Employers Must Do More to Impress Today’s Job Applicants – REC

 

Hirers are making basic mistakes in the way they engage with job applicants and risk losing out on talent, according to new research published today by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

 

The candidate strikes back explores the changing relationship between jobseekers and hirers. It argues that businesses need to do more to compete for candidates, and that people looking for new jobs have more power due to a high number of vacancies. The research found:   

 

• 34 per cent of workers say that providing feedback to unsuccessful candidates is the single most important improvement that employers could make
• 51 per cent of workers who had a bad experience discussed it with friends and family
• 93 per cent of workers who described their last candidate experience as ‘bad’ were not asked for feedback from the employer.

 

REC chief executive Kevin Green, says:

 

“It’s getting harder for businesses to find the people they need, but despite this the way employers recruit candidates is getting worse. We spoke directly to candidates to find out what works and what doesn’t, and it’s clear that many businesses are making mistakes which can have implications for an organisation’s reputation and ultimately for their bottom line.

 

“Employers need to wake up to the fact that jobseekers communicate their experiences to others. Businesses are spending huge amounts of money on their branding and reputation, but at the same time they are deaf to the conversations that are happening amongst potential employees via professional networks and social media. Our report found that 80 per cent of candidates were not asked for feedback on the recruitment process - that’s a huge amount of insight that employers are missing out on.”

 

Recruitment software provider BigScreen Group sponsored the research. BigScreen Group chief executive Wilson Cochrane says:

 

“Negative experiences go beyond the interview process. Candidates are very vocal about their feelings and will share them with family and friends within social and professional networks, so it’s vital that they are saying good things whether or not they get hired. A strong employer brand can halve the cost per hire and can reduce employee turnover by 30 per cent, which underlines the importance of getting this right.”

 

The report makes recommendations to employers and recruiters seeking to improve the way they engage candidates and therefore secure a competitive advantage: provide clear and specific feedback to successful and unsuccessful candidates; invite feedback on the recruitment process; improve job-related content that’s available to candidates; reduce the time between interview and decision; and ensure that line managers make contact with successful candidates before the start date.  

 

The candidate strikes back is launched today at the Talent, Recruitment and Employment Conference 2015 in London. This research has been produced by the REC in support of its Good Recruitment Campaign.

 

Ends

 

Notes to editors:

 

1. The report is free to download for REC members via www.rec.uk.com/candidateexperience

    

2. The candidate strikes back includes original data collected via a YouGov survey (sample size 2,032) and via focus groups and telephone interviews with 87 participants from ten organisations. Additional supporting data was provided by: Corporate Executive Board (CEB), Mystery Applicant Ltd., Candidate Experience Awards.

    

   Contributors to the research are: Communisis, Disability Challengers, Hertfordshire County Council, PepsiCo, RWE npower, Penguin Random House, Kingston University, Kelly Services, Gordon Yates, Tate.

    

3. The candidate strikes back has been produced by the REC in support of the Good Recruitment Campaign, which aims to promote the importance of good recruitment practice for organisational success. This campaign helps organisations reinvigorate their recruiting strategies so that they provide a better candidate experience and work more effectively with recruitment partners. To find out more about the Good Recruitment Campaign, visit www.rec.uk.com/Goodrecruitment

    

4. BigScreen provides a ground-breaking Cloud SaaS Solution which optimizes all Recruiting Processes. Central to the offering is BigScreen iCRM which is the World’s first Interactive CRM software. Incredible cost savings, optimal business process management and complete Candidate Engagement can be achieved through BigScreen. Offices in UK, USA and Dubai. For more information please visit www.bigcreencrm.com