How Employers Sabotage Themselves

The Selection Phase

(Part 3 of 3)

The Talent Board (the non-profit organization focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience) and Maury Hanigan, CEO of SparcStart, joined forces for a recent webinar for Recruiters, HR Professionals, and Hiring Managers focused on what employers are doing right – and wrong – in the hiring process.  While you can click HERE to watch the whole thing (30 min), we’ve compiled the highlights and best practices in to a 3-part series that examines each phase of the hiring process – Attraction, Application, and Selection.  In Part 3, we will examine the selection phase of hiring. 

Missed Parts 1 and 2? 

• Part 1 -the Attraction Phase – click HERE
• Part 2 – the Application Phase – click HERE

The Selection Phase:

So now that you’ve decided to consider a candidate for the position, this is the time to put your best foot forward as the employer.  Though the candidate still needs to do well in the interview, this is someone you may want to extend an offer to, so the time to provide the best Candidate Experience is now. 

Starting with a phone interview?  Instead of just sending the candidate the date/ time, work within their schedule, and then send a calendar invitation with interviewer details and instructions on who is initiating the call.  And then be on time, and be respectful of the candidate’s time.  I once worked with a large banking client who made the candidate sign-on to the video conference 30 minutes prior to the interview beginning, just so they could ensure the tech worked prior to the Hiring Manager joining.  While I applaud the efforts to trouble-shoot tech, to make a candidate block out that amount of time was a major turn-off to many candidates.

Additionally, less than 40% of candidates surveyed were provided an agenda/ interviewer names prior to their interviews.  When I’m interviewing a candidate, I want to be asked relevant questions based on their research of the company and my role/ how we’d be working together.  And when a candidate asks me questions that they only would have learned from google/ LinkedIn on my background, it’s clear they’ve done their homework, which translates to gauging their level of interest/ enthusiasm in the position.  Hiring Managers want candidates who are prepared, and candidates want to be prepared, for interviews.  Anything short of that is a waste of time for all sides.

2016 Talent Board North American Candidate Research Report 

Delta has a video that send to candidates after an interview has been scheduled to walk them through the process/ set expectations.  No budget for that?  Consider recording your own fast-video (through Sparc or the like) along with an email to the candidate with the following info:

• Office location + google map (especially important if you are in a major metropolitan area like NY, where cross-streets rule and no one knows actual addresses)
• Line-up of interviewers with LinkedIn profile links or links to company bios, along with expected time with each interviewer
• Start time and expectation of departure

Candidates noted the following gestures made a big difference in their experience:

• Office tour
• Being escorted from office to office (as opposed to being based in 1 conference room)
• Some type of feedback at the end of the interview day

Also, if you are providing expense reimbursement for the interviews, make the process as easy as possible for candidates.  For example, Comcast has a concierge desk specifically for candidate travel questions.  No budget for that?  Consider creating a relationship with an external travel agent who will do the reservations on candidate’s behalf and submit reports to you.  At one of my former companies, we had one travel agent that we worked with exclusively – we introduced candidates to them via email, and the travel agent booked their travel using the Firm’s credit card and booking them at a firm-approved hotel.  There was a set amount on airline travel that the agency could book up to; anything additional required approval from the recruiting department.  This offered our cash-strapped law students an alternative to laying out their travel expenses on their credit cards.

While ensuring the candidate has the proper information to be prepared for the interview, it’s what happens during the interview that matters most.  Of the candidates surveyed, less than 50% reported that interview questions were appropriate to assess their skills as it relates to the position, that HR/ recruiting understood the position the candidate was interviewing for, and that hiring managers had a strong grasp on the recruitment process and other basic questions a candidate may have while considering a job at that company.

2016 Talent Board North American Candidate Research Report 

If you have the budget, consider bringing in an interview trainer to develop a customized interview model and train your interviews.  No budget for that?  Consider these tactics:

• Work with the direct hiring manager to understand the core competencies, and then assign each interviewer to dig in to each competency.  This way, the candidate is not being asked the same questions, while other aspects of the role are completely missed
• Create an Interview Tip Sheet that sits on your Interviewers’ desks and provides answers to candidate FAQs related to the process/ working at the company (investment in training/ professional development, community involvement, etc.).  At one of my former jobs, we designed the sheet to be taped to the side of the Hiring Manager’s monitor, and printed it on a heavy cardstock we had left over from another event. 
• Shadow the department for a few hours, and take a tour of their workspace.  Get to know the team’s recent wins, why this position is so vital, and what the department culture is.  Not only will this help in your recruitment/ screening efforts, but when a candidate asks you about company culture (perhaps how family-friendly your company is), you can respond with specific examples of folks on their team and how they make it work.

So now you’ve spent a lot of time and money considering the candidate, going through the interview process, discussing them during hiring committee meetings, etc. – now it’s time to wait, and wait, and wait. 

2016 Talent Board North American Candidate Research Report 

Over 50% of respondents said they had no feedback after an interview, and 43% reported some feedback.  While it is understandable that many companies don’t provide detailed feedback due to legalities, work with your legal team to understand what can/ cannot be shared.  Even telling the candidate something like “you did great during the interview, but we had another candidate that was a stronger fit” at least gives the candidate some sort of closure.  And by having a talent community where the candidate can stay engaged and apply to future roles leaves them departing the process positive that there may be other opportunities in the future.  At one of my former companies, everyone was told on the 1st day that there were only two things that could get you fired: being late, and emailing a candidate to reject them.  Now that 2nd part is generational – for example many millennials and Gen Z’ers that I’ve spoken with have said if its bad news, they prefer an email over a call.  If your department does decide emails are suitable for rejections post-interview, consider personalizing the email to individual candidates in some way.  There is nothing worse than taking a full day to interview at a company, plus investing hours to prepare and write thank you notes, just to get a form rejection letter.

When Candidates Withdraw

It is a complete waste of time and energy when a candidate you are really excited about withdraws from the process or declines an offer.  Here are common reasons why candidates withdraw from the process:

• Disrespected time – a candidate feels like the interview was a complete waste of time – interviewers were no-shows or hadn’t looked at the resume; no response to thank you notes; etc.
• Overall length of time – you took too long to respond, either to grant an interview, or to respond after an interview. 
• Took another job – unless the other job was their absolute dream job, what this means is the other company provided a better Candidate Experience, and made them feel more valued, than you did.
• Poor rapport – This directly relates to Candidate Experience – no connection with hiring managers = not feeling valued/ engaged
• Company culture not a fit - The company culture the candidate was exposed to relates directly to the Candidate Experience.  Though it is possible the candidate wasn’t in to the open office environment or the inability to bring their dog to work, more likely it has to do with how they were treated during the interview process.

Top 3 (and free) Ways to Fix your Candidate Experience

1. Create an interview process email template that sets candidate expectations.  Leave room to include the itinerary/ interviewer lineup.
2. Ensure your interviewers have a plan to try and eliminate duplicate or irrelevant questions.
3. Provide timely feedback.  Even if the feedback is “we need another week to make a decision,” any proactive communication from you to the candidate will be appreciated.

 Felicia Fleitman is the Founder of Savvy Hires, a workforce development & onboarding firm specializing in Intern & Apprentice Programs.  Check us out at www.savvyhires.com.