There is a slowly building understanding of the importance of providing jobseekers with a superior candidate experience. However, it's time to start having more open conversations on the subject, which will hopefully lead to action. A Google search of "candidate experience" yields very few relevant results and devoting a column on Tweetdeck or hashtag (#CandExp) on Twitter is proving to be a bit of a one sided conversation, but I have high hopes.
There are a few great examples of candidate experiences if you look hard enough. The two best examples making the social media rounds can be found on lettersofnote.com. There is the story of a six year old train enthusiast who applied for the position of Director of the National Railway Museum. Obviously not the candidate they had in mind. However, taking note of his considerable transferrable skills they graciously awarded him the prestigious position of Director of Fun. A post he happily still holds after almost two years. The other feel good story was about the 25 year old who applied for the manager's position with the Middlesborough Football Club. A role for which he was clearly qualified as demonstrated by his smashing succes in the Football Manager 2005 video game. The club graciously declined his application, choosing to reply by letter to inform him they feared he was so qualified he would quickly move on.
Although both of these are excellent illustrations of how some employers go above and beyond, a simple phone call or email would go a long way toward endearing an employer's brand to unsuccessful candidates. However, the extraordinary nature of the applicants is the very reason for the uncommon responses. As most jobseekers will tell you, the overall candidate experience is, to put it nicely, not great. They are often left feeling like they've been cast aside after it's been determined they are not the best candidate for the position for which they interviewed.
When you are able to find conversations they tend to revolve around the experience given from the point of initial contact (job boards, direct, company career sites, external recruiter, etc.) up to the actual interview. Yes, this segment of the recruitment process needs an overhaul as well. Yes, this is the biggest part of the equation, but arguably not the most important from a company brand management standpoint. The biggest impact a company or recruiter can have on a candidate is after they have been interviewed and determined they are not the best fit for the open position. That being said, many companies are learning that today recruitment is about more than merely hiring - it's also about employer branding. This hit me like a ton of bricks when I started meeting with companies and began to see titles like: Global Director of Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding. Quite a mouthful.
What companies (and external recruiters) need to understand is this is their moment to shine (or burn out in flames) when it comes to keeping candidates in their systems for future opportunities or even leaving them with a positive impression of the organization. According to an article in Personnel Times based on a study by psychometric testing company SHL, 46% of unsuccessful candidates are put off brands by simply not being told they had not been chosen. Add that with the fact that people are more likely to share negative experiences with people they know (or worse on social media) and the potential losses to companies are significant. Unfortunately for companies, they aren't always in control of the communication with unsuccessful candidates. Not an ideal situation since it's their brand that is likely to suffer as candidates are more apt to associate them with the negative experience.
One of the biggest champions of enhanced candidate experience right now is the US based staffing strategy company Career X Roads. They, among a few others, are sponsoring thecandidateexperienceawards.org, which is an "award process evaluates and recognizes organizations that deliver outstanding candidate experiences". The best part of this award process is the fact that actual candidates are surveryed. In addition, all companies who participate will receive a report detailing their survey results. Could be an interesting read. Winners are chosen by a panel of recruitment industry types, however it's not clear whether or not this panel includes any members from the very part of the equation they aim to help - actual candidates.
I'm not going to lengthen this post by listing all the reasons why companies and external recruiters have issues creating a positive candidate experience. I know the argument is sheer amount of applicants and lack of time. I get this. However, in today's technologically advanced world it's fairly easy to manage email templates for different scenarios. Something like this (feel free to borrow these):
Unsuccessful, not suited for any other roles:
Dear Candidate X,
We regret to inform you that after careful consideration you have not been chosen for (Role A). We greatly appreciate the time you have committed to interviewing with us and we wish you the best of luck in your search.
Warm regards,
Company Y
Most candidates will tell you that they would rather know the reason why they weren't chosen, but just knowing they have not been gives them the closure they deserve.
Unsuccessful, but suited for possible future roles:
Dear Candidate X,
We regret to inform you that after careful consideration you have not been chosen for (Role A). However, we recognize your considerable skills and experience and we would like to keep your details on file should future suitable opportunities arise.
Warm regards,
Company Y
Candidates will still wonder why they haven't been chosen, but view Company Y as a source of future possibilities. Of course, this means that Company Y needs to follow through and keep in touch to continue the feeling of good will.
These are obviously short and sweet. Yes, maybe a little oversimplified, but candidates mostly want closure. They want to know that the position they interviewed for is no longer an option instead being left to wonder and spend the time and effort continuing to chase the possibility. Taking this extra step of communication will leave the candidates with the feeling that they are truly valued and help considerably reduce the risk of brand damage.