Candidate Experience vs Hiring Success

By Monika Gostomska, Head of HR Recruitment at Wallace Myers International

There has been a lot of talk around the key trends in Recruitment for 2016.  Candidate experience is often listed as one of the main areas of focus alongside employee engagement, leadership, technology and L&D.

As a recruiter I am the messenger of bad news and good news to candidates but also the recipient of their feedback around their experience with the interview process. Organisations that want to gain competitive edge need to recognise that candidate experience is becoming increasingly important.

Has the candidate experience improved in 2016?

Time

The main reason companies lose extremely suitable, qualified and knowledgeable professionals is due to time.  On average a recruitment process for a senior HR professional takes from 4-6 months. Why go back to the drawing board if you had the right candidate for the job in the first place? Business Leaders that are ready to make decisions will be the winners in quality recruitment.  There is nothing more frustrating for candidates than having gone through a process of 3-4 interviews and having to wait 2 months for decisions to be made.  The excitement lowers and the initially good feeling and positive experience is replaced with frustration and disappointment.  More importantly it is an insight into how Recruitment/HR processes work in an organisation and is often a reflection of the lack of autonomy business leaders have in making their decisions.  By the time a decision is made most candidates would have accepted offers from companies that were professional, efficient and ready to make a decision.

Managers, HR professionals or Talent Acquisition specialists when asked “how soon do you need the vacancy filled?” in 9 of the 10 examples will tell you “as soon as possible”.  Unquestionably speed to fill vacancies for companies is critically important in today’s market, yet procrastination due to a number of internal factors is commonplace.

It often ends with a candidate losing faith not only in the company they had initially applied for a job with but also in the Recruiter that had represented them.

No Feedback on Applications

Sadly, not responding to applications has become a growing trend among companies.  Candidates often vent their frustrations with Recruiters.  They find it hard to believe that companies can be so unresponsive while refreshing their ads daily.  It’s Recruiters who are working hard to make sure their client’s brand does not suffer due to unresponsiveness.  Disappointment is even greater if candidates receive no feedback on the interview they attended.  As the market is turning we will observe that Recruitment agencies will start being more selective as to what clients they wish to represent.  We are entering a candidate-driven market and it is the candidate with their unique skills and expertise that will have the last call.  This is even more important when placing Senior HR Business Leaders.  Lack of response on their CV will tell them a lot about the culture of the company and it’s not good news.

MRI Network, Experts in global search have conducted a study last year to show the change in the market trends over the past few years and here’s what they found out:

Lack of interest and attention given to candidates

Disinterested interviewers is another complaint I have been getting lately.  This is often followed by Managers being late for interviews.  Candidates who are not progressed should have an equally pleasant experience as the ones who are.  These professionals will eventually find another position and discuss their experience with their network. Word of mouth is a powerful measure that will influence the future success of quality talent acquisition.

Starting the process prior to approval

There is simply no need to start the hiring process 6 months before the need for the vacancy to be filled.  Those candidates that were initially available will be long gone and hiring managers will have to look at a different talent pool when the times to hire comes.  Agencies should implement an inventory recruitment process, keep in touch with their network, continue connecting with professionals and be ready to supply talent for a live and approved vacancy.  From that moment on it should take maximum 4-6 weeks to finalise the process.

One of the key steps toward effective talent acquisition is building a candidate focused recruiting culture and cultivating a great candidate experience.  Organizations who are great at hiring will have strong employment brand and acquire the best talent in the market.

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About the Author

Monika Gostomska is a Specialist HR Recruiter and Head of HR Recruitment in Wallace Myers International. Monika has been in the business for over 9 years and is passionate about building teams that foster organisational growth and development.

[email protected]

www.wallacemyers.ie

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