…HR ideas from Jeffery Giesener – CEO – SourceMob.com
In 2015, a good candidate experience is not different from what we expect as customers. We all want the following:
A sense of belonging:
The HR Brand that you have developed on the Web and social networks to attract candidates must continue inside your private network. Your HR Brand is not just a show to be seen from afar. Instead it must be inspiring and immersive at all times!
Today in most cases, when candidates respond to your call of action, your employer branding magic ends: you transport candidates into the bland environment of an Applicant Tracking Solutions (ATS). As a result, a large number of candidates drop off during an often-antiquated application process,(most still without mobile apply) you lose the ability to augment your talent pipelines and you do not address passive candidates. Do you get the ATS analytics you need to improve candidate defection? If not…why not?
Reconsider the role of the “Apply” button: if you push candidates directly from your home page, career page or social source right into your ATS, you’re skipping the crucial part of thel candidate experience. Drive candidates from your home page, social pages or job boards directly into your mobile optimized and socially enabled career site. Make sure you focus on the story of WFIM – What is in it for your candidates and why they should join your organization. Candidates are candidates before they are applicants. They are the ones feeding your pipelines!
It is clear that recruiters are not following through with this mission. According to a study from Recruitment Buzz, less than 40 percent of job candidates said they had a positive apply experience. This percentage is way too low, and is problematic for candidates, recruiters and HR Brands alike. The result is more candidate defection that you know or can see, which costs your organization tons of money.
According to the study, 73 percent of candidates would tell their inner circle about a positive experience and 62 percent would share a negative experience. Additionally, 28 percent of candidates would share a positive experience on social media and 17 percent would do so for a negative experience. This means how your candidates feel about their experience affects current and future talent pools. A positive experience will open more doors for exceptional candidates.
You need to do everything in your power to give candidates a positive job search and apply experience. Given that Millennials are going to make up 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025, their needs are a good place to start. Here are three ways to improve the candidate experience for Millennials:
Avoid the resume black hole.
Candidates are frustrated by the “black hole” appearance of the job search process. It can be extremely disheartening to apply for a job and receive no updates or communication explaining your position in the process. In fact, 30 percent have received a “do not reply” automated response and 31 percent have received no response at all, according to the Recruitment Buzz study.
Candidates need to feel an actual human being is reading their resumes. In large companies, sometimes automated responses are the best option, but whenever possible, email candidates directly. Let them no know when they are no longer being considered for the position. Provide updates when they move to the next round of the process. Job seekers need this kind of 2-way feedback to stay motivated.
Why not re-engage with qualified candidates who are already in your ATS or Talent Communities. Why start the job process from scratch each time you have a new job requisition? Send email campaigns targeting these highly skilled and talented candidates every quarter so you stay connected to them especially those that are passive. I have seen amazing close rates from these candidate emailings. They also driving hiring at such a low cost per hire (50-60% less than traditional spending).
Make referrals a priority.
Nearly half of the candidates in the Recruitment Buzz study claimed some relationship with the company they applied to. About 20 percent were existing customers of the company and 12 percent had family and friends who worked there. Employee referrals account for 40 percent of job search success, so it’s important to make your referral process simple.
A great way to improve your referral process is to keep your referrers and candidates in the loop. One company mentioned that they informs every referral of their status within 48 hours of being submitted. These are simple changes to make to your process that improve the experience for candidates while shortening your hiring cycles and lowers you costs. Enable your employees to have join talent community buttons in their email signature files.
Get social.
If you’re not using social media in your recruiting process, you’re missing out on the majority of a younger talent pool. Ninety-six percent of Millennials discuss their job search with others both in-person and online, and more than 30 million students and recent graduates use LinkedIn to find and share jobs. Social media makes your hiring process much more transparent to job seekers, which is an attractive quality for Millennials. 70% of women make up Pinterest. Are you using video to net your younger candidates?
Today there are over 4 Billion social profiles in the key channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and of course you can’t forget about the mobile candidate. How are you prospecting in them?
Nearly nice in 10 Millennial job seekers are optimistic about their jobs search, but a negative candidate experience from your company will discourage future Millennials from applying. Make an effort to cater to your candidates and you will succeed in finding the best fitting talent in your industry.
What techniques are you using to bring in new candidates to your talent communities and hiring pipelines? Share your thoughts in the comments area below.
Educating yourself…
Have you attended my Webinar Series that provide 100’s of tips on recruiting on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, YouTube, and Instagram along with Social Analytics? Tips that you can use in your very own recruiting immediately without spending more recruiting HR Marketing dollars…
Now is the time to rethink your old HR Marketing rules strategy…
How to get started…
I have an Early Bird Discount to my next RecruitingRocket™ BootCampstarting on December 2nd. Learn more about the #RocketRecruiting #BootCamp which is 6 consecutive weeks of Webinars plus many additional Bonuses. How to Recruiting Webinars Week #1 – On Social and Mobile Recruiting; Week #2 – Leveraging LinkedIn; Week #3 – Using Twitter; Week #4 – Facebook; Week 5 – Google+; Week #6 – Pinterest, YouTube & Instagram: Plus several more exclusive Webinar Bonuses including Mastermind Classroom and Private Facebook Page for Peer-to-Peer discussions. All of them for only $450. That is $150 off the Regular individual Webinar Rate
See SourceMob.com/Events for more details…
Hurry there are just 40 seats left for our December #RecruitingRocket BootCamp Series. .
Please feel free to forward and retweet this note to your colleagues. We are the Leaders in Social Education!
ABOUT SOURCEMOB: SourceMob integrates Internet, social, talent community, HR Analytics, social listening solutions, HR Marketing Services and mobile recruiting solutions to help talent acquisition professionals recruit the very best candidates for tough-to-fill positions. SourceMob’s solutions seamlessly integrate and distribute conversations, engagement and job content, all done on autopilot, providing a job posting springboard to over 3.5 million candidate profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, plus all of the major search engines. We help you engage with your candidates and capture niche passive candidates. Our solutions also enable Mobile Quick Apply and candidate application management services to create more efficiency and lower recruiting costs. You won’t need your IT Team or HR Department to implement them. That is the beauty and ease of the SourceMob platform.
Looking forward to seeing you one of my many Educational Webinars.
Jeffery
Jeffery Giesener
CEO/Founder
SourceMob.com
jeff@sourcemob.com
952-417-6955
Twitter: @thegies
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jefferyjeffgiesener