Make your recruitment process attractive to top candidates
The top-talent is looking for more than just money. Your recruitment process is an opportunity to make a great first-impression.
If you haven’t realised already, there is ‘war for top talent’ at the job market. The top candidates are in demand and their job-suitors (like yourself) are aplenty. In these conditions, top candidates have the luxury of entertaining multiple offers before making their choice of employer.
And let’s admit. The top candidates are already getting paid well and salary is not the primary reason they are looking out. So the question is, why should the top-talent consider you from among the multiple options with comparable similar salary-offers?
Ask yourself, does your recruitment process stands out, and make a great first-impression of the workplace?
You think salary alone matters while switching jobs?
- 65% of the candidates say ‘work-life balance’ is the most important factor when choosing an employer
- 50% of candidates say they wouldn’t work for a company with a bad reputation – even with a pay increase
Source: Randstad Brand Research (India) 2021
Here’s a proven method to make your recruitment process leave a positive impression on the candidate. Recruiters must demonstrate, with their actions that you are an efficient and transparent workplace.
Here are 5 ways that your recruitment process can demonstrate high efficiency and transparency.
1. Provide the context
Tell the candidates, why you’re hiring for this position. Candidates will want to know if they are replacing another person, or is this a newly carved role. Inform them who the stakeholders for the role will be, and also how would the effectiveness and success of the role be measured.
2. Clarity with the job-role (and Job Description)
Recruiters must have a detailed conversation with the hiring manger before crafting the job description (JD). A good JD must be concise, unambiguous and provide company, department and role clarity. It must also articulate the business challenges the candidate is expected to solve and what skills are needed to carry-on the day-to-day activities. It’d also be good to know the personas of the reporting manager and the peers.
3. Specificity and Timelines – a sacrosanct commitment
Candidates care deeply about the what and when. Give them the clarity of how many rounds of interviews, who will be the panellists, what will the discussions cover, when can they expect to hear back, next steps and a tentative time for joining. It is first imperative that the candidate is made aware of the process and its details.
4. Communicate proactively and in a timely manner
Never leave your candidate with a ‘wanting need for information’. Be proactive in communicating the status of their application, feedback from their rounds of interview and next steps. Keep the candidates in the loop of proceedings, from initial receipt of application all the way to final offer and beyond. Proactivity from the recruiter instils trust in the candidate.
5. Be quick, or be ready to lose (to the other recruiter)
Perhaps, nothing demonstrates efficiency better than a quick turnaround. Most job interviews take 3-5 weeks for the entire process to conclude. Can you reduce it to 1-2 weeks? Recruiters who can make this happen can command a lot of respect from the candidates and earn their loyalty.
It is obvious that recruiters and HR executives are the first people a candidate interacts with in the company. And thus, the onus of making a great first impression also lies with them.
These tips to demonstrate efficiency and transparency will also influence many of the key metrics like Time to Hire, Quality of Hire, Hiring Manager Satisfaction, Candidate Job Satisfaction, Candidate Experience and Offer Acceptance Rate.
We hope this will become a part of your overall effectiveness hack toolkit.
Let us know your suggestions and feedback.
