4 Signs of an Ineffective Candidate Engagement Strategy

Candidate engagement measures a company’s ability to communicate effectively with job seekers. Poor candidate engagement leads to low-quality hires and a negative brand reputation. Learn how to spot the warning signs of a failing candidate engagement strategy:

1. Your communications are not personalized

These days, job seekers actively avoid situations where they feel like nameless drones. They are more likely to ignore impersonal messages compared with communications that are highly personalized.

In fact, a study of recruitment messages found that highly personalized messages lead to a 23% increase in engagement when compared to impersonal messages. However, simply adding a name to an email may not be enough. candidates want to feel like hiring managers are paying attention to their unique attributes and experiences.

2. Your applications have a high drop-off rate

Digital job applications allow the hiring team to see exactly how many people drop off before completing the process. For some companies, application abandonment rates fall between 60% and 90%.

High drop-off rates can indicate problems with the application. It may take too much time to complete, or it could be confusing. If the application asks candidates to upload their resume, and then asks them to fill out the same information again in a form, it’s likely to drive off qualified professionals.

3. You leave candidates waiting for feedback

Candidates dislike waiting to hear about the status of their application. If they’re left waiting too long, they may abandon the process completely. Considering that 44% of candidates wait for weeks to hear back from prospective employers, this is a major area for improvement.

Laziness isn’t to blame for lack of communication. In most cases, recruiters simply lack the time and resources to respond to everyone in a timely manner. Automated technology is one way to lower response times without sacrificing recruiter resources.

4. You haven’t aligned your recruitment and onboarding processes

Job seekers consider the way they’re treated during the hiring process to be a reflection of how the organization treats its employees. If candidates don’t feel welcome during this process, they may start to have doubts about their future involvement with the company.

Likewise, if new hires sense a dramatic shift in tone between the interview phase and the onboarding phase, they may start to feel uneasy. Misalignment between these phases can come across as two-faced. Therefore, it’s important to ensure consistency of tone and message as new hires are brought into the fold.

Takeaways

Poor candidate engagement can lead to drops in the quality of candidates you see in the pipeline. Remember, signs of good candidate engagement include:

• Tailored communications that acknowledge candidates as individuals.
• Easy-to-complete applications with clear instructions.
• Short waiting times between communications.
• Consistent messaging across hiring phases.

Sign up for a free demo of JazzHR to learn more about how to improve your candidate engagement strategy.