Guest PostAside from compensation and benefits, candidates consider their experience with the hiring process one of the main factors for accepting or declining an offer. The talent acquisition process is the candidate’s first interaction with your business, and if you fail to make a positive impression during recruitment, the candidate is less likely to accept your offer.
One way of gauging your hiring process is through gathering candidate feedback. This is particularly important if you recruit virtually. Let’s look at four reasons you should get candidate feedback on your virtual recruitment experience.
1. Identify recurring issues
While you do your best to standardize the recruitment process, candidates may experience some discrepancies. They might have different experiences based on the role they interview for, the recruiter who handles their requisition, or the hiring manager making the final decision. However, this shouldn’t mean you can lower your expectations for your process.
Gathering candidate feedback in virtual recruitment allows you to determine whether candidates’ negative feedback on the process, tools, or personalities they encounter are isolated occurrences or part of a larger pattern.
For example, if just one candidate says that their recruiter wasn’t visible on the screen or was barely audible, you can just dismiss it as an isolated case. However, if other candidates being handled by the same recruiter have the same issue, it might be time to discuss with the recruiter or see if other recruiters receive the same feedback.
2. Locate areas for improvement in your hiring process
Aside from identifying recurring issues, candidate feedback will also help you find areas for improvement in your hiring process. Note that issues and areas for improvement are not the same. While issues are operational in nature, areas for improvement are more process-oriented.
For instance, getting candidate feedback in a virtual recruitment context will allow you to determine if a specific recruiter is following the hiring process to the letter. It will also allow you to determine if candidates feel that your hiring process is too long and complicated. Once you get enough feedback from candidates saying the same thing, you can start running process improvement projects.
Let’s say candidates say that your recruiting process, which takes three months, is too long. You can change it by reducing the number of interviews or streamlining paper screening and background checks, resulting in a time to fill of two months or shorter, which is ideal for industries with high employee turnover rates, such as ecommerce and customer service.
3. Improve candidates’ perception of your business
The experience you offer to candidates can influence their perception of your business and whether they get hired. According to Career Builder, more than 75% of candidates believe that their candidate experience reflects how the company treats its employees. A positive experience implies that the company is a great place to work in, while a negative experience implies the opposite.
This perception, in turn, will give you an edge in attracting qualified candidates. These candidates expect a quick turnaround time for inquiries, a clear escalation path, and well-defined processes — not just during recruitment but also when they start their journey with your company.
For example, if a candidate claims they sent a follow-up email to a recruitment inbox but never got a response, you may have your IT team check if the inbox is full. You may also check the email address itself and see if it was spelled correctly. Finally, you can talk with your recruitment team and emphasize the importance of checking the inbox at regular intervals.
4. Gain user feedback on tools used in the process
Recruitment before the pandemic was already tech-intensive. With virtual recruitment, the use of tech tools has increased further. You need to ensure that your applicant tracking systems, video interview software, and integrations between your ATS and recruitment portals are all seamless and stable.
Even if your IT project management team stress-tests these tools before they go live, you still won’t be able to predict how candidates will use or perceive them.
For instance, using a video chat platform known for its unstable connections might leave candidates feeling disconnected and alone in their interview. In this case, you might want to look into software with 24/7 technical support so your recruiters can focus on what they’re good at: recruiting, not troubleshooting technical challenges.
The Bottom Line
The economy is fast recovering, and job seekers and employers are looking for more efficient ways to connect. Virtual recruitment allows you to conduct interviews and find qualified candidates anywhere in the world safely and conveniently.
You’re not the only one looking for potential contributors to your team, however. You need to stand out as a potential employer. By providing a well-planned and executed virtual recruitment process, you establish your company’s reputation and attract quality candidates.
Getting candidate feedback in virtual recruitment helps identify issues and areas for improvement in your recruitment processes, influence the way candidates perceive your business, and determine if your recruitment tools are working the way they should. By listening to your candidates, you can plan and build a recruitment process that becomes the pride of your business.
About the Author
Jimmy Rodriguez is the COO of Shift4Shop, a completely free, enterprise-grade ecommerce solution. He’s dedicated to helping internet retailers succeed online by developing digital marketing strategies and optimized shopping experiences that drive conversions and improve business performance.
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