Josh TolanWith the U.S. unemployment rate at a 49-year low, recruiters and staffing pros are sourcing candidates from a small pool in a candidate-driven market. Fortunately, 76 percent of hiring managers believe candidates have grown wary of traditional job boards, according to a 2017 Glassdoor survey. This makes for a golden opportunity for staffing pros, as you provide a less conventional method for filling open positions.
However, the staffing process is a mystery to many job candidates. They’re used to interacting directly with potential employers. When it comes to working with a staffing firm, good candidates can end up performing poorly or “ghost” you if your communication doesn’t meet their expectations.
You can improve how you share valuable information with candidates and utilize communication tools to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of your messages.
Here’s how to communicate effectively with talent during the staffing process:
1. Speed up response times
In an environment of instant responses, candidates don’t want to be left hanging when communicating during the staffing process. Keep them engaged by using texting to communicate quick information. For instance, confirm receiving an application and let the candidate know it’s being reviewed. Or a simple reminder to check their email for an invitation to schedule an interview builds rapport with candidates.
According to a 2018 Recruiter Nation study, 88 percent of recruiters report positive feedback when they text candidates. But only one-quarter of job seekers in a Clutch recruitment survey say they’ve communicated this way during the recruiting process. This is a missed opportunity. Texting during the staffing process speeds up your process as a whole and improves the candidate experience.
2. Personalize communications
Efficient communication with staffing candidates can be tough to manage. This is where templates typically come into play. But instead of helping the staffing process, they’re harming your candidate communication.
In a 2019 Monster survey, one-in-seven Americans (14 percent) did not feel respected during their last job search. Candidates crave respect, and as a staffing pro, you’re the gatekeeper to opportunity. An effective route to demonstrating respect for candidates is established through personalized communications.
Toss your templates. All forms of candidate communication should have a personal touch. Anonymous mass mailings of canned responses will only confuse and disengage your candidates.
3. Make face-to-face communication mandatory
You’re busy. Meeting in person with candidates during the staffing process isn’t always feasible in a timely manner. But phone calls and emails aren’t the most effective ways to establish a connection, which is necessary for communicating critical information.
This is where live video interviews come into play. They’re the first step to ensuring a connection when visiting your office can’t happen immediately. Video ensures the staffing process is understood and provides facial expressions and tone to screening discussions. If face-to-face communication occurs early in the staffing process, other forms of communication are less often misinterpreted and instead received the way they are intended.
4. Connect candidates to employers
It can be tough for candidates to feel connected to your client during the staffing process. As a staffing pro, you’re the middle person. It’s your job to establish the relationship and ease the transition.
Introduce candidates to company leaders through recorded videos. This allows the candidates to form a deeper connection to the employer and highlight the client’s company culture. A short ‘hello’ video with the company execs introducing themselves, sharing why they love working for the company, and being a smiling face the candidate can connect with goes a long way to helping them establish basic rapport and a connection to your client.
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