Featured photo by Norman Tsui on Unsplash
The candidate experience marks the beginning of the employee journey and shapes how candidates think, feel, and act toward your organization and brand. How can each touchpoint maximize success?
Avoid preventable mistakes and learn the why and the how of the candidate experience.
Understanding the Impact of Candidate Experience on Employment Brand
Here's an unfortunately common experience you've probably experienced as much as I have. I'm energized by the advertising and marketing of a product or service, but the sales and discovery process leaves me disappointed.
But could these preventable disappointments hold lessons to improve how we hire and recruit?
The candidate experience affects both the people we're asking to join our teams and our employment brand. The overwhelming majority of candidates believe their experience from your job advertisement onward shows how they will be treated as employees. Just as we're more likely to advocate for a brand that impressed us during the shopping and sales phase as a customer, the experience we have as candidates influences us as employees. New hires who have a positive recruitment experience develop a sense of connection and trust with your company because they feel valued from the outset. This translates to a happier, more loyal workforce with lower turnover and stronger shared commitment.
Let's think for a moment about what job candidates and new hires are thinking, feeling, and trying to navigate. The job search process and starting a new role lead us to struggle with ambiguity, unexpected challenges, and self-doubt. Even if we do all we can to support and create a positive candidate experience it's still a difficult transition. If over three-quarters of CEOs admit to struggling with imposter syndrome, how are your new middle managers and frontline employees feeling? The enduring link across studies and industries between the candidate experience and retention should come as no surprise.
Unfortunately, there's little margin for error. For 90 percent of candidates, it takes only one negative touchpoint during their candidacy to change their minds about a company they originally valued. It's worth noting that what happens during the hiring process extends into the new hire experience. In fact, most people believe it's okay to leave a job in the first six months if it's not aligned with what was shared during the hiring process.
Unfortunately, a large survey found the majority of hiring managers intentionally withhold information, or even misinform candidates, most often to meet immediate staffing needs.
So it's not surprising new hires and candidates are upset – and they don't go it alone. Just over a quarter share their experience on social media (with Glassdoor, Indeed, and LinkedIn, providing convenient ways for applicants to reach a large audience). And just as we rely on online reviews for buying decisions, the vast majority of us report consulting more than one review of a company, whether online or from someone we know, during the hiring process.
Delivering a consistently positive customer experience is tough, and it's not hard to argue that providing a positive candidate experience could be an even steeper challenge. We usually don't deliver constructive feedback to our customers, or decline to sell them our products and services. It's also tougher to capture authentic applicant reactions and attitudes across the hiring process and isn't something we're used to thinking about as much as we are for our customers.
The rewards of consistently executing a positive experience, however, are high. Consider how new employees who reflect positively on the candidate experience are -
- More likely to refer others (66%). Not only do they arrive with a higher level of trust and engagement (in a workforce climate with a severe gap in trust and resilience), they are likely to refer within the first few months and show a strong readiness to support and advocate for your company.
- Greater resilience to respond to the demands of taking on a new role (3 times). Satisfied candidates are excited about pushing through the demands their new role requires. They're equipped with greater trust and are more committed than their less satisfied peers to weather the challenges of the first six months on the job.
- More likely to perform and live your culture, in addition to staying long-term. Uncertainty isn't fun for most of us. Clearly and consistently communicating our culture and about the nature of the job reduces that ambiguity building trust and authenticity in the process. A consistently strong candidate experience is an undersold pathway to a competitive edge.
In short, when we consistently deliver a rewarding experience to candidates throughout the hiring process, we're not only more likely to secure the commitment of people with greater potential to thrive but also amplify our employment brand. This positive perception attracts more high-potential talent and enhances the organization's reputation as an employer of choice.
On the flip side, an inconsistent or negative experience will influence candidate behavior after the hiring decision. Just like consumers, they'll share their experience with others (often other potential candidates or customers) and keep that memory of the event long after. Candidates with a poor experience often share their negative impressions, leading to a damaged, or at best inconsistent, employment brand and reputation. This will chill the attraction of passive candidates from applying to the organization and result in a smaller and less qualified pool of applicants.
Maya Angelou's words resonate here: they will not forget the way you made them feel.
Delivering on candidate expectations and leaving them with an irresistible impression is often deceptively simple. Case in point: over two-thirds of candidates share they rarely or never receive a response about an application that isn't moving forward. Automated email communications that communicate gratitude and respect for the candidate's time are an easy fix and an opportunity to change the minds of a large number of formerly disappointed candidates.
