The importance of candidate experience

New employees have their first impression of a company as a candidate. Although they usually have some knowledge about the company beforehand (from the company’s website or from online reviews), the first interactions make the biggest impact on their decision-making.

Research conducted on 14 000 candidates shows that 87% of them decide whether they want to join a team based on their experience during the application process and interview stages. Glassdoor’s data states that 72% of candidates share their bad candidate experiences online, which could damage the company’s reputation and stop new candidates from applying.

Based on their opinions, candidates don’t receive enough feedback and information, and the application process is too long. Modern technology and consumer society have an impact on expectations, too. Candidates have more control over job search, and they want the process to be seamless and intuitive. Talent Board found that candidates want consistent, concise, and timely communication. One of their studies concluded that 60% found lack of feedback the most frustrating, and a third of them felt they were undervalued.

Candidates have more and more expectations regarding candidate experience. Talent Board has overseen CandE’s (Candidate Experience Awards) for 10 years and they noticed it is not easy for winner companies to maintain their title for the next year. As consumer expectations are growing, candidate expectations are also increasing.

Talent Acquisition leaders are looking forward to improving candidate experience in 2021. Predictions say talent and skills shortage will grow in the next few years; therefore, it is most crucial to develop a new, more intuitive, consumer-style approach during the application process.

The good news is that with the right technology, we can solve these problems effectively (lack of feedback, process length), and with an innovative approach we can keep up with growing candidate expectations.

SHL Hungary’s online tests and questionnaires help companies achieve an outstanding candidate experience. The tests, questionnaires are objective and reliable measurement methods, which quicken the selection process immensely and also give a safe alternative during the pandemic. Our TalentCentral platform’s candidate reports allow professional and fast feedback, which could benefit organisational branding and make the HR team’s jobs much easier.

The original blog post is available here.