Given current macroeconomic conditions affecting the labor market and workforce, it’s especially important for organizations to provide the best possible employee experience, especially during the hiring process. A strong candidate experience can increase acceptance rates, increase engagement of new hires, strengthen the employer brand, and widen the talent pipeline funnel.
For every person who’s unemployed, there are two job openings. Additionally, competition for skilled workers is high, making it imperative for employers to create positive candidate experiences, whereas a negative experience could leave a lasting impact on a job seeker, to the detriment of the employer brand.
Generating a positive candidate experience starts with a job seeker’s first contact with a potential employer, be it through a job posting or social media. A recent ADP Research Institute study found that as competition for workers intensifies, employers are putting more effort into their job postings. After all, to maximize a job seeker’s engagement, it’s important to provide details about an open position and highlight the most compelling areas of an organization’s employer value proposition.
All this has translated into job ads that are 29% wordier than they were before the pandemic, likely in response to the increased hiring challenges.
The hiring process, too, must be efficient and establish a strong communication channel between employer and candidate. In the first quarter of 2023, the average time to fill was 69 days, a 5% increase from the prior year, according to Real Income (an ADP data set).
A longer process can create a negative experience for candidates — and gives competitors an opportunity to hire them first. Indeed, many candidates continue their job searches while they’re interviewing, and even after they’ve accepted an offer.
Finally, compensation must be competitive with the talent market. Nothing guarantees a bad impression like undervaluing a candidate during the recruitment process, or worse, making a formal offer that they consider unfair or out of line with their experience and the market.
Job changers have been landing large pay increases since the pandemic. In April, job changers saw a 13.2% increase in median annual pay, according to ADP Pay Insights, which showed in January 2023 that job-changers saw a 15.2% median change in annual pay.
With labor dynamics driving such strong wage growth, compensation must be assessed continually to ensure it’s competitive with the current market. Understanding market pay in real time can help employers create a positive candidate experience from beginning to end of the recruitment life cycle.
Finally, employee turnover has been at historically high levels for more than two years. To maintain their talent pool, organizations have a business imperative to build strong candidate engagement. A positive candidate experience translates into higher levels of engagement among new hires, attracts more quality candidates, increases brand awareness, and ultimately improves employee retention.