Talent acquisition leaders at employers of all sizes should take a long hard look at the latest Candidate Experience Research Report. It’s chock full of analysis and perspective on how employers and their employment brands are performing in the market from both the employer and the candidate perspective.
One of the biggest take-aways from the new report is the fact that candidate experience isn’t just a recruitment marketing or employer branding issue. The candidate survey data clearly shows that the candidate experience doesn’t end with the rejection of a candidate at any stage of the process. It doesn’t end when a candidate applies. I would go as far as to say that it just doesn’t end.
Branding and marketing has a lot to do with first impressions. But, if you don’t take the rest of your hiring process and technology you use to support it into account you’re …. well, to reverse an old saying, spending good money before bad.
If you’re investing in candidate experience you are investing in the long game. Don’t approach it with just short term gains in mind.
Yes, a better employer brand, better marketing, and a streamlined process will help you with conversions. But, the candidate experience sets a foundation for market sentiment – which shows up on places like Glassdoor. It’s also setting up the platform for ongoing communication. Whether you believe in talent pools or not, the way you treat people today impacts the way the will receive you tomorrow. If a candidate has a less than adequate experience with you or your hiring process, they are less likely to entertain you in the future. They are also less than likely to refer your company (brand) to a colleague when talking about where the job opportunities are. And, trust me, they talk.
This leads me to ask the question whether the current trends to invest in recruitment marketing as an application that is not COMPLETELY integrated into the talent acquisition platform is just a band-aid on a growing problem?
As an employer, both the experience you are providing to the candidate, and the data and workflow you implement to support your recruiting process should not be limited by the integration capabilities of the systems you choose to implement.
As a customer of technology you have right to demand certain capabilities. As I’ve said before:
“The platform vs. point solution battle is over and as an HR technology customer, YOU WIN! But, as I stated earlier, it’s the informed customer that really wins. We’re entering an age of workforce and HR technology where you get to have your cake and eat it, too. Get the platform to drive the core processes and seamlessly integrate the right apps at the right time.”
There is too much at stake for you as an employer. Don’t just get the brand and candidate experience right. Set yourself up with technology that supports it.