Every once in a while, new buzzwords make their way through recruiting circles. In the case of candidate engagement, this “buzzword” has legs for sure. Candidate engagement is trendy right now because it’s important right now.
Everywhere you turn, there seems to be another headline touting the importance of candidate engagement, or how to improve your candidate engagement.
Erm, including this one!
So why is NOW the time to talk about candidate engagement? Why is it such a hot topic?
What’s pushed candidate engagement to the forefront?
As the demand for talent continues to get more and more competitive, the ability for employers to stand out is increasingly critical. The days of simply posting to a major job board and waiting for the perfectly-qualified candidates to roll in are well past.
And with your competition not only competing for the same tech talent but also trying to poach your employees…well, let’s just say it’s a jungle out there!
Candidate engagement is a critical differentiator for successful recruiting today.
Today’s talent has discerning tastes. They expect employers to go the extra mile for them. There are actually two trendy terms today that can encapsulate the “extra mile.”
Candidate experience is the literal experience talent will have from the moment they hear about your company. They view your job postings, apply, go through the hiring process and more. Talent today won’t settle for a poor candidate experience. Not only are they less likely to accept a job offer when your experience is subpar, they’re also very likely to share their experience with their network. Research from Sense found that 72% of candidates who have a poor experience will leave a negative online review or tell a friend.
The odds are not in your favor if you’re not delivering an exceptional experience for your candidates.
An important element of your candidate experience is your candidate engagement. In a nutshell, candidate engagement is your ability to keep talent interested throughout the hiring process. Keep them engaged. Most often, this is accomplished through consistent communication on their preferred platforms.
What it takes to deliver strong candidate engagement
There are two very important components of a strong candidate engagement strategy today:
1. Technology
2. People (of course!)
When used properly, technology doesn’t replace human interaction. It facilitates it, and we believe, empowers more human communication.
And that matters tremendously to candidates.
According to research from Talent Board, a candidate’s favorability rating towards an employer jumps by 28 percent when they receive a phone call rather than the automated email rejection.
Such a small step and just one example, but with potentially huge ramifications.
But what does the proper combination of technology and people look like in a real business?
Talk to 100 different organizations and you can come up with 100 different approaches to candidate engagement. Here at Matlen Silver, for example, we have named our approach to engagement, appropriately (!)…
Matlen Silver Engage
So what does it mean to deliver with Matlen Silver Engage?
To start, we have carefully vetted many different candidate engagement platforms and technologies. From there, we selected and implemented only those that empower us to deliver the type of engagement we would appreciate receiving from recruiters.
Then, when the time is right, our amazing candidate engagement technology seamlessly hands off the conversations to our recruiters. And here at Matlen Silver, we take our internal recruiting a step further to ensure that our team is comprised of the absolute best of the best.
Our recruiters:
- Understand the ins and outs of our clients, our candidates, and their skill sets.
- Truly care about placing the right people in the right positions.
- Aim to create a memorable experience every time.
- Truly care about our candidates and our clients, and it shows!
Our technology
- Sends personalized messages to candidates.
- Uses talent’s preferred communication methods to reach them.
- Empowers our recruiters to send more, better messages.
- Keeps candidates informed throughout the process.
- Helps our recruiters provide better service to more candidates.
With Matlen Silver Engage, we’ve built incredibly strong relationships with our network of talent across the country. We’re extremely proud of our relationships, so that when we approach our network with incredible client opportunities. They not only take our calls and respond to our messages, they are EXCITED to get to work.
THAT is a big reason why so many people are talking about candidate engagement. It gets results.
Want to learn more about Matlen Silver Engage and how it can impact your tech recruiting?
We’re happy to explain more about how we do business, and what that means for your company. Contact us to learn more.