I shared earlier that most hiring managers aren't comfortable speaking honestly about job expectations. There's hesitation to share constructive feedback with candidates on how their preferences and potential may fall short of what's required. If we can move from white lies to candid and caring conversations we can elevate the experience of our candidates and avoid shift shocks that derail our teams, culture, and bottom line.
By prioritizing candidate experience and delivering a positive, honest, and informative interaction at every touchpoint, organizations build robust employment brands and position themselves as a premier choice for top talent.
Building a Strong Talent Pipeline through Positive Candidate Experiences
How – and who – you hire builds your talent pipeline. Clear communication in the hiring process, just as one example, might lead a candidate to opt out of your opportunity when it doesn't meet their needs but leaves them with a favorable impression of your brand. These candidates may become advocates for the organization, recommending it to their network and referring potential candidates who are exactly what you're seeking for your culture and operations.
Furthermore, a positive candidate experience encourages candidates to reapply for future job openings within the organization. This creates a talent pipeline of individuals who are already familiar with the company and have expressed interest in working with your team. Building and nurturing this talent pipeline can save time and resources in the long run, as there is a pool of qualified candidates readily available when new positions become available.
By providing positive candidate experiences, organizations can cultivate a strong web of interconnected talent, build links between candidates and their networks, and increase the success and efficiency of recruiting and hiring over time.
Measuring the Bottom Line: How Candidate Experience Impacts Business Success
The candidate experience has a direct impact on the organization's bottom line. To start with, a positive candidate experience increases job offer acceptance rates by as much as 38 percent. This cuts not only direct costs like recruiting but also the indirect costs of operating short-staffed: reduced operational capacity, a weaker customer experience, and further turnover.
Furthermore, this delivers a competitive advantage. Generally, when we have a positive experience, our needs are met and some trust is gained. To go back to the sales example, when the discovery or sales process causes us to decide against a product, we've lost trust in the organization's ability to deliver. Trust from a positive experience, especially early in a relationship, affects how candidates evaluate our ability to deliver on other parts of the job offer: the culture we've espoused, potential opportunities for growth, continued increases in compensation, and the list goes on.
This is why maximizing touchpoints early in our relationship with our future employees, and doing what we say we are going to do, gives us so much return on our investment. Each piece carries the potential to build trust and the results that flow from it: whether choosing a candidate-friendly applicant tracking system, implementing job-relevant and engaging assessments, or ensuring resonant and timely communication that makes candidates feel seen, heard, and the knowledge they belong and are valued.
Enhancing Brand Awareness Through Positive Candidate Touchpoints
When we think about building sales, we often turn to the details of the customer experience or journey. What are the touchpoints of the sales process and which of those moments are the most inconsistent? Where do you lose the most potential customers?
Now let's switch to the candidate experience. Which touchpoints, or steps in the recruiting and hiring process, are the most inconsistent? What information or events might leave candidates with a poor, or wrong, impression?
We've been focused on the perceptions and beliefs of candidates who join our team. What about candidates who we decline or who abandon the process? Positive candidate interactions have the potential to enhance brand awareness for an organization.
To understand how candidates think and feel about the hiring process and take confident action we need to accurately understand their experience. This is where a strategic plan for gathering candidate feedback can highlight strengths and potential vulnerabilities in hiring and recruiting. Candidate experience surveys are structured questionnaires designed to capture feedback from candidates about each touchpoint along their journey.
Consider your candidate pool for a moment. How well do you really grasp the thoughts, intentions, and experiences of those who turned down an offer, exited the process early, or weren't selected? Surveys are a fantastic, cost-effective way to gain valuable insights into their perspectives, expectations, and any challenges they face during the hiring journey.
So, what are some simple benefits you can gain from candidate feedback?
- Direction for Continuous Improvement: Surveys give you helpful feedback straight from candidates, making it easier to spot areas where the recruitment process can get even better, like communication, transparency, and efficiency. Regular surveys help keep everyone involved in the candidate experience accountable.
- Boosting Your Employment Brand Awareness: Over ninety percent of tomorrow's talent will be influenced by their experience with your hiring process today. The candidate you decline now could be an ideal hire for another role in a different area next month, or grow into a high potential for a new position five years from now. By actively soliciting feedback from candidates and taking action to address their concerns, you showcase your dedication to providing a positive candidate – and employee experience. The candidate that chose your competitor, as well as those you respectfully decline, leave feeling heard and valued. This level of commitment not only strengthens their employer brand across the board and feeds your talent pipeline for the future as well as potential referrals.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Surveys gather helpful insights that can be used to make smart, data-driven choices and enhance the recruiting process, leading to a smoother and more effective hiring strategy. Since HR budgets often focus heavily on technology, candidate experience surveys illustrate how this technology is making a positive impact (or falling short). While chatting with former candidates who are now employees is great, it only gives you a glimpse of the candidate pool (mostly those you ended up hiring).
