John interviewed with CEN Company 4 weeks ago and has never heard back from the recruiter.  He’s left several messages and emails, but has not received any response.

What could CEN have done to avoid this outcome?

• Implement a candidate experience survey that provides an opportunity for a candidate to share this type of feedback. This allows you to identify issues with your process or staff that could be leading to the “black hole” referenced by candidates.
• Set an expectation with recruiters and managers that all candidates will hear some response within 3 days of an interview. Even if that response consists of “we will call you in 3 days”, it’s better than no response at all.  Create tracking reports that allow you to identify situations where the expectation is not met.

Share your companies best practice for avoiding this outcome.

Share your candidate experience story for a future edition of Chronicles of a Candidate.

Colleen is a veteran of the Army and his transitioning to her first role outside of the military.  She is currently based 3 hours outside of St. Louis and hopes to move there when she retires from the military in September.  She applied to CEN for a position that is a great fit for her experience as an IT Technician in the military.  CEN called her and asked that she come in for an interview two days later.  Colleen explained that as an out-of-town candidate she was unable to schedule an interview in St. Louis on such short notice.  CEN told her that if she could not get in for an interview in the next two days she would no longer be in consideration for the role.

What could CEN have done to avoid this outcome?

Today’s technology options make is much easier to provide out-of-town candidates with a great candidate experience.  To maximize this option:

• Implement a vendor solution that allows you to interview via phone or video.
• Train interviewers to conduct phone or video interviews.
• Create an interview plan that allows a minimum of a one-week timeframe for candidates to make schedule adjustments and travel plans

Share your companies best practice for avoiding this outcome.

 

Share your candidate experience story for use in a future edition of Chronicles of a Candidate.

Sally applied for a customer service position with CEN company and went for her interview with the hiring manager.  During the interview, the manager started the conversation by discussing a recent trip he took.  They had a great conversation about various places they had traveled, but 30 minutes into the interview they had not discussed Sally’s experience for the role.  The manager had another meeting, so stopped the interview at exactly one hour – leaving them with very little time to get to any relevant questions.

What could CEN have done to avoid this outcome?

• Train hiring managers on interview skills, including the key components of a positive candidate experience.
• Leverage experienced and well-trained interviewers on a consistent basis. Creating a positive candidate experience is a skill and a passion.  If an interviewer is lacking in either area, you should consider removing them from the interview process.
• Provide interviewers with a clear outline of the skills and competencies they are looking for in the interview. If a manager knows they need to report out on 4-5 key areas, they are more likely to keep the interview on track.

Share your companies best practice for avoiding this outcome.

Share your candidate experience story for use in a future edition of Chronicles of a Candidate.

 

 

Jim has been interviewing with CEN company for a Recruiting Manager position.  He’s interviewed with 9 different business partners over the past 3 weeks and is waiting for them to schedule his final interview.  He received a phone call from the Recruiter, letting him know that “the hiring manager decided to go another route with this particular position.”

What could CEN have done to avoid this outcome?

The recruiter and the manager could have spent more time creating a plan for filling this position.  Gaining alignment on the following items is key:

• Consolidate the interview team before starting the process (an ideal candidate experience is limited to 2-3 interviews)
• Agree on the key skills and competencies needed for the role
• Research your internal candidate pool to avoid posting an external opportunity, only to turn down external candidates later in the process

Share your companies best practices for avoiding this type of outcome.

Share your candidate experience story for a future blog.

 

 

 

Suzy had an interview scheduled with the CEN company.  She was supposed to meet with three managers on Tuesday afternoon between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.  She arrived for the first interview only to find that the manager was not in the office that day.  The HR department attempted to track down the other two interviews to rearrange the schedule.  Unfortunately, the other two individuals were also called out on assignment and needed to reschedule Suzy’s appointment.

Suzy had taken a half day of vacation only to go home without meeting anyone to discuss this career opportunity.

What could CEN have done to avoid this outcome?

• Create dedicated interview days for managers – they are less likely to forgot interview days
• Send a confirmation email to the candidate and interviewers one-day prior
• Assign backup interviewers who are able to step in and make decisions on candidates

Share your companies best practice to avoid this outcome.

Click here to share your candidate experience story for a future blog.

Are you ready to grow but not sure how to limit the challenges of managing a staff?  Register now for this workshop on Reducing HR Nightmares!

This session will provide you the HR tools you need to reduce these challenges and limit your legal risks as an employer.

Reducing HR Nightmares

Thursday, August 3rd

8:30 – 8:45 a.m.  Registration & Networking
8:45 – 10:30 a.m.  

Holiday Inn Airport West

 

Here are 3 interesting case studies for how organizations are leveraging DiSC to improve results:

– How the NCAA leveraged the power of DiSC to help their athletes transition to leadership. Read More

– Honda utilized DiSC training to improve customer loyalty. Read More

– How one financial institute invested in staff development to drive a strategy for growth. Read more

Your marketing plan may be strong, but is your employee engagement level hurting the health of your organization? This month’s edition of People Priorities helps you identify the signs of employee engagement issues. Also, two great reading recommendations to chose from for our next book club! Read more: May Newsletter

This monthly edition of People Priorities will provide helpful tools related to HR, employee relations, diversity & inclusion or leadership development that may be beneficial in your work environment. Read more: People Priorities March 2016