So we have come to the end of our series on Creating the Ultimate Candidate Experience. All good things must come to an end but I am fairly confident we are going to end on a bang.
Or at least a loud noise.
A quick recap on making your candidates feel L.O.V.E.D. So far we have covered:
And now it is time for D which stands for Deliver (on your promises). This one may seem incredibly obvious but it is often the most difficult to execute. With competing demands on recruiters time (especially if you are in a corporate gig where you get pulled into HR meeting after HR meeting...after HR meeting after HR meeting) delivering on what you promise can be a huge drain on your existence amidst the sea of everything else you have to do.
In our annual passive candidate surveys and our post recruiting call and recruiting engagement surveys with those we interact with we hear, quite frequently, that many recruiters promise too much and deliver very little. In a world in which the hiring manager or client controls the purse strings it is easy to neglect the candidate when it comes to honoring commitments and promises. Candidates don't pay fee's, complete evaluations of your performance or run to your boss the minute you don't present 10 perfect candidates for an open requisition.
After the jump, here are three tips for Delivering:
Under promise and over deliver is critical here. Under promise and over deliver is absolutely the key to winning the fight when you are overwhelmed. I can't say it enough and it is a problem I had, and sometimes still have, when working with both clients and candidates. Really taking an honest look at what you are capable of executing and committing only to what you can is transparent and likely to help you win big when you over deliver.
Carve out time in your recruiting schedule for delivering on your promises. Yes, actually schedule it. I often recommend that recruiters have a period of time each day where they follow up with candidates in process or those to whom they have committed something. Having it built into your daily activities makes it a priority and it doesn't get interrupted by meetings or other distractions. Usually this doesn't chew up more than 30 minutes of your day if you are doing it every day.
Build, publish and commit to a Candidate Bill of Rights that is realistic and deliverable. I have long advocated and executed the CBR in the organizations I have led and those I work with to improve their recruiting engine. One of the keys to getting Deliver right is to build a CBR that reflects what your candidates want and need as well as what your recruiters can deliver on. Don't be overly ambitious because what you put in writing is the MINIMUM standard for recruiter performance when it comes to creating the ultimate candidate experience. That said, putting it in writing makes it far more difficult to ignore as a recruiter. When it is clearly stated to your candidates hat we will make you feel L.O.V.E.D. it becomes, sorry to beat a dead horse, a priority to the recruiter. A CBR has no teeth if you don't survey your candidates at various points in the process so be sure that is a standard operating procedure. When a recruiter knows they are being evaluated by the very candidates they serve, and the evals have a meaningful impact on performance reviews, pay increases, promotion etc, they are much more likely to execute effectively.
So there you have it. How to create The Ultimate Candidate Experience by making your candidates feel L.O.V.E.D. So yeah, it is a bit mushy and a bit hokey but I can promise you it works when executed properly.
Now, go LOVE your candidates! But not in a creepy way!
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