Recruiter Efficiency & Candidate Experience Are Related

The US economy seems to be hitting its stride since 2009 and the heat is back on for talent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that job openings have soared to the highest point since 2007, and more employees are leaving their jobs because of increased confidence in finding another one. While this trend generally creates more opportunities and options for job seekers, not everyone is benefiting from all the job openings. Certain skills such as IT and skilled trades are in high demand, while others are in decreasing demand and the candidate pools are increasing.

What does this mean for the candidate and their experience in finding a job?

1. Recruiters will become less efficient and effective

Most recruiting organizations will find themselves in a reaction mode to meet the hiring demand. This is typically because they do not have an accurate way to predict where the hiring will occur within their organization and which skills will be most impacted. Those recruiting organizations that have a strategy to address hard to find and high volume positions typically are not as deeply impacted.

2. Candidates will find themselves deeper in the black hole

When recruiters become inundated with candidate applications due to an increased workload they tend to become less responsive to candidates. All research shows that candidates are interested in feedback throughout the process, whether if it's positive or negative. Candidates will have to become more creative and aggressive in seeking feedback.

3 things recruiting organizations can do to address the issue

1. Measure your candidate experience

More and more recruiting teams are implementing some sort of measurement of their candidate experience. An effective and simple way to do this is to use the Net Promoter Score or NPS. Net Promoter or Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a management tool that can be used to gauge the loyalty of a firm's customer relationships. It serves as an alternative to traditional customer satisfaction research and claims to be correlated with revenue growth.

2. Understanding recruiter gearing ratios

A growing trend in recruiting organizations is the use of 6Sigma and other data driven performance management tools. One way to ensure recruiters are not inundated is to understand the recruiter opening gearing ratios. Typically, recruiting managers track the number of people placed per month or quarter by recruiter. This does not give an accurate look into the workload because of potentially cancelled reqs or varying candidate volumes by position type. Understanding the point in which the recruiter opening workload negatively impacts other metrics such as experience and candidate quality is important.

3. Seek external options

Lastly, seek external options such as staffing companies or search firms. This of course goes without saying, but it is an important tool in managing recruiter workload. Understanding which positions are best suited to be outsourced is critical in ensuring quality and an improved experience.