BUILDING A BETTER CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE

The insurance industry at its core is centered around people. Creating connections, managing relationships, and providing the best experience to customers is critical for the success of every agency and brokerage. While this approach does not come as a surprise in client relationships, extending this concept to the hiring process and creating positive candidate experiences may be less common. Nearly 60% of job seekers have had a poor candidate experience and 72% have shared their experience on online employer review sites such as Glassdoor.com.¹

Focusing on the importance of the candidate experience can not only help recruit and hire the best talent, but can also help create brand awareness, maintain a high reputation as a firm and create a positive company culture. A potential hire’s experience with a firm during the recruitment process creates their first opinion of a firm and, should they be hired, begins to instill the culture of that firm.

Ways to create a meaningful, positive candidate experience may seem simple, but can have a large, long-lasting impact. Below are important steps in creating an ideal candidate experience.

1. Identify your ideal candidate: Targeting specific candidates based on attributes such as experience, soft skills, attitude and cultural fit can help narrow down candidates to focus on those most likely to succeed in the position and company. Identifying important traits can lead to better decision-making and allow you to efficiently weed out misaligned candidates. This starts with accurate job descriptions and extends to using personality and skills assessments for interested qualified candidates.
2. Have a plan: Come to all interviews prepared with all key players on the same page. Discuss surface level concerns about positions and candidates early on. Clearly and continuously communicate the timeline and steps with the candidate and recruiting team.
3. Create action steps during the interview: Do not be vague or disingenuous. Honest communication, using clear and concise language, sets clear expectations. Describe, in detail, what is expected and what is needed to move through the process.
4. Be transparent: Keep everyone informed throughout the process, from the recruitment team, to interviewers to candidates are on the same page with similar expectations. A recent study found 53% of respondents that had abandoned a recruitment process did so due to poor communication by an employer or recruiter.² Ongoing and timely communication demonstrates a company’s interest and best practices.
5. Respect the candidate’s time: Be flexible and accommodating. Make it easy to schedule and reschedule interviews. Consolidate interview steps to minimize the amount of time candidate take away from their current job.
6. Utilize up-to-date technology: Using modern recruiting technology to simplify and speed up the process can benefit firms and candidates. Clunky, older applications that require candidates to create accounts to simply apply for a job may discourage highly qualified candidates from applying. Especially when your competitors are making it easier for candidates to “quick apply” with them.
7. Equal opportunity hiring: Creating a candidate recruitment process centered in the ideals of equality and equal opportunity can not only benefit your firm by attracting a wider range of candidates, but also strengthen the talent within your team as diverse ideas and backgrounds create better outcomes. Utilizing rigorous and objective evaluative tools can assist firms in recruiting and hiring from diverse talent pools.

Navigating the complexities of the recruitment and interview process can be stressful for firms and candidates. With so much riding on the candidate process, it is important to evaluate your processes thoroughly and frequently. Small changes now, can have a lasting impact on a firm for years to come.

If you have questions about Today’s ViewPoint, or about creating a seamless recruiting experience for candidates, please email or call Tony Longo, Senior Consultant, at 616.773.1134.

Recruiter Academy – Reserve Your Spot in Nashville!

MarshBerry’s Recruiter Academy helps firms create a meaningful and positive candidate experience. The expertise and guidance found in this program can help transform and adapt candidate experiences to best serve and reflect a company’s values and culture. Now is your chance to take advantage of the benefits of creating an ideal candidate experience. This course goes beyond the fundamentals of attracting, sourcing, hiring and onboarding new talent. Learn more and register today! Space is limited for this 1 ½ day session that begins on November 1. Register today!