Does your organization have a good candidate experience? This isn’t just a common buzzword, it’s one of the most important factors in attracting quality talent.
Making sure candidates have a great experience is a constant for attracting the best. However, the method for providing a fantastic experience should be ever-evolving.
High-touch candidate care use to only be reserved for “hard-to-fill” professions. Now that hiring has become a challenge for many companies, there is an increased need to elevate the hiring experience.
Here are 3 ways your organization can step up the candidate experience…
Screen from the get-go
The screening process doesn’t begin with a phone call. It begins with your first point of contact. Many hiring managers use phone screens to “filter out” job candidates who don’t satisfy the basic requirements for a position or to get to know a prospect better. However, a screening call is not always the most efficient approach to narrow down many applications. The email correspondences you have prior to the call should be purposeful.
By including screening questions in the application process, you can make sure that your applicant pool is made up only of people with the fundamental qualifications. Bonus points if you use a recruitment team to do the work.
Make the job opportunity easy to find
Careers pages are frequently tucked away in obscure places. Make it as discoverable as you can. Applicants will be appreciative that they don’t have to search through your sitemap and understand that you respect your hiring process enough to put it front and center.
If you are working with a hiring team, you’ll want to make sure that your headhunters understand the landscape. Each industry is different, so it is always a good idea to hire a recruitment firm specialized in your niche. Finding executive talent in the hotel industry is different from finding part-time employees in the food industry. When you work with a team that truly understands, they will be able to expedite your search to the next level.
Make it quick
Speed does not have to come at a price. Many companies are afraid to shorten the hiring process because they want to make sure that they are making the right decision. They want to reevaluate their options and interview as many potential candidates as humanly possible.
Speed may not come at a cost, but you know what does? Time.
If you are taking weeks dragging your feet through the mud, you will lose quality candidates. Time kills deals. The best thing you can do is focus on efficiency. An efficient hiring process doesn’t take months and doesn’t involve 10 interviews. If you hire the right recruiter, ask the right questions, effectively screen candidates, and get your opportunity in front of the right faces; you’re set up for success.
With this, you can keep using skills assessments as a screening method. Especially if they can gain something back from the results, like a skill evaluation or a personality test.