Hiring a new employee is difficult – a process that involves, sorting through hundreds of applications, connecting with applicants, conducting interview after interview, and then extending the offer in the hope that the candidate has not lost interest in the long-drawn process and will accept the offer. Imagine having to do that for multiple positions all at the same time. Sounds like a nightmare, especially when you have to keep that many candidates engaged through the hiring process which typically takes 27 days. This is further made difficult when you take into account the fact that most viable candidates are available only for 10 days.
This begs the question – how to keep potential candidates engaged during the hiring process? PeopleLogic, one of the top recruiting firms in India specialize in managing these complexities . This article will therefore delve on our proven strategies to optimize your talent acquisition efforts.
How To Engage Candidates Through The Hiring Process?
If there is one thing employers and candidates would agree upon, it would be that the hiring process is long and tedious for all parties involved. 60% of job seekers have indicated that they received poor treatment during their job search. Which is why, as an employer, your job must be to ensure a smooth and pleasant recruitment journey for the candidate.
But why should it matter to you whether or not the recruitment journey for the candidate is a pleasant one? After all, they’re not officially a part of your organisation yet!
It matters because candidates talk to each other and an unpleasant experience will be discussed among them. Moreover, with social media in the mix, an unpleasant experience could make its way on social platforms which will significantly affect your employer’s brand. So, how do you keep candidates engaged through the hiring process, especially when recruiting in volumes?
- Get Candidates Excited About Working At Your Company
Getting candidates excited about working at your company even before they get to the application stage and the easiest way to go about it is to build engagement through your social media profiles and your company’s recruitment page.
Content collaterals like work environment videos and employee review videos can be used to capture the candidate’s attention. Giving potential candidates a realistic overview of what it would be like to work for your company is also a great way to engage with them. The more candidates know what lies ahead of them, the more likely they are to get excited
- Send Communication Emails
One of the most common complaints from candidates is the lack of communication from organisations. Whether it is a simple email confirmation for a received application or an update on the hiring process, some form of communication is not only appreciated but also keeps the candidate interested.
You can use application tracking systems to automate confirmation emails. A simple response thanking the candidate for filling out the application and automating emails to keep them updated on the process is a great way to keep the candidate interested.
Even if you reject a candidate, sending an email telling them so and thanking them for their time is not just the polite thing to do but also leaves the candidate with clarity and a positive image of your organisation.
- Create And Share A Hiring Timeline And Stick To It
When hiring in volumes, you can expect to receive many, many applications which can take a lot of time to sort through. While you’re going through the applications, potential candidates are left wondering when they will hear back about the interview and if they have been shortlisted for the next round or not. You need to create hiring timelines, share them with the candidates, and stick to them. This way, your candidates will be in the loop and know when to expect a response.
Using candidate assessment tools to sort through the applications can be a great way to speed up the process. Send out emails to candidates as soon as they are shortlisted or rejected, letting them know the status of their applications.
Also, let the candidates in on the information regarding the steps of your hiring process so they know what to expect and are not blindsided. Some organisations put potential candidates through 8-10 rounds of interviews, assessments and tests but the candidates stick with the process because they are aware and know what to expect.
- Use Chatbots For Engagement
When you’re hiring in volumes, you will have tens of hundreds of applicants to engage with which isn’t possible unless you have a large recruitment team. The candidates will have questions about the hiring process, timelines, role clarity, and much more. Most of these questions are quite standard. Programming chatbots to answer the FAQs is a great way to maintain communication with the candidates while reducing the workload on your hiring team.
Just ensure that in case a candidate asks a question that isn’t a part of the standard questions for the chatbot, you create a process where the question is routed to someone in the hiring team who can answer it.
- An Engaging Pre-Selection Process
High-volume hiring is extremely challenging, especially when it comes to screening candidate profiles. If not done right, you run the risk of overlooking qualified candidates and while an application tracking system (ATS) can be helpful, you need to find a way to select candidates for the next round quickly and with minimum involvement from your side. That doesn’t mean you can let the recruitment process become boring and tiresome.
To remedy this, you can create online assessments that are specific to your organisation. They will serve the dual purpose of keeping the candidates engaged while providing you with valuable and relevant information about the candidates. These assessments can be in the form of:
- Personality quizzes
- Gamified skill assessments
- Situational tests
- Multiple choice questions
Combining assessments and tests with videos makes the recruitment process fun and interesting while also giving you valuable insight into the candidate, allowing you to narrow down your candidate list.
- Give & Take Feedback
It is very difficult to provide personalised feedback in high-volume hiring but recruitment software can be used to screen, grade and, rank candidates. Some tools even allow you to share assessment results with the candidate in the form of feedback. They will gain an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses which will help them improve their skills.
As for the candidates who move on to the next round of the hiring process, try to provide feedback on the same day as the interview. A 2018 report shows that candidates who were given feedback on the same day they interview are 52% more likely to increase their relationship with the employer.
Timely feedback works to your advantage and using technology in this endeavour can speed up the process, while saving you time and effort.
Feedback is a two-way street. Take feedback from your candidates. This shows the candidates that their opinion is valued. It will also help you shape your hiring process and strengthen your recruitment strategy. Send out a survey to understand what the candidates think of your recruitment process and gather data that will help you optimize it.
- Automating Interview Scheduling
When you’re hiring in volumes, scheduling interviews manually is a nightmare. Managing time slots & dates and sending out meeting links (for online recruitment) takes up a lot of time that could be used elsewhere. Taking assistance from technology is a great way to speed up this tedious task. With the latest tools, you can automate interviews and even share your calendars with candidates so they can schedule interviews themselves in the free slots.
How you engage with your potential candidates can be beneficial in the present as well as the future. Even if a candidate is not selected, they would be willing to apply again whenever the opportunity presents itself only if they feel like the company has made an effort to connect and engage with them during the hiring process. Candidates also share this within their respective peer groups which can work in your favour if the candidate experience is a positive one.
