5 Ways to Engage Candidates During the Long Hiring Process
It comes as no surprise that hiring talent is getting tougher each year. The difficulty level is rising steadily due to the lack of quality candidates and long and complex hiring process. Although multiple interviews, group discussions (GD), background checks all help ensure companies hire right candidate, they also increase the amount of hiring time. It now takes more than 23 days for a candidate to progress through the recruitment process in the US.
The long waiting period can leave candidates to feel uncertain and give them a chance to look for a new job. So, it becomes highly important to keep candidates engaged during the hiring process. To ensure individuals don’t lose interest in the job, we have identified five ways to engage candidates at every stage.
Read on to learn strategies to make your hiring process more candidate-centric.
1. Maintain communication
Constant communication is the key to keep the candidates engaged throughout the process. The communication could be through mail, call, or even text messages. When a candidate applies for a job in your company, you must respond to the application quickly. Moving further, you should timely communicate about further steps to keep the candidate aware of what’s going to happen now. If the applicant is unaware of the future steps, he will get space to look for other opportunities.
2. Respond promptly
Employers often state a lack of time as the reason behind not responding to applicant’s calls or emails. However, when it comes to the recruitment process, responding to queries, requests, and comments is extremely crucial. Prompt responding is among the easiest and effective ways to engage candidates. When an individual reaches you on a call or a message, make sure you reply him on time. Otherwise, it might adversely affect your brand image, and you might lose a talented candidate.
3. Follow-up timely
Employers often ignore the importance of a follow-up strategy which leads to poor candidate experience and a damaged reputation. It can also lead candidates to spread negative perception about your company among his friends or even social media. Developing a proper follow-up strategy with automated communication tools can certainly help to keep candidates engaged. Moreover, it will also give applicants a sense of feeling that they are valued, and your company could be an ideal place to work.
4. Deploy a fast onboarding process
Onboarding is a crucial process for both the employee and the organization. Studies show that most of the applicants decide whether to continue with an organization during the onboarding time. Deploying a fast and effective onboarding process will keep them engaged in your company. Furthermore, it will help them familiarize with the new work environment.
5. Make your process easy and quick
An effective hiring and interviewing process build an excellent reputation for your company among the people. Having a fast process also means that you don’t miss out on top talent. It also helps to generate higher response rates in terms of talent acquisition. An effective hiring process is certainly a great way to keep job applicants in your organization engaged. And, it also keeps them tied in your recruitment funnel.
Today, candidates have a plethora of options when it comes to jobs. They are less likely to wait for you if you do not keep them engaged throughout the process. You need to be proactive in terms of communication and follow-ups to retain them. Once applicants enter your hiring pipeline, follow these ways to engage candidates throughout the hiring process. Otherwise, you might lose your next best employee.
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