If your HR department is using an outdated recruitment strategy, you could be losing top talent to the competition. Today’s recruiting process is all about candidate engagement. Your company needs a new strategy to ensure that communication is continuous and gives applicants a positive impression of what it’s like to work for you.
What Makes Continuous Engagement Different?
Continuous candidate engagement is a “candidate-centric recruiting model encompassing both technology solutions and strategies to continuously engage candidates in the right way” from the moment they arrive on your career website to the moment they start working for your company. Compare this to the traditional hiring process involving long stretches of time between the submission of an application, the interview process, and the offer, and you can see why companies following the old method often wind up with unsatisfactory candidates. Committing to continuous engagement with job seekers keeps you connected to a pool of talented people with the skills your company needs to succeed in a competitive market.
Why Does Your Company Need Continuous Engagement?
Successful hiring of the right candidates requires reliable applicant tracking and a consistent follow-up strategy. When you start using a system that allows you to keep in touch with candidates throughout the hiring process, you:
- Set your company apart from those taking a “set it and forget it” approach to hiring
- Show candidates that their interest in your company matters
- Lose fewer qualified applicants due to lack of communication
Today’s job market is a candidate-driven environment, and young job seekers in particular are looking for company cultures where they’ll be acknowledged and encouraged to grow. Practicing continuous engagement during the hiring process positions you as a forward-thinking company that candidates will be drawn to.
Best Practices for Optimal Engagement
Think of the recruitment process as a customer journey. If you use the same mindset to craft the funnel for applicants as you do when creating customer-focused marketing campaigns, you’ll be on the right track. Communicating with applicants throughout the funnel is easier with ATS systems that provide the tools to automate follow-ups and send reminders to those who don’t respond to initial messages. With the ability to track messages pertaining to specific candidates all in one place, recruiters can ensure they never lose touch with top applicants and can personalize the experience for a better outcome. Stay consistent with your brand message, and candidates will feel comfortable with your company culture even before they start working there. By turning hiring into an experience and incorporating modern recruiting solutions into the process, you create the kind of environment that today’s candidates expect, and you open the door for top talent to find a home at your company. Continuous engagement sets the stage for a positive future and ensures that qualified candidates won’t fall through the cracks during the hiring process. Get started with a new strategy to make your next round of hiring a success.
