Repeat after me - your Candidate Journey starts way before the candidate stage.
It starts the moment the talent learns about your company.
On average - it takes 20 touch-points to convert passive talent into application. In a recent Stack Overflow research, over 2/3 of responders shared that they choose future workplaces based on company content such as blogs, job boards, and paid ads.
But let’s take a step back.
When looking into the talent landscape, and career change decisions, career journeys are more often than not nonlinear.
So when it comes to redesigning the talent journey, we need to consider that.
(Side note - Although this article is mainly focused on the attraction and retention aspects of the talent journey - we are firm believers that this is a joint responsibility across all functions in HR. )
For example, Boomerang is one of the hottest trends in recruiting nowadays - Employees leaving to explore other opportunities only to come back later to join the company again.
By looking at the Talent Journey holistically - we’re ensuring each touchpoint creates the best experience while continuously fueling the pipeline.
Let’s take a deeper dive into each stage and why it impacts your Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing.
Stage 1 - Talent - AKA - The Immediate Suspect for Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing.
Although this might seem like stating the obvious - This stage is crucial when designing the candidate's journey.
Creating touch points solely focusing on educating potential candidates about who you are and what you do - helps you convert them faster.
Imagine the ability to just start a conversation with potential candidates when they already know who you are and what you do - won’t that be amazing?
The more diversified your attraction stage is, you’ll manage to attract a broader talent pipeline. Different people consume information in different ways - so the bigger the range of options you provide the talent, the bigger the chances you’ll be noticed.
Stage 2 - Candidate - AKA - How's the Hiring Process Impacting your Brand.
The biggest part of this stage is the recruiting process.
We won’t bore you on why the recruiting process is a big part of the attraction process, but just a friendly reminder - candidates have expectations around communication when it comes to the hiring process - Even if they just applied.
Investing time in those communication channels during the candidates' process can help you create a better candidate experience - even if the final result would be rejection.
In a recent StackOverflow survey, 1/4 of the respondents said they've withdrawn from the hiring process because of negative experiences (Lengthy or disorganized process, weird questions).
Ensuring your hiring process is representing your company culture is crucial to attracting talent.
Stage 3 - Employee - AKA - EB is first and foremost internal?
Your Employer Brand is what your Employees say about you. They are the ones representing your brand most accurately, living your culture every day. In a recent survey by Edelman Trust, 60% of responders reported that they’d listen to someone like them when considering a company. So, It's no surprise that when we focus on our Employer Brand efforts, we should dedicate time and energy internally.
Creating meaningful experiences, communicating transparently, and making sure they feel connected to the overall goals are great ways to turn your employees into advocates.
But what happens at the end of the Employee life-cycle? Off-boarding holds an enormous potential to make or break a well-thought-out talent journey.
Saying goodbye to employees is always difficult, especially when it comes to a screeching halt - try creating the best possible experience for those parting - it will impact the way they share about you more than you know.
Stage 4 - Alumni - AKA - Will there be a cap and gown?
Once you’ve parted ways with employees, keeping them in an alumni network has so many benefits. From keeping them engaged (and potentially hiring them back with the timing is right) to helping them stay your biggest advocates, referring friends and family, and more. Facilitating those opportunities is a win-win for both the organization and past employees.
Recent research from HBR found that 28% of new hires are boomerang employees who have resigned. Keeping them engaged will, in turn, save you time and money on stage 1.
Restructuring your Talent Journey is the key to better Talent experiences and will impact brand perception.
