Candidate experience must be the trending
word of 2016 and 2017 in recruitment. Thousands of articles have been written
about the importance of treating the candidate as a customer as the key to
success. And the consequences of delivering a bad experience are
well-documented. Reality however shows that in the rush to meet the ‘time to
fill’-deadline, theory is set aside and speed is the name of the game.
But accepting a job offer is quite
different from buying a pair of shoes (as important as this choice may be J)
or selecting the right telecom provider. A candidate will put his talents and
career future on the line and will need to jump into the deep end when he
accepts your job. To attract the best and the brightest, your entire candidate
journey needs to reflect every-day business life in your company and needs to
create a sense of trust, re-assuring a candidate that he or she is taking the
right decision.
Here are 3 tips to create a
candidate experience beyond the buzz words.
Go beyond employer branding
A lot of the leading companies have
invested a lot of money in creating an attractive employer brand and promoting
it both online and offline. But the candidate experience does not stop there. Every email
exchange, interview conducted and phone call are all equally important steps.
To convince a candidate, the
reality of the selection process needs to reflect the employer brand and model
your organisation. If you promote an open and creative culture, candidates need
to feel those traits throughout the process, from the atmosphere in the office
to the questions that are being asked. Much more than the words you are saying
or the beautiful employee testimonials on your website, the look and feel of
the entire selection process will convince the right candidate to accept the
job offer.
Go beyond your standard recruitment
process
There is no ‘one size fits all’
when it comes to selecting candidates. Attracting passively looking candidates
requires a different approach than talking to candidates who replied to a job
advertisement. When designing your recruitment process, it is key that you can
build in the necessary flexibility to meet the needs of each individual candidate.
Candidates who applied spontaneously might be more open to assessment centres
at the start of the process while others might be put off by the same approach.
Some candidates will want to talk to more stakeholders to convince them that
they are making the right choice. At that time, you can involve employees to show
them what the real life looks like.
Building this flexibility in your
standard recruitment process and having an open mind to meet specific needs of
each candidate will significantly improve your attractiveness as employer.
Go beyond the signature of the
offer
We all know how it goes: you accept
a job offer, excited and eager to get started. But a few weeks down your notice
period, doubts come popping up as to whether you made the right decision to
leave your safe haven.
It is exactly during that time that
you can put the cherry on the pie. Stay in touch with your future employee.
There should be more than one touch point between you and your new hire once
the offer is accepted. When something happens in the organisation, keep him
updated. Even a simple email to let him know that his laptop and desk are set up
will make him feel welcome. Make sure that the first day is not filled with
paperwork but that there is sufficient room to get acquainted with the new boss
and his co-workers. Don’t leave to improvisation but schedule some
meet-and-greets up front. Your new hire will feel welcome and his or her
commitment to your organisation will have been nurtured and strengthened during
the entire notice period.
I hope that these tips can help you
to go beyond the buzz words as it makes the difference between winning a star
candidate, now or in the future and driving them away. If you need some more
assistance or a sounding board, don’t hesitate to contact me.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel
Through a personalized and
tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting
the right talent that matches the DNA of your company
Follow me on Twitter
@IngeniumSearch
