Candidate Experience: How it can help attract the best talent and reduce offer drops

John’s a great software developer and also a good team player.

Not so surprisingly, he’s got three job offers in hand, one of which is from your company.

So, will John choose to join you?

We don’t really know…because that decision is going to depend on a lot of different factors. 

That said, there is one thing that could give your company an edge over the rest and that is a good candidate experience. 

If John has had a great experience with your organization’s hiring process, the likelihood of him choosing your organization is higher. And no, we are not saying this. Data is.

Great Candidate Experience can change people’s minds

Two Heads Consulting Group interviewed 14000 job seekers, of which, 86% agreed that the way they are treated during the application and interview stages will impact their decision on whether to join.

On very similar lines, research from LinkedIn has also revealed that 83% candidates say they would change a previously positive impression of an organization if they have a negative interview experience, while 87% say that a positive interview experience would change their minds over a company or role that they had previously doubted.

Well, that’s not it…

Candidates believe that how they are treated during hiring is a reflection of how the organization truly is

Career Builder’s research shows that 4 in 5 candidates say the overall candidate experience they receive is an indicator of how the company values its people.

This means a positive or negative candidate experience can directly shape the perception of an organization among candidates and thereby, affect its reputation not just as an employer but also as a brand in totality.

And that’s because…

Candidates are more vocal than ever about their hiring experiences

IBM reports that more than 60% of people tend to talk about their hiring experiences with their family and friends.

Data from Glassdoor shows that 72% will also share details of a bad candidate experience online. 

What makes that number really worrying for any organization is that: 71% of job applicants are going to research you online - on social media, your website and other reviewing sites. And a good 55% of job seekers will reject a company with negative online reviews.

On the flip side, IBM also found that two-thirds of candidates will share positive experiences with others, even if they are not selected for the role.

What does this mean for the organization?

A great opportunity for advocacy

On average, companies receive 250 applications for a job role. From the 250, only 4-6 get called for an interview. And of those 4-6, only one person gets selected finally.

When it comes to candidate experience, ensuring everyone and not just the candidate who gets selected has a good experience is crucial.

Here’s why.

The IBM study found that people who were satisfied with the hiring experience at an organization were twice as likely to recommend the organization to others as compared to those who didn’t have a great experience.

Plus, satisfied candidates are also twice as likely to become your customers than unsatisfied candidates.

Furthermore…

Happy candidates make for a great talent pool

Imagine all those candidates who were happy with the hiring experience. They are more likely to apply to your organization again and also refer you to friends and family.

This means, in this time of talent shortage, you will get promoted, for free, to a great pool of talent who are already primed and willing to join your organization.

So where do you start?

Remove the obvious obstacles to a great hiring experience

Talent Board’s 2021 Candidate Experience Benchmark Research Report explored reasons as to why people voluntarily exited the interview processes and three that stood out to us were:

1. People felt their time was disrespected: Don’t keep people in the dark. Give them an overview of what the entire selection process will look like, including every round of selection they are expected to go through. Tell them where they stand during the recruiting process. And let them know what the next steps are on a regular basis.

2. The recruiting process took too long: People are less tolerant of long, arduous interview processes. The length of the application form, repetitiveness in the selection rounds and delay in hearing back from the recruiter are some of the greatest deterrents for candidates. And in today’s competitive space, organizations that are slow to build more streamlined and nimbler processes can lose out on the game.

3. Poor communication with the recruiting team: Feedback matters and so does real-time communication. Being ghosted by recruiters can have one of the worst impressions on candidates. And so does mass communication which is not personalized and is transactional.

But there is so much to do already…

A recruiter has targets to meet. And paperwork to do. And strategies to drive. In the midst of all this, taking care of every single candidate’s experience can be overwhelming, to say the least.

That’s where technology comes to the rescue once again.

Embrace technology. Make it your ally. 

For instance, a platform like Tydy can simplify the entire hiring process for both, the recruiters and the candidates. 

Candidate experiences designed on Tydy give job applicants a full view of the recruiting process and help them keep track of which phase of the process they are in, in real-time. The platform also lets recruiters share feedback and stay in constant touch with the candidates. Content is delivered on schedule, directly to their mobiles. By doing all this, candidates get a peek into how internal processes and systems are run. Transparency, timeliness, efficiency, level of support, opportunities - all of these factors can help the candidate decide.

In short, by automating the busy work involved in the hiring process and eliminating the three primary reasons why candidates voluntarily quit interview processes, you can drastically reduce the time-to-recruit, while firmly cementing your company’s reputation as an employer of choice.

>>> Want to see how Tydy works for yourself? Book a one-on-one demo with us right away.