Organizations are facing increasingly stiff competition for talent. Pressures are intensifying due to skills specialization creating the need for specific knowledge and training, while a growing global economy is adding pressure to what was already a shrinking labour pool. These circumstances all come together in a ‘perfect storm’ to intensify the War for Talent.

The fact that this is happening in an interconnected world makes it an imperative for organizations to be more aware of the candidate experience as an essential part of a strategy to enhance market perceptions and attraction efforts. Keeping candidates on your side will help avoid barriers to success in your talent acquisition and engagement efforts, and strengthen your competitive advantage in these areas.

It’s not only about the potential of losing out on great talent due to a poor candidate experience, but also about how it can affect your sales, employee engagement and satisfaction, how the company’s brand is portrayed, and overall organizational performance.

Every touchpoint is vital, from how people who are considering the next stop in their career path are informed about your organization and the opportunities you offer, to your application process, to everything that happens after they hit ‘submit’.

The popularity of social media platforms points to one of the many reasons why organizations can’t risk ignoring candidates’ opinions. Any company should want to avoid being the subject of a trending topic about how it has a disrespectful or dismissive attitude toward applicants.

Caring about the Candidate Experience is more than an altruistic pursuit. Sure, being kind to others and treating people with courtesy and respect is an honourable practice that needs more attention in our world. However, in more tangible terms, there is a growing body of research that highlights the fact that improved recruiting performance and company market perception can be a result of an enhanced candidate experience.

In the context of your employer brand, building a strong image MUST include delivering an overall candidate experience that positively distinguishes your organization.

Nuuvo-B2E can assist with developing a best practices approach to how you engage with candidates and the relationships you build with them over time.