New Study Warns About the Dangers of a Bad Candidate Experience

A new survey of professionals conducted by Korn Ferry shows how critical it is for organizations to place a strong emphasis on the candidate experience during the recruiting process. 3/4 of respondents say it is unlikely they would accept a job offer if they were treated poorly during the recruiting experience, even if they felt the role was a good fit.

In addition, more than half (56 percent) say it is unlikely that they would remain a customer of a company if they had a bad experience as a candidate, and more than a third (34 percent) say they would also be likely to urge their friends and family members to stop being a customer. Download their infographic here.

When considering applying to a company, 98 percent of the respondents say they take to social media sites to see what others say about both the hiring experience as well as working at the organization.

“Companies risk alienating not only strong candidates, but loyal customers if they don’t make a concerted effort to create an efficient, welcoming and informative environment during the hiring process,” said Adam Blumberg, Korn Ferry Futurestep Vice President, Key Accounts. “This equates to significant costs, both in terms of the time and money wasted during the hiring process, as well as loss of revenue from fleeing customers.”

When asked what would aggravate them most during the recruiting process, the majority (53 percent) cited not hearing back from the recruiter or hiring manager.

“There is absolutely no excuse for recruiters and hiring managers to not respond to candidates, even if that communication is electronic such as email or text,” said Blumberg. “New technology and AI tools are automating many of the traditionally manual recruiting tasks, freeing up time for recruiters to provide stronger candidate care and strategic counsel to their clients.”

According to the survey, respondents believe there is a real need for recruiters and hiring managers to do their homework about the company for which they are recruiting. Nearly half (47 percent) do not believe recruiters paint a clear, accurate picture of the company and of the role for which they are being considered, and more than a third (36 percent) do not believe the recruiters give them the tools and tips they need to land a job.

“The best recruiters and talent acquisition professionals take the time to understand the strategic objectives of both the company and the role for which they are recruiting, and communicate to the candidate how they will fit into the organization if hired,” said Neil Griffiths, Korn Ferry Futurestep’s Global Brand, Marketing & Communications leader.

A key tactic to help bring the employer brand to life is to use digital channels. Survey respondents said that beyond recruitment process details, the elements that matter most to them on a career website are information about the company’s culture and its philanthropic efforts.

“An employer branding strategy is a key way to engage with candidates,” said Griffiths. “Recruiters and hiring managers should take a look at the company culture and make sure the go-to-market strategy is authentic to the brand. In the recruiting world, we don’t want surprises that can lead to attrition, such as candidates expecting one thing when hired and finding an entirely different situation when they start their job.”

About the survey

Korn Ferry Futurestep fielded the survey in September and early October of 2017. It garnered 1,108 responses. Percentages are rounded to the nearest decimal. Totals may not equal 100 percent.