If we agree with the argument that people make business, it stands to reason that those same people have the power to break your business. The simple truth is they do, especially in service-based companies in which the people are everything, and their approval will affect the amount of money that flows in or out of your business. With the current figure of hiring at approximately £15,000 and poor candidate experience costing businesses millions, while attracting new clients is 25 times more expensive than retaining them, it’s clear that recruitment agencies can’t afford to ignore the experiences they’re providing their people.
A lesson Virgin Media learnt as they realised their poor candidate experience was costing them $5m annually. Hurt candidates directly translate into disengaged customers who no longer want anything to do with the brand, and when the market is so driven by candidates we need to rethink how we’re treating our people, not only for retention, culture and engagement, but to save our bottom line.
If you haven’t thought about the experience you’re providing previously, now is a great time to take a look and consider the quick and simple things you can do to drastically improve your offering and profits.
For candidates:
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Speed up your recruitment process: make it fast, quick and efficient. If they have to work hard to get through the hiring cycle it leaves them disgruntled and disinterested.
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Consider all your touch points: find out where you can add extra points of communication and how you can build the relationship further. Sometimes it’s as simple as an automated, scheduled message to let them know you’re thinking of them.
- Always give feedback: it sounds simple, but agencies are still failing to get back to candidates and deliver bad news. Even if it’s a no, ensure you’re relaying that to your candidates.
For clients:
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Always add value: find out what your clients are worrying about the most and then create the content that will target those pain points. Recruitment agencies sit on huge amounts of information and data that can add value and knowledge to clients.
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Make introductions: just as we sit on information, we also sit on contacts and big networks, and sometimes the best thing you can do for your clients is introduce them to another client for mutual benefit and gain. Perhaps two of your clients are working on similar projects or can help each other achieve goals. Being the connecter is a small act with a big positive impact.
- Be a partner, not an outsource function: which means taking a view of the entire organization and offering advice and support across their entire talent functions.
For employees:
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Set up regular retention interviews: so many hires could have been saved if they had the opportunity to communicate their feelings to the business. Listening to your employees and implementing their suggestions creates an experience in which they feel heard and appreciated.
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Coach your own managers: find out what experience they’re providing for their employees. Micro-cultures pop up and the same experience is not being had by everyone in the organisation. Work with team leaders and managers to improve their own skills and abilities so the people beneath them are being nurtured in the right way.
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Ask your people how they want to be communicated to: we tend to assume that everyone wants the same level or style of communication that we do, but the truth is we need to adapt our own communication styles to suit the people in front of us. Ask how you can be a better manager, colleague or leader to them, and how they like to be spoken to, when they receive feedback best and how they like to receive it. Just by asking this simple question you can dramatically improve the experience for your employees.
Find out how Access RDB Recruitment CRM can help you to improve candidate experience
