Back at the start of the year we blogged about the controversial decision made by the RAD awards not to shortlist, or appoint a winner, to their 2013 Candidate Experience Award due to the quality of the entrants. This year the category has been re-released under the title ‘Candidate Engagement’. Whilst the award’s continued measurement of the candidate experience is a positive sign, it will be interesting to see how candidate engagement is currently being measured by companies, just what the metrics for success are and whether the judging criteria really does reflect how candidate’s experience a recruitment process.

Contemplating this, we considered the best ways to learn the most from your candidate experience measurement. Here’s our top ten…

1.     Ask candidates for feedback.

Whilst this could seem like an obvious one, so many companies are failing to communicate with the one party that can provide the most insight – the candidates.

2.     Gather feedback from all candidates whether they are successful or not.

When it comes to gathering accurate measurement, it’s essential that both successful and unsuccessful candidates are consulted so that the findings cover the experience of all applicants.

3.     Measure the candidate experience in real-time.

By measuring the candidate experience in real-time, it allows companies to be pro-active instead of reactive. Campaigns can be refined as successes emerge and any issues can be resolved. Real-time measurement increases the success of recruitment campaigns and alleviates any long-term damage that a negative candidate experience can do.

4.     Collect feedback throughout the recruitment process – both before and after completion.

By gathering feedback throughout the process, its impact on a candidate’s company perception and expectations can be assessed.

5.     Understand what motivated your candidates to apply.

By determining why a candidate wants to join the company, recruiters can better target and appeal to their desired applicants.

6.     Validate success and highlight areas for improvement with data.

Candidate experience measurement offers an accurate appraisal of what’s working and what’s not. Relying on real-time data rather than gut instinct provides a stronger foundation for future strategies to be built from.

7.     Review how your suppliers approach reflects upon the company brand and culture.

Whilst suppliers will provide you with their own appraisal of the process, without asking candidates how they have interpreted it, the real insights are lost.

8.     Keep candidate feedback forms short, concise and relevant.

Candidates have already spent time completing their application, the last thing they’ll want to complete is pages of forms. By keeping forms short, concise and most importantly relevant,  there will be a higher completion rate with more detailed answers.

9.     Make it anonymous.

Using an outside third-party to complete the measurement ensures that candidates know their answers are anonymous and won’t affect their chances of being hired. They are, therefore, more inclined to fill out the form and provide honest answers.

10.     Visualise the data and make it accessible.

Accessibility of data across any device allows users to access it anywhere whether on the move or presenting to colleagues. Ensuring it is visualised into an easy to understand format ensures individuals from all levels and departments can understand the data and apply it to their own tasks.

With the deadline for submitting entries to the awards today, we look forward to seeing the results to this category in January. Good luck to all the entrants!

(Sourced from: http://www.mysteryapplicant.com/2013/10/11/candidate-experience-mea...)