Candidate experience – why is it important in the recruitment industry
Published on Nov 21, 2017
It is a known fact in the corporate world that a lot of branding happens on social media and forums via potential candidates. Their responses can either make or mar the company image, which is true, as they have the complete freedom to express their experiences on social media and forums.
Therefore, it is vital for a company to respect candidates’ views and restrict the management from imposing their views or humiliating them during any recruitment process. An organisation must know that candidates are the most priced elements that have the potential to earn goodwill to its brand.
Let us understand how candidates are normally managed in a company right from their application till the offer is made.
· It is quite common that a list of potential candidates is sourced through job portals and even social media. Candidates either apply directly to the company website or send in their resumes to the concerned person. This is generally viewed as the first step in the job application process.
Many candidates face a lot of problem in this stage as communication with the concerned person is minimal which might even lead to the dropping of their candidature.
· The next stage in the job application process is scheduling the interview. Recruiters on a whole scrutinise resumes and shortlist selected profiles either for a face-to-face round or a telephonic interview. Furthermore, the candidates are filtered based on their performance.
· Lastly, selected candidates are called for a final round of an interview with the top management. At times, during this process, a candidate might lose interest if recruiters fail to provide feedback.
Thus, it is quite clear that problem areas in the entire recruitment process is lack of transactional communication. In other words, it is the formal communication between a recruiter and candidate, which when not executed can lead to heavy loss of goodwill, subsequently damaging brand image of a company labelling it as careless, and unresponsive to candidate needs.
To bridge this gap, organisations must introduce a new role in the HR department called the “Candidate experience manager”— a role that oversees candidate job applications, guides them and offers valuable feedback when necessary.
In a way, a candidate experience manager will handle the brand of the company and closely monitor social media platforms and online forums to prevent any negative comment coming in from a distraught applicant.
A candidate experience manager will also a point-of-contact for job applicants at every stage as they would direct candidates throughout the recruitment process. Be it information through email or direct telephonic contact, almost every business intimation would be conveyed to the candidates.
Besides, a candidate experience manager will also remain in constant touch with candidates right from the time they apply for the job.
Some of the broad domains that a candidate experience manager will cater to is online and offline engagement.
· Offline Engagement:
By offline engagement, a candidate experience manager deals with job applicants via telephonic conversations and personal interaction.
For instance, when a candidate applies for a job, the first person to greet them would be a candidate experience manager. Likewise, when a candidate arrives for an interview to the office, the candidate experience manager should act as the host by guiding them through the day’s events. They must inform candidates if there is a delay in the processing of job application. This activity ensures to keep the interest alive in candidates. If possible, they must invite senior candidates for a general talk during the recruitment process, just to get an idea about their job and profile.
· Online Engagement:
Similarly, the role of a candidate experience manager does not end by actively engaging with candidates on a personal basis, but must make efforts to connect with candidates through social media. Engaging with candidates on social media is a dual process as the candidate experience manager not only handles queries but also promotes the brand through online advertisements.
They must actively invite candidates to like the company page or participate in events and online contests which in a way will enhance brand visibility. They must tag potential candidates to relevant job posts on social media to achieve a good turnout during the interview rounds.
By educating, informing and communicating about the company’s vision, mission and values to a candidate via social media, a candidate experience manager can undeniably achieve the best outcomes.
Thus, having a candidate experience manager is of vital importance to a company and they would enable the management to build the brand and also bring them the best talent. Candidate experience managers can be the driving force to managing the company’s brand image due to their diverse yet focused role.