The Candidate Experience Economy
This weekend in Toronto, the Jordan store opened — and, as a shoe lover — I had to go check it out. I was blown away. I walked in the store and above me was an NBA basketball net with people putting up shots. There was a DJ spinning records. There was a customization section where you could create a unique t-shirt. Upstairs there was a top of the line fitness facility which let you try out new shoes, and work out with professional sports trainers. There was even a barber to give you a fresh haircut, and a couch with an 80-inch TV to play video games on. The entire store was Jordan branded. There was a clear consumer experience that started the second you stepped in the door. And each and every customer had the opportunity to engage with the experience in a way which spoke to them. This is the experience economy.
The term “Experience Economy” first appeared in an article written by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore almost a decade ago in 1998. In the article, Pine and Gilmore outline a new economy where businesses must compete by creating memorable experiences for their customers. They could not have been more right.
Top companies today build incredible consumer brands, create meaningful experiences and go as far as defining entire Iifestyles. It’s clear that in 1998 the experience economy was the future. And, if you think about why you shop at your favourite store, or go to your favourite restaurant, or head to your favourite festival — it’s clear that the experience economy is here… and here to stay.
Why don’t companies treat their employer brands the exact same way? Why don’t companies treat their candidates as consumers? Why don’t companies brand their job seeker experience, create lasting impressions, and include meaningful engagement? Why are companies’ candidate experiences still stuck two decades ago in 1998?
If you want to compete in today’s top talent market, building an employer brand and creating a differentiated candidate experience must be the backbone of your talent attraction and recruitment strategy. Posting generic job ads, and praying for qualified candidates simply won’t cut it anymore. In the candidate experience economy, companies that exceed candidate expectations by providing the best candidate experience attract and acquire the best talent.
Here’s how you can succeed in today’s candidate experience economy.
Brand your candidate experience
The first step in building an outstanding candidate experience is to understand that it begins before a candidate applies for a job. Companies invest into exciting careers pages that showcase culture and celebrate employees and achievements, however, click into a job listings page and all that employer branding is lost to generic text-based job postings.
Employer branding must be considered in every step of the candidate experience. Which includes the design elements of your company job listing page and job postings. Companies with a poor employer brand need to pay $4,723 more per hire in order to convince a candidate to accept a job offer. Each touch-point of the candidate journey should be branded to unify an experience that captivates the candidate from first-contact to hire. Bring excitement and creativity into job postings — they’re an extension of your employer brand and careers page.
Leave your desired impression
Put yourself into the shoes of a candidate and ask yourself how you feel about the process. Is it simple, quick and painless? Is the careers page exciting? Is the job posting clear and engaging? Did the job description and duties make sense? Were you given a clear next steps? What impressions are you left with?
One of the most common mistakes companies make is providing an inconsistent candidate experience. This inconsistency negatively impacts how candidates perceive your company and employer brand. In Canada, the annual cost of a poor employer brand is estimated at approximately $3.5 million per year.
This mistake can be easily solved by focusing on building an undeniably good impression directly into your careers pages and job postings. Provide clarity and clearly convey expectations with regards to qualifications, culture and fit. Provide your candidates a chance to explore, and learn more about the purpose-led position and the impact they will have on the organization. The higher the quality of the impression you provide, the higher the quality of your candidates.
Engage your candidates
The final step of developing a consistent and impressionable candidate experience is including engagement and interactivity. The key is to maximize the candidates participation by immersing them in a meaningful interaction throughout the journey. At the end of the day, candidates are consumers too. Not only should you provide them with interesting content, but it should be designed in a way that meets their expectations as a consumer.
The easiest way to engage candidates is through providing “snackable” content in a user-friendly way. Utilizing multimedia such as culture videos, and clickable content (such as career pathways) in careers pages, and even directly in your job postings goes a long way in creating meaning for candidates. Provide transparency about the position, highlight the company culture, and give an inside look into the organization. SkillScout is a perfect example of an engagement provider that helps companies build visualized job postings to engage their target market and showcase insider experience.
Again, put yourself into your candidates shoes. Would you enjoy passively clicking through job postings, and careers pages? Or, would you rather be led on a candidate journey that includes interesting content that appeals to you? I rest my case.
A candidate experience is not built in one day. But better understanding the components to building one will help you achieve the type of candidate experience you’re striving for, and help you attract the type of talent you’re looking to hire.
