.
Provide a clear agenda for interviews and details about the interviewers. In the interview confirmation email, hyperlink the interviewers' names with their LinkedIn profiles.
Post-Interview Surveys.
Feedback is a gift. By collecting candidate feedback you are promoting transparency and open communication. Post-interview surveys empower candidates to feel valued and heard. And employers gain insights into their recruitment process's effectiveness.
Be different- the extra mile.
Sending a thank you email to candidates is a simple yet impactful practice. It shows your genuine appreciation for people who take unpaid time to interview. Job seeking is hard, but choose to lead with empathy.
Send a virtual gift card to a candidate who has been through several interview stages. Show your gratitude for the candidate's time and effort invested in meeting your team. You can use a tool such as Gifted. All you will need is their email address.
4. How to measure candidate experience?
Data never lies. You should stop guessing and start measuring the candidate experience. This will help you understand how effective your recruitment processes and teams are. Here are some ways on how you can do that:
Application completion rate.
Monitor the percentage of candidates who complete the application process. A high completion rate indicates that your application process is straightforward and concise.
Candidate satisfaction surveys.
Send a survey to candidates who didn't get past certain interview stages. Keep it short. Limit it to under five questions. Use a star rating (1 to 5), and have a text box for comments. Some examples of questions to integrate into your survey are:
How would you rate your experience with our recruitment process?
How satisfied were you with the clarity of our communication throughout the process?
How satisfied were you with the timeliness of the interview process?
Did the job and requirements get communicated during the interview process?
How likely are you to recommend our organization as a potential employer to others?
Please share any suggestions or areas where we can improve our recruitment process.
Reduce the time to hire.
A swift and efficient recruitment process is pivotal for a favorable candidate experience. Try implementing a back-to-back interview. This reduces the interview stages and shortens its length. You can schedule the hiring manager interview and the “culture add interview” on the same day. The culture add interview is also known as the culture fit interview. To calculate the time to hire, measure the duration from the day the job was opened and posted up to the day the candidate signed the offer. Compare your time-to-hire metrics with others to stay competitive and meet industry standards.
Offer acceptance rate.
A high acceptance rate for job offers is connected to a great candidate experience. According to CareerPlug, 49% of candidates declined a job offer due to a poor experience during the hiring process. This means you are losing half of your candidate pool due to a bad experience! To calculate the offer acceptance rate, divide the number of accepted offers by the total of offers extended. Then multiply the result by 100 to express it as a percentage. Compare the rate of accepting offers to industry standards. Also, review your organization's past data, which is known as internal benchmarking.
5. Leveraging technology for measurement.
Use your ATS to collect candidate experience surveys and improve your recruitment strategy. By integrating surveys into the ATS, you can gather data and analyze feedback. This will reduce administrative work. It will also help you understand candidate sentiments in real-time.
If your ATS has basic functions and a candidate survey is not one of the options, check Starred.com. It can integrate with several Applicant Tracking Systems and the surveys can be customized. It comes with analytics tools that allow you to analyze trends and patterns. You can benchmark and compare your results against industry standards or competitors.
Your company should use data to make decisions, not a gut feeling. Create your own clear and measurable metrics for candidate experience. Go back to your core competencies- what makes you different than your competitors?
And remember that the small gestures can go a long way. These include being respectful of your candidate's time, considerate, and thoughtful. Craft a great candidate experience at every single step.
How will you improve your candidate experience in 2024?
HR & Business Associates is committed to helping you start, run, and grow your small to mid-sized business. At HR & Business Associates, we specialize in providing comprehensive legal and HR solutions that cater to the unique needs of your business. Contact us today by visiting our website or emailing us directly at contact@HRandBusinessAssociates.com for your free consultation.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. The Act involves complex legal requirements, and its applicability may vary based on individual business circumstances. Readers are advised to consult with a qualified legal professional for personalized advice and to ensure compliance with the Act and other relevant regulations.
