4 Ways to Improve the Candidate Experience In Staffing

⏰ Est. reading time: 4 mins

💡 What you’ll learn:

• How a quality candidate experience gives your firm a competitive edge
• Easy ways to improve the candidate experience, from first application to final offer
• Why two-way feedback can be valuable to your firm

Placing candidates for your clients sounds easy enough: you align the right qualifications and skills for the right job, and voila: a perfect match. Unfortunately, a poor experience throughout the application and hiring process can cause candidates to lose confidence in their new role, and subsequently, cause your placement numbers to dip if you lose them to a competitor. 

Recruiting the right talent isn’t just about offering great compensation or benefits. It’s about delivering a respectful and engaging recruiting experience so that candidates feel valued and ready to hit the ground running at their new gig. 

Let’s explore four strategies to improve the candidate experience, from first touch to final offer.

1. Streamline the Application Process

A long or confusing application process can be off-putting for job seekers—even causing them to abandon it altogether. In fact, 60% of applicants have stopped an application halfway through because of length or complexity. 

Luckily, this is a relatively easy thing to fix. Focus on making it quick and easy to apply, and avoid repetitive data entry. For example, don’t ask a candidate to upload a copy of their resume and then manually enter everything from their resume, too. This will ensure that you’re providing a positive experience for every candidate and potential new hire. 

Quick tips:

• Enable one-click “apply” features via LinkedIn or resume uploads.
• Minimize unnecessary form fields.
• Make your applications mobile-friendly.

2. Communicate Early and Often

Consistency and communication are the foundation of any relationship, and it’s no different for candidates during the hiring process. People want to know how many interviews they may have, who they’ll meet, and when decisions will be made.

When there’s a lack of this communication, especially around timelines, it can be incredibly disheartening. 62% of professionals say they lose interest in a job if they haven’t heard anything in two weeks, yet 36% of today’s candidates report spending upwards of one to two months waiting for a response after applying. 

If you can offer clear and consistent communication throughout the process, you will set your firm apart from the competition, and continue to attract candidates.

Quick tips:

• Immediately acknowledge when your firm has received an application with an automated, yet personalized email.
• Provide clear timelines for next steps—and stick to them.
• Update candidates at every stage of the process, even if they didn’t make it through.
  

3. Invest in the Right Tech

If your firm isn’t investing in the proper technology, you’re likely dealing with both clunky processes and a clunky candidate experience. Fortunately, there are many ways for staffing firms to invest in technology that benefit everyone involved. 

You can use real-time labor market insights to understand compensation trends and salary benchmarks.. This helps ensure you don’t waste time offering inaccurate or unfair compensation to prospective candidates. 

AI can also be used to accelerate the hiring process, with data suggesting that AI tools like sourcing automation can help reduce time-to-hire by as much as 50%. By the time a candidate reaches your pipeline then, there’s a better chance they’ll be a strong skills match. 

And you can even partner with a payments platform like Branch that helps you pay workers on day one without the hassle of paper checks. Workers can self-onboard through the Branch App in 90 seconds or less, seamlessly taking them from candidate to new hire with a quick payments onboarding experience. 

All of this helps streamline operations while also improving the candidate experience.

Quick tips:

• Use AI and automation to help with scheduling, reminders, and basic communication. In this way, automation can support, not replace, relationship building.
• Leverage real-time labor market insights to compare salary benchmarks and compensation trends. 
• Offer digital payment tools to streamline the onboarding process and pay people faster.
  

4. Make Feedback a Two-Way Street

Most candidates never hear back after rejection. This can create a poor impression of your firm and reduce the likelihood of future engagement. You can honor a candidate’s time by ensuring you provide constructive feedback even when they’re not the right fit for the role. This might include suggesting other roles that are a better match for their skills, or offering support or resources to help them gain new skills.

You might also solicit feedback from candidates to help your firm improve their process. Asking those who were placed (and those who were not) about their experience can provide invaluable feedback about what needs to be fine-tuned in the hiring process. This way, you can gather valuable firsthand knowledge about how to deliver a positive candidate experience and further enhance your firm’s reputation. 

Quick Tips:

• Offer constructive feedback when possible.
• Encourage them to apply for future roles that are a better fit.
• Ask for feedback on the hiring process through a brief survey to gauge the candidate experience. Use this data to continuously improve your process. 

Final Thoughts

Improving the candidate experience isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also smart business. Happy candidates become brand ambassadors. They refer others, re-engage for future roles, and speak positively about your firm. Plus, the more you strengthen the candidate experience, the more roles you can fill, leading to happier clients. 

By focusing on a simple and efficient application process; clear communication; leveraging the right tech; and making constructive feedback a two-way street, your firm can build a solid pipeline of talent and keep clients satisfied. 

Looking for ways to optimize your process even further?

Learn more about how Branch works for staffing. 

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