Whether a candidate is looking for an internship program with a company or an entry-level job, finding a suitable position is more than a job description. From work culture to growth opportunities, there are many things a candidate keeps in mind while deciding between possible employers. In this way, employers need to provide the most captivating combination of benefits, compensation, and work culture to engage and retain a large pool of talent. So, the candidate experience is more crucial than ever.
What is Candidate Experience and Its Importance?
Simply put, candidate experience is the way a job seeker distinguishes your organization during the hiring process. The experience of a candidate throughout the process determines what impression you have on your prospective hires as an employer. Is the procedure comfortable and relaxed? Or is it confusing and unsatisfying? The candidate experience not only helps them decide whether to join a company or not but also how they describe the company to their network of other aspiring candidates.
How Can You Improve Candidate Experience?
Other than distinct aspects of a compelling employer brand, building a better candidate experience doesn’t take much time or resources. In today’s digital era, smart technologies are booming and playing a pivotal role in several business processes. Companies are adopting AI-powered technologies to improve their candidate experience. And it makes the talent recognition team more productive while improving the overall experience of job seekers.
Here are a few ways to help you gain and retain top talent.
1. Cut down on your hiring time
Hiring your prospective employee can be a cumbersome process. And we understand that every company needs the best of the bests. But, in the race of hiring top talent from the industry, don’t spend too much time filling one position. It’s a sign of poor candidate experience. The frequency of the total number of applications for a vacancy may decrease if the hiring process is lengthy. The hiring process is the initial impression a candidate has of a company, so it’s essential to maintain efficiency. You need to take care of everything - from updating job postings on the website to responding promptly to the job seekers.
An AI-based intelligent job-candidate matching can review, and shortlist candidates based on their resume rather than limited job profiles in the organization to speed up the process. It allows you to choose the well-deserved candidate instead of shortlisting too many applicants. Eventually, AI-based technology in recruiting saves the time of an employer as well as the candidate by cutting down on the hiring time. What’s more, with the lesser need for human intervention, an AI-based system consistently delivers value to candidates throughout the hiring process with no time constraint.
2. Establish clear expectations
Whenever you list your job postings anywhere on the internet, or explain it to the candidate, keep your expectations clear. The job description should be self-explanatory and depict what precisely an employer wants from its prospective hires. It should also highlight key details of the job, including some benefits for employees who join your organization.
3. Keep the hiring steps clear
Job aspirants who are well-aware of all the stages of the hiring process of a company are more likely to gain better candidate experience. Stay transparent about the exact hiring process. Let your candidates stay aware of the process of their application, selection, and hiring. That way, you can save their time, as they know if they must invest their time preparing for your company or not.
4. Make the candidate comfortable during the process
Whenever you are about to start your hiring process, make sure your candidates have an idea of the whole process. Give them the idea of what they can expect, who they would be speaking with, how much time will it take for the entire procedure. It will help candidates be prepared and stay calm while they walk in for the interview.
5. Get candidate feedback
Asking for the candidate feedback is the key to improvement in your processes. Ask the candidates about their experience while facing the interview with your organization. For instance, you can survey at the same time a candidate discussed with you. Or the best option is the reviews on websites like Glassdoor, where a candidate can share their views about the interview process.
6. Give a response and answer the queries
The dissatisfying thing most of the companies do is being unresponsive after the candidate has attended the interview. It happens most in the cases when an aspirant is not selected. Remember, candidate experience has nothing to do with the selection of a candidate. Whether the applicant is shortlisted for the position after the interview or not, respond to them with the result. A responsive company tends to make a positive impression in the mind of the interviewees – it doesn’t matter if they are selected or not.
An automated conversation related to specific questions of the candidates, they can receive the answers any time of the day. It cuts down your time to respond to phone calls or emails without hampering the candidate experience.
7. Personalize the final process for candidates
Selecting the applicant for a position is not where you should forget about the candidate experience. There are still several processes remaining when you choose the prospective hire. While offering a job position to the candidates, don’t just send a formal email of the offer letter to them. Call them to deliver this good news and congratulate them. This personalization helps them feel like a part of your company culture from the very first day. Also, send an email to the rejected candidates in a soft tone and wish them for future endeavors. This way, they will respect your brand and think of applying for a more suitable position in the future.
Here, AI helps enhance candidate experience through personalized, appropriate, proactive, and timely communication. Like a personalized email, active communication with an applicant puts a positive impact on engagement.
To Wrap Up,
Your candidates have the power to make or break your rapport in the industry. The way you treat an applicant during the whole recruitment process shows the real aspect of your company culture. And companies that continuously work on improving candidate experiences will end up hiring more qualified candidates. It will eventually maintain their reputation as the most desired company job seekers wish to work for. However, the above aspects are necessary, but with the added advantage of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, you will be ready to take the next big leap in the field of candidate engagement. Start considering how this smart technology can augment the capabilities of your talent acquisition teams to improve the overall experience of your potential hires.
