When we think of recruitment and the process it involves we instantly think about the process such as specifications of a particular job, the action of attracting candidates to apply for that job, screening and selection of candidates, hiring the right candidate and the onboarding of those candidates.
These processes are changing and are facing new changes in 2018. What will the next HR trends for 2018?
Candidate experience is closely related to employer branding. The focus of 2017 has mainly been on employer branding as a trend, but candidate experience is just as important. There is no point in building a strong employment brand on the back of a weak candidate experience as it will never be as truly as effective.
Having an awful candidate experience can demolish the great employer brand that you have built through negative experience and candidates more than likely will not recommend their friends or family to apply either.
The competition for great talent is on the rise. With such a competitive environment, companies want to hire the best. Whilst most companies are aware that their employment brand needs to be great most are unaware that a candidate’s experience is just as important and can easily ruin your well-built employer brand by ignoring it.
A survey of job seekers by recruiting tools research firm Software Advice found the top causes of a bad candidate experience include:
Unclear application instructions
Extremely long application
Minimal job description
No confirmation email
No notice when the position is filled
Unable to contact a recruiter
Source: Software Advice
The frustrating lack of communication is often referred to by candidates. Unsurprisingly, job seekers’ top requests for improving the candidate experience include:
More communication
Notification if passed over
Timeline of the hiring process
Human contact after application
Timeliness of replies
Source: Software Advice
So how do you make sure that you continue to give candidates the experience that they want?