More than 6,000 applicants in the Netherlands rate their candidate experience an average 6,3
AMSTERDAM, 15 October 2018 - The labor market is tight, people are hard to get. That is why the candidate journey should be organized perfectly. Candidates rate their candidate experience with a 6 out of 10 according to our research. Plenty of room for improvement.
This is my conclusion based on measuring the candidate experience of 6,350 applicants within 30 large and medium-sized employers.
The initial first online impression - reading about the vacancy on the website - is a good one. Most respondents indicated that they were able to find the vacancy easily and that the information found was more than clear enough to persuade them to apply. On average, the Dutch business community is given an 8 for the first step in their digital experience by Dutch candidates.
However, immediately after that the pain starts. Would you like more information about the job by telephone? Very difficult, it appears that most applicants find it a real challenge to reach the right person. Inadequate, according to the outcomes of the Search & Co Group's continuous research of the candidate experience.
Once candidates reach the right person, for example by telephone or in person, many candidates do not feel they are taken serious. There is not enough enthusiasm from the potential new employer to respond to questions from the applicant in a personal way. Again an insufficient on this part.
Many applicants indicate that they feel they are treated as a number. A rule in a spreadsheet or other automated system. The human dimension is often lacking, answers are precooked, do not answer the questions asked, or even answer questions that are not asked.
The far-reaching degree of automation that is being implemented in many recruitment systems are a threat. These systems are too focused on accommodating the recruiter and too little geared up to offer a personalized and excellent experience. It is precisely because of this that things really go wrong in the candidate experience. When a candidate is rejected a personal or appropriate reason is hardly ever given.
Applicants feel unfairly treated after going through a sometimes extensive procedure. A standardized e-mail, without substantive reasoning, without personal attention and without good arguments, means in many cases the end of the procedure. Such impersonal rejection often means not only the end of a job application process, but also the end of any relationship that the applicant has with the intended new employer.
Imagine yourself you are applying for your own job. You apply after browsing a beautiful website with appealing content. You spend a lot of time writing a motivational letter and refining your resume. To then find an email in your inbox weeks later with an impersonal standard rejection. Applicants feel they are not being treated as a person and that has a negative impact on your brand experience.
This is underlined by the respondents who in large numbers indicate that it is not very likely that they will recommend the company and employers are rated a low 6 out of 10.
Within the Search & Co Group we have developed a methodology to avoid such deceptions. To turn candidates into brand ambassadors who are positive about the company they saw earlier as their new potential employer.
The impact that applicants have on a brand is often underestimated. Have a look at our website candidateexperiencemarketing.nl. It is a themed site that provides information about optimizing your candidate journey.
Would you also like to know how candidates think about your organization? We can measure it for you. Please e-mail me via [email protected] or call me on +31624768758.
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