Prioritizing Candidate Well-Being: Living Your Values and Caring for Others Through Hiring
What does it mean to be happy at work? At its heart, job satisfaction is all about those things that make an employee feel good and fulfilled in their role. It’s about meeting both the practical needs, like fair pay and benefits, and the more personal ones, like growth and a sense of purpose. When we're a job candidate we're trying to determine how an organization will meet those needs, and where they might fall short.
That’s why the candidate experience is so important; it sets the stage for future connection by clearly laying out expectations and showing the organization’s dedication to understanding and meeting our needs. Our candidate experience is the first step in the employee journey. Unlike a magic reset button or a Men in Black-style pen that could erase past interactions, the impressions made during recruitment stick around as we move forward. We mentioned the stress, uncertainty, and doubt that belies even chief executives when starting a role. The hiring process is an opportunity to be a positive steward of every candidate's well-being, and in so doing set our new hires up for success and a nurturing experience when they join our team. So, it’s essential to craft hiring and recruiting with care and attention, as it builds the foundation for a positive and lasting mutually beneficial relationship between the employee and the organization.
What makes a candidate experience support psychological well-being? One that builds a trusting relationship by making the candidate feel they were:
- Treated with respect and understanding
- Provided the opportunity to perform
- Engaged with relevant and resonant information and with the right information at the right time
When candidates are treated with respect, authenticity, and transparency during the recruitment process, they don't just hear about what to expect from your team—they actually see it in action. Every step, from the first job posting to the final interview, is handled with genuine honesty and openness. Candidates receive clear and accurate information about the role, the company culture, and what's expected of them, which helps build a strong foundation of trust. They feel valued and understood, knowing their time and effort are appreciated. A lot of this comes down to communication, which when asked, job seekers share as the opportunity that would have the biggest impact on their intentions and attitudes towards an employer.
On the flip side, if the candidate experience leaves them questioning respect and fairness or lacking important information, it can create a shaky foundation for satisfaction and trust. This can lead to confusion and doubt, making candidates feel misled or undervalued. Such uncertainty can chip away at their confidence in the organization and dampen their enthusiasm for the role, affecting their decision to join the company or their performance if they do. Something as simple as sharing a timeline and the steps of your hiring process (which happens to be the improvement candidates say would most improve their experience) can support bottom-line results and candidate engagement and well-being. That's why it's so important to gather feedback and focus on building a transparent and respectful recruitment process.
Building Energy and Engagement with Candidates Around Your Culture and Values
Candidates form an opinion about you - as an employer and as a business – from the beginning of the application process. Consider these facts on the influence of candidate perceptions and word of mouth:
- The majority of job seekers report a negative candidate experience (the good news: a small change can make a big difference and exceed your competition!)
- Over 70 percent of candidates with negative perceptions are likely to share them with others online - on Glassdoor or elsewhere.
- The vast majority of job seekers report avoiding companies after reading negative reviews online.
In many industries, like food service and healthcare, there's a tight-knit community where everyone is connected through a web of relationships and interactions that go beyond just business. In these fields, word-of-mouth and reputation spread quickly, shaping how people see and decide about things. A candidate you pass on today might be a customer tomorrow or even a great fit for another role soon. This interconnectedness means how you treat candidates can have a big impact, not just on your talent pool but also on your customer base and standing in the industry.
Remember, even candidates who have a less-than-stellar experience might end up working with you. Their first impressions of your employer brand shape their beliefs about your values and culture, and their long-term well-being. If candidates have a negative experience, it can leave a lasting mark on how they view your organization, affecting their engagement, productivity, and overall happiness if they join your team. So, it's super important to make sure every interaction, even with those who aren't selected, reflects the values and culture you want to promote.
When you leave every candidate with a positive experience, even those who don't accept your job offer will likely walk away with a great impression of you and what you stand for. This positive vibe can lead them to speak highly of your organization to others, boosting your reputation and attracting more top-notch applicants. These candidates are not only skilled but also align with and embrace your culture, which is key to creating a supportive and thriving work environment. By focusing on a positive candidate experience, you compound momentum on the flywheel of talent that strengthens your brand and supports the long-term happiness and success of your enterprise.
