by Steven Lindner | Mar 31, 2015 | Hiring and Retention, Talent Acquisition |
With the number of people in the workforce, and the number of businesses – from startups to public global companies – candidates have a wide range of career options. With the latest job reports, showing unemployment at 5.5%, its lowest level since 2008, job seekers are back in the driver seat. Employers now need to be concerned with the degree of satisfaction candidates have with their hiring process. A poor experience will deter future candidates from applying to the employer’s open positions and top talent will likely reject the employer’s job offer.
The Candidate is Your “External” Customer Too
When we think of a company’s “brand,” we typically think of a specific product or service. Your service or product represents the collective organization. Candidates will be attracted to your organization because of what you do and how you do it. The expectations candidates have of your organization area direct reflection of your brand. And it’s important that your “Employment Brand” is experienced in the same positive manner as are your products and services. Good experiences travel fast, but bad experiences travel even faster.
Whether your business provides a service to others or you are trying to sell a product, you are always responsible for servicing not only your external customers, but also your internal customers – your employees. And while recruiting, you must also consider your candidates as customers or prospective customers. Your corporate brand may not necessarily always match your employer brand, but in order to attract top talent, you must market your corporate employment culture. In doing this, human resources becomes your corporate employment brand ambassador.
Why You Should Create a Positive Candidate Experience
It is very important to always create a positive candidate experience, regardless of whether you hire the candidate or not. Each candidate has an opinion and a voice that could potentially be heard all around the world, thanks to the Internet. A negative candidate experience can affect a candidate’s desire to work for you, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that others outside your organization will hear the (not-so-positive) story. It is well known that the public is more inclined to vocalize their opinions about a negative experience rather than a positive one. And with social media and other review websites being so popular, it’s easy for that one negative experience to be shared easily and quickly.
The WorkPlace Group’s Advice For Creating a Positive Candidate Experience
Though there are a lot of moving and interconnected parts to creating a positive candidate experience throughout the recruiting and selection process, by following a few simple tips you increase your chances of leaving a positive impression on your candidates. By making the experience a positive one, you will be setting yourself apart from other employers and ultimately set yourself up for high quality hires.
1. Simplify your employment job application process
If your job application is too long, candidates can easily be turned off and may not finish completing the application or choose not to complete your employment application, at all. If it is overly complicated, it could confuse or deter candidates from continuing in your hiring process, as well.
2. Make sure your job descriptions are accurate
Write out the job description as if you were performing the job. Do not use a stock job description found from another company or position you think is similar to the one in your company. The job description should accurately represent what the candidate would be doing, if hired. You should also ensure that all job descriptions are posted with no typographical errors, as they negatively impact your employment brand.
3. Customize Form E-mails
If you must use e-mail templates, brand them. Make them sound less like a form letter and more like a personal message to a candidate. You want to make sure candidates know that there are humans behind your Applicant Tracking System and the are not left feeling like just another number (or, in this case, resume).
4. Communication is key
Communication is key to shaping the candidate experience. If you aren’t communicating in a timely fashion with the candidate, then the likelihood is pretty good that the candidate will get frustrated, and possibly even lose interest. So, if you expect to accept applications for a few weeks, don’t create the proverbial “black hole” for the candidates that have applied in the first couple weeks.
If you receive an application, confirm that you’ve received it. Provide updates throughout the screening and selection processes so the candidates are not kept hanging and wondering. And, if you know a particular candidate or applicant will not be hired, tell them right away. Do not wait until the job application process closes to tell candidates that they will not be hired. Candidates may not be happy that you did not extend a job offer to them, however, they will appreciate you being respectful by keeping them informed about where they stand throughout the hiring process.
5. Pick up the phone
If you’ve interviewed candidates, whether in person or over the phone, and have decided not to move forward with them, it vastly improves the candidate experience if you pick up the phone to personally let them know of your decision. This creates a more personal experience and sense of trust and respect of you on the part of the candidate. And be sincere. This is potentially a person’s career and life on the line. Deliver the message you would want delivered to you, if you were in the candidate’s shoes.
These are just five easy and basic tips to creating a positive candidate experience during the recruiting and selection processes. Attracting top talent is more difficult today than it has been in years past due to the opportunities available, as evidenced by the low unemployment rate. To speak with one of our experts about your candidate experience, contact a WorkPlace Group® associate today.
by Steven Lindner | Mar 6, 2015 | Hiring and Retention |
Employers spend a lot of money hiring the right employees. We here at The WorkPlace Group devote ourselves to helping our clients hire only the best. With the hundreds of thousands of candidates we recruit, screen and evaluate each year, we thought it would be helpful to provide some examples of how those in the top 1% of their field manage to perform their best. Lessons from the best in their field provides great insight into how employers can shape their culture by motivating employees and join the ranks of the top 1%.
Motivating Employees: Part I – TV Soap Star from Emmy Award winning show, Days of Our Lives
The WorkPlace Group recently had an opportunity to have lunch with a veteran soap opera actress from Days of Our Lives onset at NBC Burbank Studios in Los Angeles, CA. She also introduced us to Days of Our Lives staff members who gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the studio operation where we met many cast and crew members.
Although we did not get to witness an actual on-set scene, the general demeanor of the crew and cast members we did meet were gregarious, upbeat, full of energy and incredibly engaged.
