Candidate Experience Landscape

Our modern world is one of instant gratification and convenience, we ask Alexa to turn on our favourite playlist, receive suggestions for movies we’ll like based on our viewing history, make in-app purchases of things we’ve seen on our social feeds, and skip the queue at our favourite coffee place using an app to order whilst we are on the move.

As consumers, our expectations have been driven higher than ever. We demand that brands deliver seamless, intuitive and personalised experiences, to keep us engaged.

In the war for talent, the same rules apply.

Increasing demand for top talent means that coveted candidates are able to exercise choice and seek employers who engage and inspire them during the recruitment experience.

As an employer, you need to look at attracting and retaining candidates through the same lens as customers. Applying engagement strategies that utilise technology and UX design principles to create a seamless candidate journey. Clearly communicating why you should be first choice for your desired talent.

Despite mounting candidate expectations, PeopleScout research revealed only a meagre 5% of candidates would rate their most recent recruitment experience as excellent.

There is clearly a significant disparity in the way that employers and candidates are perceiving candidate journeys - we believe the employers willing and able to bridge the gap, will have a clear advantage in today’s job market.

THE ECONOMICS OF EXPERIENCE

  • In 2016 Virgin Media found poor candidate experience was costing them 4.4million a year in cancelled subscriptions
  • 52% of organisations that priorities candidate experience see an increase in revenue of over 10%
  • Organisations that invest in a strong candidate experience improve the quality of hires by 70%
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YOUR TOTAL SCORE

Below are your overall performance scores from our candidate experience diagnostic.
79

SCORE
SCORE
Our diagnostic total score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 40 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.
3

CRITICAL FACTORS

CRITICAL FACTOR
A number of the key experience indicators we assess for are deemed to be critical. When these factors are missing, they could have a seriously detrimental effect on your ability to attract talent - these issues should be addressed as a priority.

WHAT DOES YOUR SCORE MEAN?

Your score is highlighting a number of positives and suggests you’ve spent time previously mapping and improving your candidate journey.

However, there are a number of areas where we’ve found opportunities to simplify the experience for candidates and better manage their expectations throughout.

Think about how you infuse your brand messages throughout your candidate journey to create a consistent and joined up process that leaves a lasting impact on talent, and keeps them engaged.

Now view your full candidate experience report for a detailed breakdown of your score at each stage of the candidate journey, and key considerations.

View Full Report

YOUR CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE REPORT

We've broken your total score down into the 5 key stages of the candidate journey. Read the considerations below to find out how you can improve your score in each area.

Stage

0

SCORE
SCORE
5

CRITICAL FACTORS
CRITICAL FACTOR

1: Search

100
Your search score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 5 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.
0
A number of the key experience indicators we assess for are deemed to be critical. When these factors are missing, they could have a seriously detrimental effect on your ability to attract talent - these issues should be addressed as a priority.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

GROW YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

  • Optimise for search engines
  • Consider paid search to improve your visibility

PLACE CONTENT AT YOUR CANDIDATE’S FINGER TIPS

  • Ensure your careers site is fully optimised for mobile
  • Streamline your careers site user experience
  • Keep your job search functionality clearly visible

What happens when candidates reach your careers page?
View your AWARENESS score next.

2: Awareness

100
Your awareness score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 5 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.
0
A number of the key experience indicators we assess for are deemed to be critical. When these factors are missing, they could have a seriously detrimental effect on your ability to attract talent - these issues should be addressed as a priority.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR PURPOSE

  • Share your organisation’s reason for being
  • Show the ways that employees’ contribute to you achieving your vision
  • Demonstrate your CSR and inclusion initiatives, what impact are you making on the world?

What happens when candidates decide to do more research about your organisation? View your CONSIDERATION score next.

3: Consideration

82
Your search score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 5 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.
1
Your consideration score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 10 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

SET EXPECTATIONS & CREATE EXCITEMENT

  • Give detailed insights into rewards package, training and career progression
  • Share typical ‘day in the life’ content to help candidates understand the role
  • Be honest about the benefits and challenges – this will help to deter unsuitable candidates and increase on-boarding success

SHOW DON’T TELL

  • Use images and video to bring claims about your culture and work environment to life
  • Make it authentic, use real employees and tell real stories

What happens when a candidate decides to apply for a role? View your INTEREST score next.

4: Interest

63
Your interest score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 8 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.
1
A number of the key experience indicators we assess for are deemed to be critical. When these factors are missing, they could have a seriously detrimental effect on your ability to attract talent - these issues should be addressed as a priority.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

DEVELOP A CONNECTION

  • Utilise technology to facilitate interactions between candidates and existing employees or recruiters
  • Nurture talent pools with regular communications

GIVE YOUR SUPPORT

  • Explain the steps in your recruitment process, set expectations around time and skills requirements
  • Give guidance that helps candidates perform their best, and reduce stress
  • Answer possible concerns in an FAQ section

What happens when a candidate fills out your application form? View your APPLICATION score next.

5: Application

71
Your application score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 7 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.
0
A number of the key experience indicators we assess for are deemed to be critical. When these factors are missing, they could have a seriously detrimental effect on your ability to attract talent - these issues should be addressed as a priority.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

KEEP IT RELEVANT

  • Review your application form, and be clear on why each section is relevant and necessary – remove if it isn’t
  • Communicate to candidates the relevance of each section to the role they are applying for

KEEP IT SIMPLE

  • Can you make application easier, by offering 1-click apply from LinkedIn, or pulling information from a CV upload?
  • Seek ways to streamline your form – eliminate repeat questions
  • Enable candidates to save a draft and return later

What happens after a candidate submits an application? View your FOLLOW-UP score next.

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Get in touch

Next Step - Talk to us!

79

SCORE
SCORE
Our diagnostic total score is calculated by reviewing your candidate experience journey against 40 key experience indicators. Your score is shown as a percentage.
3

CRITICAL FACTORS
CRITICAL FACTOR
A number of the key experience indicators we assess for are deemed to be critical. When these factors are missing, they could have a seriously detrimental effect on your ability to attract talent - these issues should be addressed as a priority.

No matter where you are currently on the scale of candidate experience excellence, it’s important to understand that the process of optimising your experience is not a static one. Candidates’ needs are in constant flux, and the way that brands can meet and exceed expectation is being influences and shaped by rapid developments in technology.

The employee experience starts from initial search and awareness of your brand but it doesn’t end when a job offer is extended. With a complex multitude of touchpoints throughout an employee lifecycle to consider, knowing where to start is often the biggest barrier to change.

This report is not a definitive or exhaustive examination of your candidate experience, but it is intended to give you an insight into your current state and to inspire further investigation. If you’d like to explore the findings in more detail and understand how they can be developed into a roadmap for improving your candidate journey and recruitment effectiveness, please get in touch.

 

Simon Wright
Head of Talent Advisory Consulting
PeopleScout

[email protected]
+44 7773 021 019