The Role of Corportate Branding in Hiring & Recruitment

You have 10 open roles to fill and plenty of candidates in the pipeline. Interviews are held and you’re starting the second round next week. Before you know it, “thank you” emails are flooding your inbox. You’re at 35 interviews so far and counting. What do you do with all of the emails?

Answer Them. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.

Candidates are not just potential employees, they’re also your consumers. You’ve established a relationship with them from the very first step in the application process. And whether or not they’ve purchased a good or service from you is irrelevant. Ruin the candidate experience for them, and any future purchase is lost. And it’s not just their purchase, but maybe 250 of their closest Facebook friends as well. In a recent study, Simon Thomas stated the following:

“As an employer you have to get that whole journey right, because it doesn’t stop with the unsuccessful candidate or the departing employee any more. That person will continue to exist as a potential customer, product advocate and as a possible future hire or rehire. Maximizing their experience, wherever they sit… is vital to ensuring that they will continue to view your brand favourably.”

Every step from the application process to the onboarding experience must be perfect. That includes continuing the relationship through to the thank you notes. Candidates are taking the time to apply, taking time off from their current jobs to interview, and taking the time to craft the best thank you letter ever in hopes of putting their best foot forward and closing the deal. When a recruiting team fails to respond, your candidate starts to feel the rejection. The lack of response not only confirms the frustration felt but also a lack of appreciation. “I don’t want to work there if this is how I’m going to be treated; in fact, I don’t want anything to do with the organization or their products. And I’m going to make sure everyone knows it.”

Your Brand Depends On It

Besides the finding above, the study also found, “There's particularly alarming news for any business wishing to retain control of its reputation and brand. More than half (52 per cent) of respondents across the world said a negative interview experience would likely impact on their buying products or services from that organization in the future. Only 10 per cent said it would not, with the remainder undecided.”

That’s a strong correlation between your recruiting and onboarding process and maintaining a strong brand identity.

You can’t afford to miss anything. One misstep could cause an uproar on Twitter and then your brand takes a nose dive. And with the current war on talent, you need every last drop of available talent out there. That means taking the time to get the candidate experience right.

Trying to innovate products, build your brand, drive your organization and create the best candidate experience is tough without the right human resource management system (HRMS). Selecting an HRMS can help blend your applicant tracking system with the onboarding process and help you keep track of time and reporting.

Your brand depends on an excellent candidate experience. Communicate an attractive brand to attract the best talent. It’s a small world out there with smart phones in the hand of every candidate posting to every social media site available. Remember, they are your customers too. Make the first experience count.