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Three hundred employers and over 220,000 job seekers from around the world make up the 2017 Talent Board benchmark research class. Starting this week, Talent Board will be releasing its benchmark research from North America, followed by EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific).

Talent Board is first non-profit organization to be focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience with data benchmark research. Its signature candidate experience research report covers the best practices, platforms and processes that enable companies to provide an exemplary recruiting experience to their job candidates, from pre-application to onboarding.

You can now download the North American Candidate Experience (CandE) 2017 research report here (select the North American region).

You can also still preregister for the EMEA and APAC reports by first selecting that region and completing the simple form here (to be released later in February 2018).

Measuring candidate experience feedback is critical for employers to understand the potential business impact of their recruiting processes and technologies on the candidate journey, considering that most never get the job. Unfortunately for 46 percent of candidates who participated in our 2017 research worldwide, and who believe they have had a very “negative” overall experience, say they will take their alliance, product purchases and relationship somewhere else. That means a potential loss of revenue for consumer-based businesses and referral networks for all companies. However, 65 percent of candidates say their had a very “positive” experience overall and will increase their relationship with those employers by applying again, referring others and making purchases if and when applicable.

When we asked employers which statement best represents how they gather feedback from candidates about the experience they had prior to expressing interest and applying to those interviewed and hired, about one-third of participating CandE companies said they survey candidates after they are hired. Less than 5 percent are surveying candidates before they apply (see figure below).

The North American Candidate Experience 2017 research report is available now and based on 180,000 surveys of candidates who applied to positions at 200 companies, again most of whom did not get the job. Through these candidate surveys, Talent Board discerned the current state of candidate experience, as well as the tools, processes and technologies employers today use in their recruiting practices, and how they contribute to the candidate experience. Key takeaways this year include:

• Take a Customer-Centric Approach: Corporate marketing and customer service aren’t the only teams today using social media channels and websites to serve “customers.” Savvy employers are making their recruiting teams available to answer questions during live chats on career sites and social media, as well as experimenting with chatbots to answer general employment questions. The latter frees up the recruiting teams to have more hands-on time with potential candidates already in play.
• Communication and Feedback Continue to Be Differentiators: CandE Award winners continue to differentiate themselves from pre-application to onboarding, communicating more with candidates, giving candidates feedback earlier in the recruiting process, and asking candidates for feedback even before they apply for a job. Most candidates who have an overall “very poor” 1-star and 2-star candidate experience – representing tens of thousands of candidates in the Talent Board research – are getting very little if any consistent communication and/or feedback, a missed opportunity in a highly competitive talent marketplace.
• The Business Impact Is Here for Good (Or Ill Will): The trend continues: candidates who believe they have had a “negative” overall experience say they will take their alliance, product purchases and relationship somewhere else. This means a potential loss of revenue for consumer-based businesses, referral networks for all companies and whether or not future-fit and silver-medalist candidates apply again. However, the good news is that those who had a “great” overall experience say they’ll definitely increase their employer relationships – they’ll apply again, refer others and make purchases when applicable. These aren’t just the job finalists either, or those hired, but the majority are individuals who research and apply for jobs and who aren’t hired.

You can now download the North American Candidate Experience (CandE) 2017 research report here (select the North American region).

Employers around the world interested in participating in the 2018 Talent Board Candidate Experience Awards benchmark research program can register starting in March 2018.

Kevin W. Grossman
President, Global Programs
Talent Board