How The Candidate Experience Affects Recruiting In 2020

It comes as no surprise that competing for top talent in 2020 is undoubtedly fierce. Organizations are actively seeking innovative approaches in order to reach talents, yet one vital perspective continues to be overlooked - the candidates. How candidates are communicated with from application to on-boarding is crucial to an organization’s reputation and ultimately, their hiring power. In this article, we discuss how the candidate experience affects recruiting top talent in 2020.

Competition is fierce

The landscape for recruiting has become more and more difficult over the past 20 years. Top candidates are in high demand, and much like any other low supply, high demand commodity, it puts the latter in a power position. Candidates are in control, therefore, organizations need to step up their game in order to secure them. With that also comes a high demand for specialized skill sets, organizations need to reevaluate their approach in order to attract and retain these individuals. One of the most impactful ways to do so is to flip the perspective and focus on how candidates are being approached and communicated with throughout the entire recruiting process.

“92% of employers say skills shortage affects productivity & job satisfaction.”
-Hays U.S. 2018 Salary Guide

No excuse for radio silence

Recruiters today are quick to proactively reach out and follow up with talents who are considered to be “elite” in order to establish the first contact and set up a potential interview, however, consider what the communication looks like after that first touch point or once a candidate has been regarded as “not qualified”. The reality is that the majority of applicants are left in the dark with no response for months after sending their CV. With today’s modern advancements in software, there’s no excuse for the radio silence. Organizations should, at the very least, be setting up workflows to send automated responses to candidates once defined as “not qualified” thus, informing them of the status of their application. However, a shocking 75% of candidates never hear back from an organization after sending their CV. If you are among the majority of companies contributing to this statistic, it’s time to make a change.

“Only 20% of candidates receive an email from a recriuter notifying them that they're not being considered.”
-Talent Board CandE Report

Never doubt candidates reach

In today’s digital world, organizations need to recognize the power of social media and the role it plays during the recruitment process. Since the beginning of the social media era, communication has become increasingly convenient and effective, meaning there has been a significant rise in reach in recent years. When thinking about this in the context of the candidate journey, a positive or negative experience with your organization can have a much larger impact than ever before. Candidates can not only share their opinion with their inner network but also on a global scale with a simple click of the mouse or tap of the finger. When the interactions with your company have been negative, candidates will likely take their connections and product purchases elsewhere. Negative experiences can impact your employer brand and can also diminish your ability to attract the “ideal” employees for your company, however, the opposite can be said when the candidate experience is positive.

“Individuals who suffered a bad interaction are 50% more likely to share it on social media.”
-Dimensional Research

Automation is your new best friend

The key to creating a positive candidate experience comes down to one thing - communication. With today’s advancements in technology, organizations are turning to software providers to establish an automated, yet personal approach. Solutions such as PeoplePath CRM can be configured to completely automate administrative processes, engagement activities, and alerts. For example, when a candidate is defined as “not qualified” it will trigger a subsequent follow-up message to be sent, therefore ensuring constant, personalized, and effective communication with all candidates, hired, or not.

Improving communication throughout the entire recruiting and hiring process can have an extremely positive impact on securing top talent for your firm. If you are looking to step up the candidate experience for your firm in 2020, be sure to contact us, we’d be happy to show you how the PeoplePath CRM solution can help you to nurture top talent through seamless communication and automated workflows