The hiring world is competitive and constantly changing, meaning now more than ever first impressions are everything, and often, that initial interaction comes down to the candidate experience. Companies that successfully prioritise the candidate experience have a higher chance of getting ahead of their competitors and attracting and converting relevant talent. It’s also important to note that prioritising the candidate experience helps organisations to create a more cohesive experience across their consumer and employer brand.

The Importance of Candidate Experience in Hiring

The candidate experience, commonly referred to as CX, plays a pivotal role in shaping candidates’ overall impression of both a company's recruitment process and their brand. While many HR professionals view the candidate experience as being the stages following a job application submission, for candidates it starts much earlier. The journey begins from the moment a potential applicant views your job ad, lasting til the final stages of the interview process and even beyond. 

Plus, with 78% of job seekers viewing candidate experience as being reflective of how much a company values its people, it’s imperative that HR teams prioritise their CX and look into ways in which they can improve the journey. 

The impact of Candidate Experience on Consumer Experience

From the moment a job seeker encounters a job posting to the final stages of the hiring process, each step leaves an indelible mark on their perception of the company. Providing a consistent experience across your brand, for both consumers and candidates is essential in shaping your reputation as a business. 

Founder of GMZTalent, and ex Head of Talent Acquisition at wagamama, Simon Gomez, said: “Last year at wagamama, our catchphrase was "the need for speed." In hospitality, candidates apply for multiple jobs at once… People want to work for wagamama, but it’s fastest finger first… When you go to one of our restaurants, everything is quite quick. But when they applied for wagamama, candidates were waiting for 10-12 days. This is where inploi's chatbot apply functionality became vital. Our consumers are our candidates, and our candidates are our consumers. We have to ensure our candidate experience matches our customer experience.”

Ultimately, companies that invest in creating a positive candidate experience are building a foundation for a strong employer brand that attracts top talent and fosters long-term growth.

The Power of a Positive Candidate Experience   

An exceptional candidate experience can do a lot more than just positively influence your employer brand, it has the power to shape the public perception of your business. 

Katie Owlett, Head of Talent Acquisition at De Vere Hotels, says: “The candidate experience reflects not only on our employer brand but also our overall brand reputation. These are our potential guests of the future. People remember the treatment they receive, and negative experiences can lead to avoiding the brand entirely. Similarly, positive interactions can create lasting impressions. For hospitality especially, the experience a candidate receives can contribute to the brand's overall perception.”

The ripple effects of a positive candidate journey reach not only potential talent but also your existing and prospective customers. However, this also means that negative experiences can potentially dent your company’s image and employer brand, causing both prospective employees and customers to view your brand with scepticism.

An optimised candidate experience also manifests in more tangible forms - like better hiring results. A candidate's satisfaction with their application experience can influence their likelihood to accept a job offer. In fact, candidate’s who have a positive experience are 38% more likely to accept a job offer. Meanwhile, 49% of candidates have declined a job offer due to poor candidate experience. 

Investing in the candidate experience can help you drive remarkable results and returns for your company. The challenge lies in creating and maintaining such an experience, a challenge inploi is designed to help you meet.

Enhancing the Candidate Experience with Personalisation and Performance Tracking

It's here that inploi sets itself apart, with a platform designed to effortlessly integrate with your current HR tech stack. We believe that the future of hiring is personal. That’s why we prioritise creating technology that helps brands forge authentic connections with the future of their workforce. With bespoke, dynamic careers hubs and chat bot application flows, inploi’s candidate experience platform champions optimised candidate conversion. Our personalised user journeys, with automated job distribution and interactive elements help our clients to reach and engage potential candidates wherever they are. 

Our reporting and analytics features help HR teams understand the people behind the clicks with real-time reporting, precise attribution tracking and more, providing visibility on the metrics that matter most. With valuable recruitment data at your fingertips, you have the tools to make informed, strategic decisions from a single, objective source of truth. Additionally, with the ability to assess and compare the effectiveness of your various hiring and recruitment media channels, your spend can be optimised to get the most out of your investment. In turn, these factors create opportunities for you to continually improve and refine your hiring process and candidate experience.

Get in touch to find out how inploi can help you level up your hiring game.