How to improve your candidate experience for your recruitment agency

It goes without saying that candidates are crucial to any recruitment business. Simply put, without such jobseekers, your recruitment agency will cease to function. Therefore, it’s crucial to focus on your candidates, as well as hiring managers/clients, as these are welcome bedfellows that provide a direct path to a happy and prosperous future. Offering a first-class, best-in-class recruitment candidate experience will directly propel your recruitment business.

What is a candidate experience?

Candidate experience can be defined as the perception and feelings of a job seeker on their job application process, based on their interaction during the hiring process. This includes all points of contact during recruitment – job search, the application process, interview process, and sometimes even onboarding.

Why is candidate experience so important to recruitment agencies like yours?

A poor candidate experience will have a direct negative impact on your business. The initial four aspects to be affected within your business could be (but are not exclusive to):

• Your ability to find and hire top talent
• Your agency’s performance
• Your agency’s reputation
• Your business’ long-term aspirations and goals
  
  

It is reputed that 60% of job seekers* will quit in the middle of the application process because of the length or complexity of the process. So, even if the advert, your company or job description are attractive to a candidate, a poor recruitment process will put them off using you ever again. Not good.

You should also consider that a positive candidate experience is beneficial to you as one day they could be a hiring manager seeking the recruitment services you offer…..

How to improve candidate experience

Improving your candidate experience is an evolving process – progress never stands still. This is not an impossible challenge, but through growth mindset and the willingness to engage and improve will see you making developments every day. Every agency is capable of delivering a consistently high-standard candidate experience. Here are some steps you can take immediately and over the long term:

1. Ensure your website is accessible and inclusive to encourage diversity and inclusivity

In 2020-2021, statistics revealed 21% of working adults in UK have a disability*. That’s a significant number of candidates that your agency could be excluding without the right accessibility features on your recruitment website. This undoubtedly sets the tone for a positive - or negative - experience for every candidate. Broadening your perspective and looking at your candidate experience through a wider lens makes everyone feel welcome. Don’t design an experience that only people like you could navigate. Understand the barriers that candidates face in the recruitment process as well as optimising your website to overcome bias and drive diversity.

2. Your great candidate experience starts before you even know it

The very first communication is crucial. This could come in the form of:

• a phone call
• an email
• a job advert
• meeting at a networking event

From the very first moment, you have to stand out with professionalism, authority, and credibility. Let’s take an example, you’re sending an email out. Capture their attention - be different with your subject line. Another email landing in an inbox with the subject line ‘job opportunity is not remarkable or different… It’s boring! This approach can be replicated at a networking event, an advert, and a call – be imaginative.

3. People, process and recruitment technology should lead your candidate experience

These three factors can elevate your business to great heights. Make your colleagues accountable and ask for their feedback on making the candidate experience slicker which will also influence processes too. Meanwhile, your recruitment technology should be undertaking the heavy lifting allowing your consultants and account managers to build relationships rather than chasing timesheets or other processes which can be achieved via automation.

4. Be critical of your hiring process

Be critical – does it work for your candidates? Does it work for your clients? Are there any ‘bumps in the road’ that could scupper your securing that fee? Here are some questions you must answer – and be conscious of – to keep the process moving to a happy conclusion:

• How many steps are there?
• Make it easy for the candidate to apply
• Are everyone’s expectations being managed here?
• How well are you communicating through the process?
• How slow is it?
• How personal is it?
• Can technology replace any early steps of the process? Can you use video tech, for example?
• Does feedback look good on you?

Don't skimp on this area.

5. Use LinkedIn for your candidate experience

The professional social media phenomenon, LinkedIn, is now an essential tool for every recruitment professional and it can be used not just to add connections but using it as a resource throughout the hiring process:

• Introduce hiring managers over LinkedIn or share their profile with the candidate
• Share the hiring company’s profile and any other information
• Work with your candidate to reach out to colleagues too
• View the candidate’s profile for recommendations, samples of work, and corroboration with CV.

6. Build a good relationship with your candidates

Candidates today are far more savvy and particular about how they’re approached and who they engage with. This makes it more difficult for recruitment agencies, who must engage with passive candidates in the right way. They’re almost selecting you to help them find their next role, so thinking about the experience and why you are better than your competition is highly relevant.

You need to form a genuine relationship with your candidates in a much more authentic way and create spaces for personal interaction. Understanding candidates’ personal stories will give you insights into the things they really want and their current circumstances.

7. Leverage your recruitment technology

When you’re looking to recruit passive candidates, it’s imperative that you use your recruitment database to do it. Your CRM is essentially the biggest butterfly net you’ll ever have. Are you making the most of your time? With Access Recruitment CRM, you have at your fingertips a market-leading CRM that will support your business. Can you replace the early steps of the process with technology? For instance, Access Recruitment’s Video Interview Tool is perfect for sifting through the many early candidates until you get to the gems.

8. Automation = efficiency

Initial pre-employment screening should be mostly, or even completely, automated. As well as making the selection process more efficient, data helps to take the guesswork and common human errors, such as bias or carelessness, out of the equation.

9. Write impactful job descriptions

Don’t just copy and paste the job spec. It might be tempting to repost an old advert or run the same advert across different locations, but a well-written, unique job description can improve candidate experience as well as the quality of hire too.

10. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Consistent communication with job seekers and those already in the application process is one of the things you can most easily achieve, with plenty of tech options to help speed up the process.

11. Give honest and constructive feedback

Recruiters must possess empathy, even with the most frustrated of candidates. Being timely and committed to feeding back will help unsuccessful candidates move on and then keeps the door open to continue the good work you've done in the run-up to the interview. Another suggestion is to insist on feedback from the interviewer that can be passed on to help the candidate know why they weren't successful and what the successful applicant possessed to get the position. By being honest and transparent, the candidate can always turn to you in the future. Maybe this position wasn't for them.

Whatever size your business is or aspires to be, our cloud software covers the entire recruitment lifecycle, available as integrated or standalone solutions. Get in touch with us to learn how our recruitment software can help your business be more profitable.

 

*Source: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2020 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)