Let’s talk about trust in recruitment………
But more specifically is candidate experience negatively affecting your company’s brand and do you believe you are hiring the best talent in the market?
From speaking to candidates and companies in recent months, the dynamic of the labour market is driving volume in candidate applications for certain roles whilst to the contrary many companies are struggling to find the talent needed due to a shortage of required skills. In both instances how the candidate experience is managed is boom or bust for a company’s employer brand and recruitment and retention strategies.
Unfortunately, hearing about the reality of candidate experience in 2024 is translating into far more negative than positive experiences being shared. Subsequently, all this is resulting in candidates being disengaged from the companies and recruitment agencies they are applying with, and on the other foot, whilst grateful for the high applicant volumes, companies are not sure whether they have secured the best talent available or are giving the candidate experience they believe should be offered.
Granted this is quite a simplistic view but why is this so important when it comes to trust in the recruitment process?
“Treat others how you would expect to be treated.”
This is not only a nice way to look at life but a basic principle of the recruitment experience. Earlier in my career we also stood by “treat every candidate as if they are a customer” so this is not about the merits of one recruitment model vs another but about the values and expectations candidates and hiring managers should demand when hiring.
If you are witnessing negative candidate satisfaction surveys, Glassdoor reviews or receiving the feedback directly from candidates, you have an opportunity to set simple expectations for your candidate journey but you must live and breathe by whatever you set out.
Everyone has differing views on candidate experience, let alone the reality on the ground, so in a lot of respects it really depends on your business. My view however, particularly when talking about tech hiring, is that candidates deserve the following as a minimum:
Feedback is provided to all candidates at all stages - format, detail and depth is down to the company/recruiter but candidates should be afforded the opportunity to know why they were or weren't successful
All candidate applications should be reviewed in full before a hiring decision is made - how many times have candidates heard "thanks for your application but the role has now been filled." Let’s make sure all the talent has been reviewed or simply take the advert down at interview stage, this gives everyone time to evaluate 100% of applications
Remove unnecessary steps in your recruitment processes - a 10 stage recruitment process won’t win you the best talent. Listen to the market, your recruiter or candidates and adapt your processes to gain an advantage on your competition
Hire for potential if the right skills aren’t available - this is all about contingency planning. Right from the beginning be ready and have a plan in place should the skillset you need not be readily available and adjust the candidate journey accordingly
Candidate experience - treat every candidate like they are your customer. You wouldn't not get back to your #1 client for four weeks, so don't do this to candidates. We won’t even talk about "ghosting"
There are of course dozens of other elements and topics which help or hinder a recruitment process, but a simple mantra which has stood me in good stead for my entire career is if you look after the basics the rest will take care of itself. Therefore, why not set basics around candidate experience every time you recruit and make sure you have the processes, systems and suppliers in place to uphold them 100% of the time.
If you adopt this approach and mentality, I can promise you the Glassdoor reviews will improve, satisfaction surveys will look better, your brand advocacy will be enhanced but critically you will hire and retain talented people more often!
At Vitreus Talent we aim to help change lives through our actions and never underestimate the importance of what we do. We're committed to being people centric in all our activities and decisions.
If you are interested in hearing more about how we can help you hire and retain the best tech talent into your business or discuss your candidate journey aspirations, you can contact me directly and I’d be happy to share my experiences with you.
Mark
07900557982