In 2023, TA teams face an uphill battle. 88% of recruiters believe that hiring will be as difficult this year, if not more difficult, compared to 2022.
Companies are seeking innovative ways to attract and secure the best candidates. Amidst the focus on strategies, technologies, and metrics, is one critical aspect—the candidate experience.
We talk about candidate experience a lot here on the Sense blog. Candidate experience is the sum of interactions and perceptions a candidate has throughout the entire recruitment journey. It encompasses everything from the initial contact with your organization to the final decision-making stage. So when it comes to acquisition efforts, the importance of candidate experience cannot be overstated.
On one hand, there’s fierce competition and a scarcity of top talent. On the other hand, organizations are scaling back their resources as economic uncertainty looms, putting added strain on TA teams.
Amidst these challenges, candidate experience may slip as TA teams struggle to manage their workload. But neglecting candidate experience has severe consequences, such as damaging your organization's employer brand, leading to missed opportunities with highly qualified candidates, and hindering long-term success.
We collaborated with Atomik to conduct a comprehensive research study involving 1000 active job seekers to understand their motivations and expectations. Here are the key insights:
Candidate experience impacts your talent acquisition efforts in several ways:
A positive candidate experience enhances an organization's employer brand and reputation, leading to increased candidate referrals and a larger pool of high-quality applicants. How can you improve candidate experience to attract better candidates? Here are some tips:
Also read: Data-driven strategies to improve candidate experience
Ultimately, a memorable candidate experience increases the likelihood of converting candidates into hires, while a negative experience can lead to candidate drop-offs.
A survey from Glassdoor found that 86% of candidates look at an organization’s Glassdoor reviews before applying for a role.
A positive candidate experience enhances an organization's reputation as an employer of choice by generating positive word-of-mouth, online reviews, and social media comments. Candidates who have a positive experience during the recruitment process are more likely to speak highly of the organization, attracting more top talent and enhancing its overall image in the talent market.
Ensure that your employer brand messaging accurately mirrors the real-life employee experience. Collaborate with your HR team and organizational leaders to naturally cultivate a positive candidate and employee journey, resulting in a positive brand perception.
A positive candidate experience attracts a larger pool of candidates and encourages them to remain engaged throughout the recruitment process, expanding the talent pipeline. Additionally, a positive candidate experience helps reduce candidate drop-off, time-to-fill, and time-to-hire metrics.
Also read: Strategies for effective candidate pipeline optimization
A positive candidate experience improves the offer acceptance rate, as candidates who feel valued and respected throughout the process are more likely to accept job offers, securing top talent. On the other hand, a negative candidate experience can increase cost-per-hire as organizations may need to invest in attracting new candidates to replace those who had negative experiences.
Also read: ROI of personalizing candidate experiences and how to calculate it
Automation plays a big role in alleviating the burden on TA teams and optimizing candidate experience. Leveraging recruitment automation tools can streamline repetitive tasks and help recruiters focus on what really matters—building and nurturing deep candidate relationships.
Want to know how top talent-centric brands are engaging candidates successfully at each hiring stage? Download our Definitive Guide to Talent Engagement now.
