Employers always want the best and brightest applicants to impress them during the hiring process. What they may not realize is that in today’s market, applicants are extremely choosy and expect employers to reciprocate by impressing them as well.
Improving applicant experience should be a goal that your HR team is constantly striving to achieve. If the goal is to attract long-term employees during the application process, you should treat applicants with the same level of care as your customers. Here are some strategies for enhancing applicant satisfaction.
Understanding the Applicant Experience
In a best-case scenario, a prospective employee will feel like they were respected, informed, and valued at the end of the hiring process — even if they did not get the job. A professional and personalized approach requires clear and timely communication and a user-friendly process for the applicants.
If an applicant dislikes anything about the application process, they’re likely to drop out as a candidate. That first impression is everything. When an applicant has a good experience with you, they’re likely to apply again when future openings occur. It’s also good for your branding as an employer to ensure that people have a good experience applying to work for you.
Key Aspects of a Positive Applicant Experience
If you want to improve the pre-onboarding process for applicants, you should start by understanding what some of their top complaints are. Numerous surveys have shown that candidates dislike vague job descriptions that lack a salary range. They want to know that they’re not wasting their time by applying for a job that won’t meet their salary needs.
A lengthy and drawn-out application process also frustrates candidates. A lack of communication throughout the application period makes them feel unimportant and left in the dark. These are just a few examples.
Transparency in the recruitment process can help improve applicant experience. Write a detailed job description that will answer all the most basic questions an applicant might have. Include a salary range and all minimum expected qualifications. Be transparent about your decision-making process as well.
Communicate with every applicant promptly, even if you don’t end up choosing them for the job. Let them know the timeline for the application process and what the next step is every time they advance to the next stage. There is no downside to offering professional, respectful, and personalized communication to your applicants.
The best candidates will put a lot of time and effort into their application if they seriously want to work for you. That should be reciprocated. Streamline the application process to make it as seamless as possible for them. Show respect for the time and effort they put into applying.
Strategies to Improve the Applicant Experience
How can you streamline your screening and application processes? Technology can offer a huge amount of assistance in this area. HR software can make the process as simple as having applicants fill out a short form online and upload their resume.
Integrated technology can save an applicant’s information and then use it during the onboarding process. This saves your new hires from having to fill out redundant information on necessary forms.
A digital platform can also send applicants reminders and emails for the next steps in the process. You can even set up feedback loops with candidates. Ask them to fill out quick online surveys about the application process. You can then use that data to continuously improve your hiring process.
Hiring managers should be trained in effective communication techniques. The more personalized the experience is, based on open communication, the better the recruitment experience will be.
Conclusion
Job applicants want to feel like their time and effort is being respected. Companies should reciprocate the effort that their applicants put into the process through open and timely communication. Streamlining the process with technology solutions is one of the best candidate experience strategies that organizations can adopt.
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