The candidate engagement process has become even more sensitive in the time of COVID-19. Candidate Engagement is essential in running an effective and productive organization, which is why you need to revise your candidate engagement procedure and optimize it for the new normal.
How has candidate engagement changed due to COVID-19?
Has your company recruited any new employees since the outbreak? I’m sure the way companies recruit has shifted since the pandemic. In-person interviews have switched to video chats, and communication to Zoom meetings. One important matter in this regard is candidate engagement, which is a critical procedure that needs to be maintained no matter the situation.
What is Candidate Engagement?
Candidate engagement is the continuous procedure of interacting with candidates who have applied to your company for different positions. Generally, this process can be divided into three areas:
- People who are involved in the process: your staff and candidates;
- Strategies that you take to engage with candidates;
- Media. The tools you use to implement, execute and measure candidate engagement.
Benefits of Candidate Engagement
Good relationship management is key to attract the attention of candidates to your brand. With developing friendly relationships with candidates, you’ll find the chance to gain the trust of employees. Good candidate management can lead to hiring highly skilled employees, with minimum price.
6 Stages of Candidate Engagement
Generally, we can divide the process of candidate engagement into 6 separate stages:
Stage #1: Talent attraction
First, you have to attract the most talented job seekers with the help of various channels like career pages, job boards, emails, paid advertisements, social media, etc.
Stage #2: Segmentation
The segmentation of candidates is also another important stage in candidate engagement. You need to separate them with metrics and tags such as; position, names, ages, skills, etc. Candidate Segmentation helps recruiters focus on a specific group and tailor candidate engagement measures that best suits that group.
Stage #3: Application
The easier and concise your application process is, the better you can make your candidate pool. Many candidates get rid of long boring application processes because they think they won’t get accepted in that job.
Stage #4: Interview
Interviewing is the most stressful stage for many candidates. You should avoid disparaging achievements of candidates because this will gradually dent your brand’s reputation. Instead, interview them on their potential. Ask them structured interview questions that are suited to the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the job.
Stage #5: Feedback
Feedback management is a must in every effective candidate engagement process. Analyzing feedback data can be a valuable source of insightful information for your company for the next round of recruiting. This goes the same for your candidates. Offer them valuable, actionable feedback so that they get a chance at improving themselves as well.
Stage #6: Offer Management
When choosing suitable candidates, you need to be careful about your perks and offerings. You have to avoid exaggerating the perks if you’re trying to entice more skilled candidates to accept the position.
