What Speaking at the World's Largest TA Event Taught Me About Candidate Experience

I would say I’m more of a stranger than a friend when it comes to public speaking, but it’s a skill that I’m motivated to develop and practice. Lockdown is well and truly in the past, so gone are the comfortable days of notes and a comfortable seat in front of Zoom. An opportunity to speak in front of a room (tent) full of peers about something I was both passionate about, and I felt was valuable to the TA world, was just too good an opportunity to turn down.

There was definitely a weak-knees feeling five minutes before I stood on stage when I realised every seat was taken and there was a crowd standing at the back waiting to hear how to deliver the experience candidates really want in 2024, and how to hire faster.

Here’s what I learned about what candidates want out of hiring right now, and what I want to share with you.

This is one of the toughest periods for candidates in years

It’s no secret. Applications are up (at least threefold), there are challenging economic conditions, and TA people are being asked to do more with less – either with resources, or headcount. The impact of this is that candidate experience is at risk of pouring out the leaky bucket. We’ve seen organisations slow down their decision making process, lean into the temptation to wait for the ‘right’ candidate, or even add interview processes to further assess applicants.

These factors added up means that the mental health of candidates is at its greatest risk, and we’re seeing slow interview processes and poor communication have a greater impact on stress levels, anxiety and confidence. 38% of candidates report feeling worsened stress levels, 34% say it makes them anxious, and 29% report their self-confidence being significantly affected by long hiring processes.

Candidates want to feel respected, and I truly believe TA people want that too.he ability to impact the things we have control over – like quick response times, feedback, personalised scheduling are simple tactics that result in a positive experience and increased likelihood of timely hiring. That’s why 41% of candidates say efficient hiring is a sign of respect to them as a person.

The risk of a poor candidate experience is the greatest it’s ever been

When hiring goes wrong, we know that candidates talk. When we asked what candidates do on the back of a poor or faltering interview process, 20% said they’d tell colleagues and peers, 12% would actively discourage others from applying, and 9% would vent their frustrations on social media.

These are not insignificant numbers, and in an era of reviews and feedback these reactions can impact recruitment teams for years in the future. The time to focus on a positive experience is now, to save future issues from arising.

There are a lot of solutions, but you need to understand the problem you’re trying to solve

Interview scheduling automation is a very simple solution which significantly impacts the candidate experience in a positive way. It’s the number one area candidates voted to see automated, and it immediately buys you time to do the things that are more important, like providing a personalised experience. However, to truly understand the value something like automation provides, you need to fully understand the problem you’re trying to solve.

The biggest take away I shared in my presentation was the importance of laying out your entire recruitment workflow and interrogating every step. Look at where the bottlenecks are, what’s slowing you down and where you are losing the most candidates. If you truly know the areas for improvement, you will be better placed to assess the tools that can solve this problem. It might be about improving your time to hire, your Hiring Managers being more responsive, or even providing more information earlier so candidates are better prepared. There is not one tool that solves these problems, but the right blend of automation, human influence and prioritising experience are the key ingredients.

Making sure AI is bringing the appropriate value

My overriding opinion though was the importance of a personalised experience. We know that 81% of candidates want an individual to contact during their interview process, and I was fascinated to see just how much organisations were leaning into AI and ML to improve the recruitment and selection process.

Our own research shows that candidates are experimenting with AI, too. 56% of candidates have already used generative AI in their application in some form—21% to optimise their CVs, 21% to tailor CVs to job descriptions, 20% for creating supporting content like cover letters, and 15% to mass apply to different roles.

Where does this leave candidate experience?

It feels like organisations are favouring speed over service, and when the competition is so high for the best candidates, we know that a personalised approach can be the difference between accepting or rejecting an offer. I came away from RecFest wondering if TA people are truly focussed on improving their recruitment flows, or simply speeding it up. Striking the balance is critical; by knowing the right stages to implement the automation tools, you can streamline candidates to the stage of human touch.

If you’re hungry for more, you can read Cronofy’s Candidate Expectations research that informed my presentation here. For all those reading, I hope to see you again at the next event!