To attract top talent you need a great candidate experience
Delivering a great candidate experience is a necessity for all employers no matter how attractive they may think working for their company is. I will explain why this is and what you can do to improve it below.
Yes
Top-tier candidates always have a plethora of job options to choose from and their experience during the recruitment process can affect whether they say yes or not to yours. Providing a seamless and positive experience for candidates can tilt the scale in favour of a 'yes.'
Networking
For a company to thrive, its employees must actively engage in talent scouting. However, a negative candidate experience can act as a deterrent, stifling networking efforts. When team members know that candidates they refer will be treated with respect and consideration, they are more likely to participate enthusiastically in the recruitment process.
Listen
To improve your candidate experience first you need to understand the existing one. This means you need to be able to measure it. Relying solely on online feedback or anecdotal evidence from recruiters is insufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a systematic approach.
A recommended strategy involves engaging in candid discussions with new hires approximately two months after their onboarding. This timeframe strikes a balance where their experience of your recruitment process is still fresh in their minds yet sufficient trust and rapport have been established for them to share their opinions openly. Identifying a trusted individual within the company, be it their manager, referrer, or HR personnel, to conduct these discussions ensures that they feel safe giving honest feedback.
Encouraging new hires to explain their decision to accept your company’s offer instead of their next best alternative provides valuable insights into your company's appeal.
Learn
Consistently gathering and anonymously sharing this data with your hiring team and HR will help to facilitate a better understanding of the candidate experience and the company's underlying candidate value proposition.
No
Don’t forget about the candidates who declined to accept your offer or who chose to withdraw from the process. Ask the person who they got on best with during the process to contact them and ask them the same structured list of questions as your hires are asked. This will allow you to glean valuable insights into why they opted out of pursuing a role with your company.
If you would like some advice about how you can attract top talent and elevate your company brand among candidates then please get in contact.
Current Roles
