Every client who engages my firm has difficulty filling key roles within their organization. Hence, why my company is often called to conduct a search.

At the outset of our client engagement, we first explore the current sourcing methods and recruiting process which is already in place. What we find, tells a story. It tells us why the company has been unable to recruit, as more often than not, it isn’t a lack of talent in the labor market. Often, it is a process issue, and/or a lack of recruitment strategy which is the cause of the company’s inability to find top talent.

Neither the sourcing strategy, nor the recruitment process can be left to chance. Both, must be thoughtfully designed. Selecting sourcing strategies is its own topic, as is the recruitment process design, but ultimately, both tell reveal what the candidate experience looks like for the company. What does it feel like to go through the process as an applicant? I often begin a recruiting engagement, having the business owner anonymously apply for a position so they can see what happens in the process. This can be enlightening.

At the start of the year, now is the time to develop recruitment goals for the year, to include candidate experience goals. You must have a candidate experience goal in order to make any improvements. What about the candidate experience do you want to improve?

In a recent CEO Advisory Group presentation I delivered, I asked the group what their companies were working on to improve candidate experience? Not one CEO had an answer for me. Why is “candidate experience” not on anyone’s radar? This is a problem. With social media, Indeed and Glassdoor reviews, and the internet wide audience reach, it is critical to provide a positive experience to candidate’s, as their posts and blogs become “social proof” and can damage your reputation with the local labor market, which ultimately damages your ability to attract top talent in the future. More than that, treating candidates with respect and ensuring their experience is a positive one, is the right thing to do.

We all have an opportunity right now, as we develop our goals for the year, to include a few goals and objectives related to candidate experience. Some of the areas you might want to consider improving are:

• The application process
• Communication with candidates – pre and post offer
• Candidate throughput through the process
• Interview experience
• Pre-employment testing and background check process
• Electronic onboarding
• New hire welcome

The most common complaint from candidates is, not hearing back from an employer. Even if the answer is that they are not a good fit for your company, people still deserve an answer. Taking the time to respond to candidates who were not selected, is just as important as responding to those who were extended an offer. Those not selected for a particular role, could be your next hire in another role. A candidate who has a good experience, whether they were selected or not, can become a referral for your company, if they were impressed with how you treated them. It is when candidates don’t have a good experience with your company that they are the most vocal.
Task your management team to come up with 2 – 3 candidate experience improvement goals for the year, as this will have residual benefits now and into the future for your recruiting program. Ultimately, treating candidates well, and right, is the right thing to do.

This is a contributed blog post written by Debra J. Parent, PHR, SHRM-CP, CHHR, President of DJP Right Fit Recruiting, LLC, a private, professional local recruiting firm which conducts searches for a wide variety of small businesses for Professional, Technical, Managerial positions, such as Administrative, Marketing, IT, Accounting and Finance, and Operations roles.

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