Most of us don’t think of a television soap opera as just a day in the office. We’re not watching Days of Lives thinking, “Is she having issues with her colleagues or manager? Any water cooler gossip or office politics going on? How often does she have a performance review meeting? How much work does she have to do get done by tomorrow? What are her annual performance expectations and how is Days of Our Lives developing her for her next promotion?”
Nonetheless, soap operas are major companies. The actors and actresses, writers, directors, producers, stylists, publicists, editors, film crew and all the other functions that bring the story to life are no different than departments like customer service, communications, engineering, and IT — although maybe a bit less glamorous than cameras, lights and the red carpet.
When we asked our long-term, successful soap star about her typical work day and what it’s like to work for Days of Our Lives, we captured a number of important messages and observations about how she continues to perform her best and several important aspects of how her employer enables her success. Here are a few important takeaways for employers to nurture in their own corporate culture in order to bring out the best by motivating their employees:
- Teach employees to create and own their self-development plan
Our soap star neither waits nor expects Days of Our Lives to develop her professionally. Instead, she develops herself. For example, she has continued to take acting lessons for almost all of her 15+ years on-set even though she is one of the most well regarded stars on daytime TV. The scenes written and presented to her push her to new limits, but ultimately she is in charge of building her own skill set. And, as her skillset develops and she steps up to the plate for those challenging, complex, dramatic moments, the writers, directors, and producers provide her with more and more opportunities.From a corporate perspective, this is equivalent to providing employees with an opportunity to take on tasks and challenges outside of their role to evaluate if they are ready for a step up prior to promoting them for excelling in the role they are currently in. Freedom of creativity and expression can be an important factor in motivating employees.
- Ensure employees are aware of how their behavior impacts their employer’s costs and revenues
Showing up late to the set can cost the producer $1,000 per minute lost. With dozen of scenes to shoot in a day, staying on time is imperative.When we asked our soap star friend about taking sick days and what happens when she needs a day off, we were surprised to hear that she has never taken a sick day in the past 15+ years despite the fact that she suffers from occasional migraines. Our soap star said, “I never call out sick because it will cost my employer thousands of dollars for my absence, as my employer still needs to pay everyone who is in my scene or connected with something I contribute to.” It was a real surprise how readily she knew what a sick day or day out of the office would cost her employer and an even bigger surprise to hear that she cared about her employer’s costs.Our veteran soap star articulated the importance of being on-time, prepared with her script memorized, and ready to work. It’s not only expected and preferred by her employer, but also sets the stage for her colleagues to perform at their best. Being unprepared with lines means re-doing scenes; in the corporate world this is equivalent to re-doing meetings and project plans. Unprepared actors interrupt the natural flow of creating great scenes; or below standard / poor work product as we call it in the corporate world. Unprepared actors cause everyone, including film crew, directors, editors and fellow actors, to fall behind. In the corporate world this means reduced efficiency as a result of increased production costs and delays in key deadlines.
- Ensure employees understand how their contributions add to and shape the final product.
Like most things in life, the inherent value of individuals working together results in a more valuable work product, whether it’s content, a physical item or a service.In the world of daytime television, great scenes increase viewers, which increase advertising revenues and other kinds of revenue streams, adding significant value to shareholders. This is no different than a business unit or department working on developing or improving a product or service. There’s superior value in creating products or services and providing experiences that trump your competition. The soap star shared that when filming a scene, it’s the actors who bring it to life and make it feel real. Only by playing off of each other can the audience feel and experience the emotional connections.
Our takeaway from her basic message was that everyone needs to know the direct way in which they impact the final product. The quality of the work product is dependent on each other whether it’s building a product or delivering a service. By motivating employees to perform their best with these steps, you may see an increase in productivity and sales.
Coming soon, Part II – Motivating Employees to Perform Their Best: Lessons from a Rock Star
For more information on how to hire great talent please contact The WorkPlace Group.
Note: The views and opinions expressed are strictly of the author and not endorsed, promoted, or provided by Days of Our Lives, NBC or any of their affiliates, employees or stakeholders.
by Steven Lindner | Feb 27, 2014 | Hiring and Retention, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Acquisition |
Employee retention continues to be one of the biggest challenges faced by modern organizations. While compensation and benefits play an important role, one of the most overlooked factors is the clarity of expectations set from day one.
Why Expectations Matter
Employees thrive in environments where roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Ambiguity leads to disengagement, miscommunication, and ultimately, higher turnover rates. Employers who invest in proper onboarding and performance feedback generally see stronger long-term retention.
Enhancing Communication Through Digital Media
One modern approach companies are using to enhance communication is through short-form video platforms like TikTok. From onboarding intros to cultural snippets, companies are finding creative ways to engage employees visually.
👉 Want to reuse or showcase your team videos? Use this free TikTok video download tool to capture and archive employee engagement content.
Boost Team Tools with Video Strategy
Video is no longer just for marketing — it’s a culture tool. HR teams can document onboarding tips, leadership messages, and internal highlights.
👉 Explore powerful editing tools with TikTok video tools — perfect for HR and internal communication strategies.
Conclusion
At its core, employee retention is built on trust, transparency, and clarity. Set expectations early and communicate consistently — through meetings, feedback, and yes, even engaging videos.
