An organization’s candidate experience is directly associated with their employer brand. Failing to attend to your employer brand can be detrimental to your organization. Nearly 60% of candidates have had a poor candidate experience, and 72% of those candidates shared that experience online or with someone directly.
The power that word-of-mouth holds in this day and age is exponential compared to any other marketing tool as 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising. Cleaning up your employer brand, once negative word-of-mouth has spread, is harder than it may seem. How can you ensure a good candidate experience every time and in turn ensure a good employer brand? Artificial intelligence may be the answer:
Avoiding the ATS Black Hole
What is the ATS black hole? This is the phenomenon many candidates experience when they submit an application or resume online and have no way of knowing if it was received. It leaves potential candidates in the dark because they don’t know whether to expect a call or forget about the opportunity altogether. How can you avoid the ATS black hole for your candidates?
Many corporate recruiters already have more to do than they can handle, and responding to all applications can seem next to impossible. This is where artificial intelligence comes in. AI can be used in the recruitment process by integrating with an ATS and notifying candidates when their application has been received. It can help set guidelines of when, or if, they’ll receive a response. No one will slip through the cracks (even those not qualified for the position).
The communication shouldn’t stop there. 65% of candidates say they either never or rarely receive employer notice of the decision made on their application. With the use of AI, once a job posting has been filled and closed, candidates who were not offered the position will be automatically notified and given other open positions within the organization for which they may be better suited. This improves their experience (and job search) and reduces your recruitment team’s workload by moving applicants into a more appropriate funnel. Using AI in your talent acquisition process broadens your talent funnel without burning out your recruiters.
Guide the Way
93% of job seekers cited unclear application instructions as the primary cause of a bad candidate experience. Unclear application instructions can result in candidate delays submitting resumes or no submission at all.
A CareerBuilder survey found that 40% of candidates feel the application process has become increasingly difficult. With the guide of a chatbot, applicants will sail through the process. They receive direction and clarification in an instant rather than waiting for a recruiter to respond back to them when, or if, they have time.
Using a chatbot also provides advantages to the recruitment team as the chatbot can use the feedback from the candidate and apply it to the selection process. The recruitment team can then easily see how each candidate ranks from the applicants selected by the platform.
Provide a Two-Way Street for Communication
Time and time again, we’ve heard that communication is a two-way street. Yet many candidates feel the application process is strictly one-way and they’re the ones doing all the talking. 60% of applicants say “better communication throughout and after the application process,” would have the most positive impact.
Using AI, recruiters would be able to provide the communication so many candidates are looking for. Having a chatbot integrated into the recruiting process would allow candidates to ask relevant questions throughout the application process. A chatbot will also provide a faster and more efficient way to respond with meaningful answers from the recruitment team.
Creating a positive candidate experience is no doubt a crucial part of investing in your employer brand. Implementing artificial intelligence will give you the edge you need within your hiring process and have candidates lining up to apply for the positions at your company without fear they’ll be disappointed, overlooked or simply forgotten.
About the Author:
Noel Webb is co-founder and CEO of Karen.ai (Your Cognitive Recruiting Assistant), the latest project from his role as Director of Product Innovation at Innosphere. A veteran of business development and out-of-the-box thinking, Noel has been a leader in his roles over the years for several companies, including Bam Digital, SpeakFeel and Agnition.
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