5 Ways to Personalize Your Hiring Process While Remote Recruiting
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many companies are finding themselves switching to remote recruiting to fill their entry-level roles or internships. Campus career centers are cancelling in-person events and companies are temporarily closing their offices, which makes face-to-face interaction – and personalization in the hiring process – more difficult to manage.
RippleMatch data has found that entry-level candidates are more likely to have a positive candidate experience when they believe that the job process is personalized. By contrast, candidates have a negative opinion of an employer with an impersonal hiring process. If you are looking to maintain a positive candidate experience during your transition to remote recruiting, here are some tips on how to incorporate that personalized touch, even when candidates and recruiters are unlikely to meet in the same room.
Tailor your automated messages
Most of the time, a candidate formally enters the hiring process by submitting an application to your company’s job posting. But the response that the candidate receives immediately after pressing “submit” leaves a lasting impression. If the candidate receives an auto-reply that starts with “Dear Applicant” rather than their name, they will probably feel like they just sent an application into a void rather than to a hiring committee. It is equally troubling for job candidates to read an auto-response saying that the company will only contact candidates who will move forward in the application process. This leaves candidates in a state of uncertainty about how long the process might take, and it could mean losing out on top talent as they set their sights elsewhere.
Luckily, most ATS’s enable some degree of personalization for automated messages. This is more important than ever during remote recruiting. When setting up your automated messages, toggle the feature to include the applicant's name and the position he/she applied for. Within that auto-reply, you can also include more information about timelines and what to expect in next steps. For example, will it take a week for applications to be reviewed? Is the process likely to take longer than usual because recruiters are working from home? Should candidates expect a phone screen, a pre-recorded video interview, or a Zoom call as the next step? Common courtesy also dictates that candidates should learn whether or not they advance to the next round, so let them know that they can expect to hear back either way.
Respond promptly to candidate questions
Even if most of your office is working from home, candidates who advance to an initial phone screen or beyond should be connected to a real recruiter or hiring manager. This person should be their point-of-contact going forward and should be available to communicate with candidates during normal business hours. Remember that candidates are also navigating a confusing world right now and might have more questions (or different questions) than usual. Having a dedicated person to answer questions can make them feel that the company is still taking recruitment seriously and prioritizing a positive candidate experience.
Utilize video interviews with real hiring managers
In-person interviews may not be feasible right now, but that doesn’t mean that the entire interview process needs to feel distant. RippleMatch research found that entry-level candidates generally have a negative impression of video interview tools where they only record their responses and do not have any interaction with a real person at the company. While these may be part of the initial screening process, communicate to candidates that pre-recorded interviews are not a replacement for one-on-one interviews. Instead, incorporate live video interviews into the hiring process as a temporary fix. You can hold these “face-to-face” interviews over videoconferencing tools like HireVue, Skype, Zoom, or Google Hangouts.
Provide more interview and company information up front
If you have a video interview day where a candidate talks to several people, send out an itinerary with who they are talking to, when, and any additional helpful info like technical requirements. This will make the candidate feel like you’re investing time in their success and being transparent about how the interview process will go. To save time in sharing interview information, you can design a template once and fill in variable information for each candidate.
In addition, entry-level candidates who are undergoing live video interviews will not have the benefit of visiting the office or getting a feel for the company culture. Make extensive use of any existing recruitment resources like videos and digital brochures that highlight culture and benefits. You can also offer to virtually connect candidates with other employees at the company who have/had the same position. Encouraging virtual connections shows a level of care and going the extra mile.
Minimize your ghosting of candidates
No matter where unsuccessful candidates are in the application process, they deserve to know at which point they are no longer being considered for the job. Having a good ATS will help with communicating with candidates who do not advance past the initial application stage. But if you have had conversations with candidates, figuring out a process where you can let them know they won’t be moving further in the process can be beneficial in the long-run. While recruiting remotely, you might consider having a recruiter reach out to individual candidates via email or phone call to share feedback or let them know that they did not get the job.
As companies adapt recruiting methods to follow social distancing mandates, keep in mind that candidates don’t want to feel like just another number – especially during a time when they may feel more isolated than ever. Use a variety of tech tools that maximize real human contact, and stay in constant communication about recruitment updates.
