Mission Possible: Redefining The Candidate Experience

How recruiters can win the race for talent

Sometimes, staying ahead of the talent acquisition curve can feel like an impossible mission. Recruiters are constantly challenged with keeping up with the ever-changing landscape and then adapting to it. When they complete one task, an even more urgent one requires their attention. But, should they accept the mission, recruiters must remember that even Tom Cruise doesn't work alone.
 

As they adopt innovative strategies to find the best talent, recruiters must bring along a trusty and adept companion on the journey: The candidate. Before they even hit "apply" to their onboarding and career path at an organization, the candidate's experience matters and shapes the future of talent acquisition. In fact, according to new research from iCIMS, 56% of job seekers shared that a bad candidate experience would change their perception of a brand and make them less likely to be a consumer of it.

Below are some mission-critical steps throughout the candidate experience that recruiters must remember to help stay abreast of evolving talent needs and win the race for talent.

Pre-Mission Recon: Creating Awareness

The candidate's experience begins far before they submit their resume. Just as any good spy takes recon of their mission before launching into action, candidates conduct preliminary research on organizations with job openings they are considering. From a recruiter's point of view, this presents the opportunity to create visibility and awareness for their organization, culture and brand.

I dealt with this personally at CommonSpirit Health when we realized we weren’t presenting a unified experience on the career site, the application process and the onboarding workflow. CommonSpirit Health has 140+ hospitals in 24 states and four different logos. Although CommonSpirit Health is one health system, you likely recognize us as Dignity Health, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, CHI Health, St. Luke's Health and many more in other parts of the country, leading to a complicated employer branding landscape. As a large organization with a house of logos, presenting a cohesive experience for candidates is essential, no matter where the touchpoint occurs.

We used to have multiple microsites with different looks and feel; we now have one career site that showcases our various logos. This push felt like a giant leap of faith at the time, but it has been a game changer in aligning the house of logos under one brand tagline – “Hello humankindness” — where we all hold the power to heal. As a result, we now have one candidate experience, regardless of location. Since making this shift, last year, our talent acquisition team reviewed over 772K applications, increased our quality applications by 8% and filled over 54K hires.  

Unveiling the Mission Briefing: Employee-generated Videos

Once initial awareness is created, a candidate takes a further dive into your organization – exploring your culture, values and expectations. Whether or not these key points align with the candidate determines if they want to move forward with applying. While photos, testimonials and blogs can give a glimpse of what it might be like to work for your organization, employee-generated videos have proven to be a cost-effective method for creating instant connections with candidates.

It may take a lot of work to get people excited to go on video at first. We even had folks saying, “I’m a clinician, not an actor!” But there was a real sense of pride when they understood the purpose. That authenticity and excitement for the culture and community is what shines through and makes an impact on a potential candidate.

The Undercover Connection: Text Engagement

Now that the candidate is ready to begin the application process, it is time to facilitate an experience with seamless communication. No encrypted code or carrier pigeons are needed in this mission, just your cell phone.

In this digital age, mobile phones are king. Let’s face it: It’s not uncommon to turn your car back around to retrieve your phone when you leave it at home or drop everything to find a charger when your battery is running low. Mobile phones are a form of communication that connects virtually everyone 24/7. Studies even show that it takes the average person around 90 minutes to respond to an email, whereas it takes only 90 seconds to respond to a text message.

As a result, getting access to a candidate through mobile is game-changing. Candidates are looking for a quick process, with 64% of US college seniors expecting the entire process, from application to job offer, to take three weeks — about half the actual time (6 weeks). Recruiters can help speed up this process, making it less of a headache for the candidate, getting quick answers, scheduling interviews or sending offers all over text.

Securing the Infiltration: Retention

Historically, the job offer may have been where this mission ended. The candidate experience used to solely encompass getting the candidate's attention, getting them to apply and ultimately accepting the job. When the candidate signs on the dotted line, the employer’s job is done, right? In today’s market, employers can’t risk losing their top talent; we are focused on retention and creating an environment where employees can grow their careers.

Talent acquisition must come together with operations to build programs internally to keep talent on for longer stretches of their career. At CommonSpirit Health, this comes down to engagement and internal mobility. Building advanced learning platforms and unique career paths with employees helps them see opportunities for continual growth. Employees are excited to stay with companies when they can visualize their path upward and recognize your value and investment in their careers.

Mission: Accomplished

If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve successfully turned creating a positive and dynamic candidate experience into a mission: possible. What may have seemed like an unconquerable process is simpler than you might think. At its most basic, a candidate wants to connect with you and your organization and have a simple and quick application process. When it comes to building a future talent pipeline, it’s all about blending innovation, engagement and a touch of adventure.

Author Bio

Jackie Schierenberg is VP, candidate experience, at CommonSpirit Health.