Safeguarding your employer brand
throughout the recruitment process and clearly communicating your
organisation’s values to both existing and potential employees is key to shaping
the overall perception of your company in the marketplace. This can have a huge
impact on your ability to attract and retain the very best talent.
The experience of a candidate
before, during and after the recruitment process can play a significant part in
how your business is perceived externally.
The best talent is always highly
sought after, whether the employment market is flat or buoyant, so it is vital
that your organisation provides a positive experience for candidates who are applying
for roles and throughout the entire recruitment process. This is the best way
you can ensure that you secure the right people for your organisation.
Job advertisements
Where you place your job ad and how
it is presented plays a critical role in attracting the right talent. There is
nothing worse than a vague job spec that is littered with typos. Indeed the
description of the role is the biggest influencer on a candidate’s decision as
to whether to apply.
Most organisations use jobs boards
and LinkedIn, but experienced recruitment consultancies are still regarded as
the most useful source of vacancies by professionals seeking new roles. It is
important to choose your recruiter wisely – and preferably choose one that has
genuine expertise in your sector, so they will be able to handpick the
outstanding candidates and really test their knowledge in a preliminary
interview.
Responding to applicants
It can be tempting to get your
vacancy advertised on LinkedIn as soon as that resignation letter hits your
desk. But it is a waste of everyone’s time to advertise your position and
encourage applicants if you don’t have the capacity to respond to applications.
It doesn’t look good if you don’t get back to them at all.
Indeed responding quickly to job
applications is incredibly important, because candidates will look upon tardy
responses as an indication of a lack of interest or just general disorganisation.
Worse still, you could miss out on the best candidates if other companies are
moving more quickly.
Equally not letting unsuccessful
candidates know that you’ll not be taking things further is both impolite and
detrimental to your reputation. And it’s much better to send an automated
rejection letter for unsuccessful applicants than no response at all.
The hiring process
We’ve all heard the horror stories
of candidates being kept waiting for ages without explanation, interviewers
being distracted by their phone or even leaving an interview for a length of
time without any explanation or apology. What a company must realise is that a
potential employee is interviewing them too – it’s not a one-way street.
There’s nothing worse than taking
the time to go to an interview and finding that the interviewer is unprepared.
Furthermore a lengthy process can be off-putting and a lack of feedback when a
candidate has made the effort to come in for an interview (or several) and then
hears nothing at all does not put your company in a good light.
Do give feedback, do be prepared
for the interview and do keep the process short, snappy and thorough. That way,
you’ll secure top-flight candidates and retain them. The interview process is
often a very good indication of how a company views its staff.
And
finally, it is essential to note that the majority of job seekers discuss their
experiences during a hiring process – be it with their friends, colleagues and
acquaintances or online. This clearly shows how employers’ interactions with
candidates – from communication, organisation and speed of the recruitment
process to their experiences when being interviewed – can impact their brand,
in both a positive or negative way. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful
communication channels. You would be foolish to ignore this.