When it comes to recruiting new staff for your business, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure your candidates have a positive experience throughout the process.
There’s increasing competition between businesses for high quality candidates, which means that a negative experience with your company can send the best talent elsewhere.
There have also been changes to the way the recruitment process works. One of the biggest changes is in the increased use of social media. Rather than advertising through traditional channels, such as online job boards, employers are now turning to social media to post opportunities, and to encourage online word of mouth communication around jobs.
This means that the recruitment processes are in the spotlight, and candidates themselves can share their experiences with a particular organisation, whether good or bad.
Negative feedback about a candidate’s experience with your business can damage your reputation, and make it more difficult to find quality candidates in the future. If you work in an industry such as retail, there can be further problems, as your potential candidates may also be customers or followers of your brand. If they are passionate about your brand, you don’t want to lose their loyalty, so it is important to be sensitive and provide a good candidate experience.
How can I help ensure a positive experience for candidates?
There are a few steps every business can take to help ensure positive recruitment experiences for their candidates.
- Ensure your job advertisement is very clear and specific.
- Communicate to your candidates throughout the process.
- Make sure you acknowledge receipt of all applications.
- Provide all candidates with information about the process, and give them a timeframe for when they are likely to hear back.
- Provide as much feedback as possible to individual candidates.
- Ensure that all candidates, especially those on the short list, feel that have been treated respectively to ensure an overall positive experience.
Companies who provide a great candidate experiences can also indirectly grow a pool of talent for upcoming roles. Word of mouth is a great way to find potential employees, and it is important that you cultivate a positive image and a good reputation among potential job candidates. This can be seen as a reflection of your business as a whole, and the way that you treat your employees.
