The hiring process is where you should begin building engagement with potential employees. Here’s how to expand your HR internal communications to include this oft-overlooked area.
The key to attracting talent is making a great first impression. So it only makes sense that you should apply your employee engagement best practices even before a candidate is hired. Think of employees—past, present, and future—as your customers, and communicate with them accordingly.
What Do Candidates Want to Know?
A Talent Board survey indicated that almost 70% out of over 83,000 global candidates performed their research on potential employers. Survey respondents indicated that they wanted to understand the culture of the companies they were applying for, learn about the employee experience, and see if they could connect with the company’s overall brand 1.
Good reviews on sites such as Glassdoor will do wonders to elevate public perception of your brand’s employee experience. Ultimately, a candidate’s personal experience will seal the deal. Think of it as an extension of your internal communications; the conduct of your HR team and hiring managers can shine a spotlight onto the inner workings of your company.
A survey by Tribe found that 78% of candidates would discourage people from joining the company if treated badly during the hiring process 2.
How Do We Begin?
Before you start putting up job ads, it helps to plan out the touchpoints where you’ll be contacting your candidates. Work with key members of your HR team or your PEO to build engagement with potential hires.
Step 1: Early Application Phase
When you’ve received an application from a candidate, send an email or text to acknowledge that you’ve received it and are processing it. It can be helpful to let them know their application is still being processed on a weekly basis.
Step 2: From Screening to Interviews
This goes without saying, but you’ll want to contact the candidate once they pass the screening phase and you’re ready to offer them an interview. This is where quick two-way communication helps so that you can quickly schedule the interview while giving your potential employees enough time to make arrangements.
Step 3: The Post-Interview Wait
Building engagement during the interview phase is expected, but do take the time after the interview to thank a candidate, and let them know when they can expect updates from you. Highly sought-after candidates may have several offers lined up from different companies, and will appreciate being given a timeline so they can respond accordingly.
Step 4: The Offer or the Rejection
Once you’ve made a decision, always tell your candidates—even the ones that didn’t make the cut. Even if a candidate isn't a good fit for your company, it pays to leave a positive impression. Recruitment surveys indicated that candidates were 74% more likely to refer a company if the employer solicited their feedback on the interview process 3.
Get Your HR Team Up to Speed
Culture and practices may differ across countries, and with the rise in remote work nowadays, it pays to have a hiring team that understands the local culture.
AYP is an award-winning outsourced HR company that can help enhance your internal communications, making your hiring process a smooth, productive, and fruitful one.
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