As a hiring manager, it’s common to focus on the recruitment process from the employer’s perspective. Ensuring costs remain under control, evaluating candidates for fit, and making wise hiring decisions are generally given precedence.
The issue is that only viewing the hiring process through an employer’s eyes means you’re overlooking a critical part of the equation: the candidate experience. If job seekers find your process cumbersome or dissatisfying, you’re hindering your results.
Often, top talent has choices when they’re seeking out new opportunities. As a result, they’re more inclined to abandon applications or exit the hiring process if their needs go unmet. By evaluating your candidate experience and making changes, you can prevent that from happening.
Here’s how to review your candidate experience to achieve better results.
Request and Review Candidate Feedback
Getting feedback directly from job seekers is typically the most straightforward way to evaluate your candidate experience. You can learn about pain points and frustrations directly from those engaging with your process, making it easier to find areas for improvement.
When you request feedback, use a multi-faceted approach. For example, you can directly discuss it with candidates during the interview process or ask job seekers to complete anonymous surveys via email.
It’s also wise to review feedback on public resources, such as career websites or social media. That allows you to capture data from those who may not complete surveys or answer questions during interviews regarding their experience.
Also, speak with new hires about their experience. Let them know you’re looking to improve the hiring process, and would appreciate their insights, as positioning the request correctly increases the odds that they’ll participate.
Monitor Candidate Dropouts
Another strategy that helps you find pain points in your candidate experience is monitoring dropouts. You don’t just want to determine how many job seekers abandon the hiring process; it’s also crucial to find out when they’re leaving. By doing so, you can see if specific moments are potentially prompting exits.
For example, seeing a significant number of candidates leaving at a specific point in your application signals a problem in that segment of the process. If they’re ghosting interviews, that could signal a post-application communication issue or dissatisfaction with the amount of time passing between applying and interview invitations going out.
In the end, this strategy at least tells you when exits are happening. Even if the reason isn’t immediately clear, you know what part of the process you need to target, which is helpful.
Experience Your Application Process
Unless you recently joined the company, there’s a strong chance you aren’t personally familiar with the current candidate’s experience. Fortunately, you can taste it firsthand by participating in parts of it.
For instance, you can create an internal faux job opening that uses your company’s application process. Then, spend time doing all of the steps twice, once on a computer and once on a mobile device.
As you go through the application, count how many screens you have to navigate and track the time required. Make a note of redundant requests, such as asking for a resume and a fill-in-the-blank application. As you determine what you find unclear and frustrating, it’s often safe to assume that candidates feel similarly.
By using the approaches above, you can evaluate your candidate experience, allowing you to find areas for improvement. If you’d like to learn more or want to streamline your hiring process by partnering with a leading recruitment firm, PrideStaff wants to hear from you. Contact us today.
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