How to improve engagement with candidates

Today’s market is without a doubt candidate driven. The talent shortage across all sectors is clear throughout operational management structures, as well as many other business areas. The beginning of the year is typically the busiest time for recruitment, as businesses look to tweak their teams and business models, based on the previous years’ results.

It is common for candidates to be considering multiple offers at any one time. This is why it is important for businesses to understand how these candidates are deciding which new opportunities to apply for. Surprisingly, salary is no longer the main deciding factor for top talent. With company culture and progression opportunities most often taking top priority when considering a role. With this in mind, businesses must enable candidates to get a true understanding of the organisation’s culture early in the recruitment process.

The most significant opportunity that organisations have to showcase their company culture and values, is during the recruitment process. Due to the time-sensitive nature of recruitment, as well as the lack of free time of senior members of businesses, it can be difficult to provide the level of attention that potential candidates require throughout the recruitment process. Here are the best ways to avoid losing out on top talent because of a lengthy recruitment process.

Source your candidates effectively

There is a huge amount of funnelling required to shortlist candidates for roles. From a large number of candidates, often only a tiny percentage will be shortlisted for a role, due to having the relevant requirements listed from the business. So, losing out on any one of these niche candidates is very risky to the future of your teams and overall business. It is important to act quickly when you notice a CV that you like, keeping your recruitment process streamlined will give you the pick of potential candidates.

Write a comprehensive job brief

The standard of your job advertisement or brief is crucial to ensure you attract the top talent to business. Often job descriptions aren’t up to scratch, which means that businesses aren’t fully utilising the opportunity that they offer to differentiate their business from the competition. Investing time into writing a comprehensive job brief will give the candidate a clearer insight into the role, as well as discuss the management structure and assess the progression opportunities with their recruiter or the hiring manager. This is also the prime time to begin discussing salary expectations.

Conduct a streamlined interview process

An efficient recruitment process can significantly increase candidate buy-in and reflects positively on your business to potential candidates. Here are some ways to ensure your recruitment process highlights the positives of joining your organisation.

• Communicate timescales from the outset.
• Offer flexibility around interview times.
• Allow potential candidates to meet the team; to get a true sense of how the business operates.
• Offer feedback; positive or negative.

Perfect your offer management

The way in which a business manages an offer can define how the business is perceived by potential candidates. It is important to maintain regular and consistent communication with the candidate at all points of this stage. Candidates are often bought-back by their current employer or offered positions elsewhere during this stage. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that they remain completely engaged with the opportunity that you are offering to them. Communicating verbal and written offers without any hold-ups will ensure that you are kept at the front of your preferred candidate’s mind.

It can be time-consuming to engage with candidates throughout the whole recruitment process, especially if you are recruiting for a number of roles in the same department. However, communication throughout the entire process has never been more important, as it provides the candidates with insight into a business’s culture, and it can directly impact on a company’s growth.

If you are looking to hire for roles within your sector, get in touch with one of our specialist recruitment consultants today. Here at Page Personnel, we can offer bespoke advice on how to improve your recruitment process and provide you with a shortlist of candidates that are best suited to your business, and advertised role.