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We’ve all known for a long time that to get the best talent, you’ve got to make sure you have a top hiring strategy.
Unfortunately, that’s not enough anymore. Focusing on the ‘top’, but forgetting ‘everyone else’ can lead to some disastrous consequences, and quickly too. Great employer brands can be made through great recruitment campaigns that are managed with transparency and respect for all participants, and in the same way, just one mismanaged round can destroy your name in the market. And what ‘top’ talent wants to work for someone with a bad name in the market?
Millennials expect seamless experiences
Millennials, Gen Y, are used to seamless service experiences. Think about online shopping as a case in point. Next day, even same day delivery, and incredible speeds of service responsiveness/issue resolution. Now contrast that to your average recruitment process – apply online, maybe receive an acknowledgement email, hope to hear back a week later, might hear back in two, invited to an interview and then perhaps, hear feedback – and probably only if you’re being progressed to the next stage. Placing yourself in the shoes of your target market, and you can see where frustrations may creep in, even if your process ‘isn’t that bad’.
They want to use their phones, too
Many job sites, and indeed, recruiter sites, are mobile enabled. But if you’re a direct recruiter, you need to make sure your recruitment process is mobile friendly. And this includes your HR process – no good advertising on a mobile enabled job site if this then directs your applicants to an archaic talent management platform with a convoluted application process that can’t be used on your average smart phone. Again, thinking about your own customer experience when online shopping – if something can’t be done, or done quickly, on a mobile or tablet, the temptation is just to move on. It’s also a reflection on your company – Millennials seek to work with technology-savvy companies. A difficult process may turn them off.
Bad experiences spread quickly
People don’t get jobs, every day. And yes, they are disappointed. But there is a massive difference between a well-handled rejection, and a poorly handled one. Nobody likes giving bad news, but the reality is, given quickly and with respect will soften the blow. Delaying rejections – or avoiding it altogether and hoping they’ll get the hint or find another job in the interim – will make it so much worse. Not to mention ruining any sort of relationship you may have with the candidate into the future. What’s worse is that online platforms make it very easy to share this sort of experience. And then there’s the power of word-of-mouth across various target talent pools, like NQAs for example.
It’s not about giving them everything they want, it’s just about process and transparency
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about lowering your focus, or not maintaining high standards in your selection process. This is about experience – candidate experience. Which in many ways, should be viewed in exactly the same way as your customer experience. You want anyone who interacts with your business, to go away with a good impression, even if the product or service wasn’t right for them. It’s a simple strategy of treating every individual that shows an interest, with the respect you would a customer, or for that matter, any person. Make sure you have a process that gives people the news they need, quickly, and across all touch points of the recruitment lifecycle. And more than anything else, make sure it is transparent. If it’s going to take two weeks to issue feedback because of annual leave/internal process, that’s fine – if you manage expectations. Prioritise your communications, to everyone, and the rest will fall into place.
Building Your Team?
Bernardo Pina is Partner with Barden’s legal practice. He is an expert in legal careers and specialises in the legal, company secretarial and data protection market, partnering with organisations and professionals across all industries both in the private and public sector.
Reach out to Bernardo to see how he, and his team, can help you build and retain truly world class teams.
Contact Bernardo at bernardo.pina@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.