Right now, we’re seeing alarming headlines about mass layoffs at major companies worldwide. At the same time, industry chatter points to a persistent global technical skills gap and a shortage of qualified applicants for open positions!
Is there a disconnect between what companies say they are looking for (and how they are going about looking for it) versus what job seekers are looking for?
Common sense says, “Maybe.” A scan of LinkedIn posts from frustrated job seekers says, “Definitely!” The principles we’ve learned over the years in customer experience say, “It’s definitely worth putting some thought to.”
Parallels Between Customer and Candidate Experience
Candidates, like customers, are human beings with thoughts, experiences, and reactions to stimuli from interacting with organizations. Just like customers cultivate experiences interacting with businesses and government agencies, candidates can have experiences with potential employers throughout the hiring process—from job postings to job offers.
Data from a handful of new industry reports paints a compelling picture of what companies are offering to candidates, what talent attraction teams are up against in day-to-day practice as they work on their hiring goals, and what candidates expect. Sure enough, there’s work to bridge the gap between companies and candidates.
Here are a few reports and statistics that stood out for me recently.
What Fortune 500 Companies Are Offering Candidates
Phenom’s benchmarking audit of the Fortune 500 breaks down how companies present themselves to job candidates via digital channels and how that has changed over the past year.
Key takeaway: There’s optimism globally, and companies are embracing tech to better connect with candidates. However, some data points to missed opportunities to connect meaningfully with potential candidates.
89% of Fortune 500 companies’ job application platforms don’t suggest openings to applicants based on the applicant’s skills. This leaves a missed opportunity to connect skilled candidates with skills-based roles in a skills-thirsty job market!
0% of Fortune 500 companies update candidates after an initial e-mail that says, “We got your application!” Zero! This is a missed opportunity to build relationships with talented people you could reach out to again later.
24% survey candidates about their experience, up from last year. This is great if the survey is administered at the right time, in the right context.
Almost all Fortune 500 talent attraction teams use AI and automation to tweak how they interact with candidates, but they’re nowhere near maxed out. This report breaks down industry and individual company audit scores and suggests the possibilities that come with embracing tech. As the next report suggests, they must do so to keep pace with demands and shrinking teams.
What Talent Attraction Teams Are Up Against
Goodtime surveyed 525 full-time HR, recruiting, and talent attraction senior leaders at U.S. companies with 1,000 or more employees across several sectors in the U.S.
Key takeaway: Challenges are growing more complex for talent attraction teams; 99% use AI and automation in their work, but they’re still drowning in to-dos and struggling to meet expectations. Only about half are hitting their hiring goals. In this survey:
36% intend to improve the candidate experience in the next year.
35% plan to use automation like automated scheduling and automated communications to help them do that.
24% said candidate ghosting was a challenge.
23% said candidates not showing up for interviews was a challenge.
The report makes a point that bears repeating: Retention is just as important as hiring, which comes with another set of employee experience principles! Meanwhile, streamlining the hiring process to be more candidate-friendly is important. Talent attraction teams may be struggling, but they seem to understand, for the most part, what candidates seek.
What Candidates Want
Career Plug surveyed 500 U.S. participants across 11 industries who applied for a job in the past year about the hiring processes they had experienced.
Key takeaway: Job seekers absolutely care about their experiences when choosing an employer. Those experiences absolutely influence where they take their talents. Candidates expect simple, smooth job searches, application processes, and job interviews. Great candidates don’t have to waste time on sludgy application processes; another report noted that 60% will move on if the application process doesn’t respect their time.
In this survey:
76% said a positive experience influenced their decision to accept an offer.
52% declined an offer because of a poor experience during the hiring process.
13% declined an offer because the process took too long.
18% declined because they had a negative experience with people in the interview process.
Negative experiences don’t stay on the down-low; 35% left a negative online review after a negative experience. But on the bright side, 60% left a positive review after a positive experience!
We're All Human Beings
The job market may be tough, but one thing remains clear. People want to be treated like human beings. Just like customers have choices in where they shop, skilled job seekers have options—making sophisticated digital platforms and technology a must-have for winning people’s hearts, minds, and time spent with your company as an employee.
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