24 Jul Improving Candidate Experience For a Better Employer Brand

Positive candidate experience can have a long-term impact on your whole organisation. According to the Human Capital Institute, there are about 56% of applicants who had a good application experience would likely consider seeking employment with the company they are applying for again while 37% of them would tell others to do the same or make referrals.

On the other hand, a negative candidate experience can also have a long-term impact on your organisation. if an applicant has a negative candidate experience, this can lead to a damaged employer brand reputation. Here are a few key statistics observed in recent years from a study by HCI:

• 60% of job seekers report having a negative candidate experience with the employers they engage with. 
• 72% of job seekers who have a negative experience report sharing their candidate experiences online.
• 55% of job seekers report avoiding certain companies after reading negative online reviews.

According to HCI, there are three significant factors that cause negative candidate experience, these are things that a company should look into and address to improve their current recruitment process:

• Lack of response or feedback. Feedback on an application or interview is valuable for a candidate’s development, as well as for a positive experience, yet there are 60% of applicants who did not hear back from employees after applying for a job and 60% never heard back from the recruiters after an interview. 

• Rude or disrespectful behaviour of recruiters. Some job seekers who have reported extremely negative experiences cite disrespectful recruiters as an issue. Showing up late, failing to show up, or appearing unprepared, disengaged, or disinterested during the interview are some examples of negative recruiter behaviours.

• Long application process. Based on HCI’s research, 60% of job seekers report quitting in the middle of filling out online job applications because of the length or complexity of the automated processes. The long waiting time for feedback and next steps also contribute to this being a negative experience.

It’s important to note that with today’s highly connected digital landscape, negative sentiments about an organisation’s employer brand can spread easily, often faster than positive sentiments. 

Tips on Ensuring a Good Candidate Experience

• Map the candidate’s journey. Streamline a simplified recruitment process that does not take too much time and effort from candidates. as possible. Understand each touchpoint and assume the impact of each component on the candidate. Read online reviews from Glassdoor and Indeed to be acquainted with more realistic, experience-based, and first-hand ideas from the candidates themselves. 
• Acknowledge the candidate’s existence. Treating candidates like clients is one way to show respect to them. Thanking them for applying, acknowledging their questions, and catering to their concerns are simple ways to improve their relationship with an organisation’s brand. 
• Communicate adequately. One of the most common negative experiences of job candidates is not getting feedback. As much as possible, communicate and explain the entire process to the candidate. Provide feedback, updates, and/or guidance if necessary to keep them engaged and aware of the status of their application throughout the process. 
• Ask for feedback.  Asking for the candidate’s feedback is very important to gauge the engagement of your recruitment process. Through the application process up to onboarding, give your candidates an opportunity to assess their candidate journey. In this manner, they will feel that their opinion is valued and respected, while allowing you to improve the process.

It is important to note that these actions and improvements should all be ongoing. As the world and tech around us develops, candidate expectations do as well. Frequent assessments of your recruitment processes are crucial to maintaining a positive candidate experience. 

A good candidate experience implicitly communicates a company’s values and how candidates might be treated when they get accepted for the job. A company that promotes good values and exhibits great attitude towards people not just to their clients but also to their job candidates can be a huge plus in boosting the organisation’s employer brand.