CAREER & DEVELOPMENT

RECRUITMENT
FROM SCRATCH
HOW TO RECRUIT WITH
A CANDIDATE-ORIENTED
APPROACH?

Employee experience has become an essential component of HR

strategies. By providing exemplary working conditions and increasing
employees’ engagement, a company creates a friendly workplace
and improves the satisfaction of those currently employed. Today,
engaging in a dialogue with employees and building a business brand
cannot be limited only to the steps taken inside the organization.
The pre-employment phase often recruitment. This approach aims also who fits the employer’s profile.
determines the success of future to build satisfying candidate experience The growing costs of recruitment
cooperation between employees and of those applying for a given position. processes and a struggle for retaining
their company. It may also strengthen It is not a completely new concept. qualified staff are also significant.
the positive image of the employer But the fact that more and more In highly specialized industries finding
on the outside. The recruitment companies now use it emphasizes the right candidate can be especially
the importance of switching to different
process is also the first step in building difficult and time-consuming. An ideal
a relationship with potential employees standards. A passive recruitment employee should not only fulfill the tech-
that shapes their future experiences. model, focused solely on the employ- nical requirements but also be a good
As the report Employee experi- er’s needs is replaced with the one that match to the company’s culture. Candi-
ence in Polish companies suggests, recognizes the value of maintaining dates who have the desired skills may
„The moment when the potential candi- a good relationship with the candidate. then selectively choose from companies
The change to a candidate-driven
date first hears about the brand, recruit- available on the market.
ment process, interview, first day, week,
method of hiring is a result of the current
and month of their work are important job market situation. The search for HOW TO TAKE CARE
stages of employees’ life cycle, and talents will remain one of the greatest HR OF THE CANDIDATE DURING
the impressions formed at those points challenges in the next five years. When THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS?
define their view on the company.”1 the unemployment rate is at 5.7%2 and Adjusting organization’s recruitment
the industry experiences “a fight for model to the candidate-first approach
FROM A PASSIVE RECRUITMENT talents,” job seekers play a key role. Filling does not require making revolu-
TO THE CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE an open position is challenged not tionary changes. Steps undertaken
One of the most recent trends in talent only by finding a right candidate in this process do not have to lead
management is candidate-centric who meets the position’s criteria but to a complete redefinition of the current
strategy. Instead, they should be incre-
Employee experience in Polish companies,
1 2
Data of the Central Statistical Office (GUS).
Aon Poland, 2018. mental and consistent.

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CAREER & DEVELOPMENT
The primary focus should lay
in the attempt to understand the candi-
date journey  – the path that person
applying for a position follows.
It may be a good idea to look
at the entire recruitment process from
the perspective of someone who is
just starting to apply for a job. This
exercise should take into account
every stage of the process. Starting
with the job advertisement, going
through the communication with
a recruiter and the interview, and
ending with the adaptation program,
it is worth to analyze all touch-points
on the candidate’s way. It helps
to identify and optimize the recruit-
ment process so that it is as simple
and transparent as possible. Addi-
tionally, all elements that discourage
candidates from applying for
a job may be more easily eliminated.
According to the Candidate Experience 2017 study,
as many as 62% of respondents claim that companies
do not care for the candidates who apply for a job.
Other ideas that transform the re-
cruitment model include reviewing
the company’s career site with
the aim of making it more intuitive
and understandable for people outside
the company. Similarly, the entire
application process should be simpli-
fied so that it does not discourage
potential candidates from sending
their CVs. Candidate-oriented recruit-
ment also calls for a detailed analysis
of non-financial factors that encourage
job seekers to apply for a given posi-
tion. Its results should lead to adjusting
the offer to current market expecta-
tions. When describing additional bene-
fits offered by the organization, it is
important no to use vague statements
such as “great atmosphere” or “dynamic
development” that can be interpreted
variously by different people. Instead,
they should be specified to include
concrete examples like languages
lessons or access to the office library.
Another solution is to ask new hires
who just ended their recruitment
process for feedback.
Activities related directly to employer
branding also strengthen the positive
candidate’s experience. Their main
28
focus should be put on distinguishing that could have been otherwise
the organization from its competitors. prevented. Additionally, in many cases,
Defining company’s values and mission, candidates applying to the organiza-
which potential employees could tion are also its clients. Bad impres-
identify with, coming up with a clear sions formed during the recruitment
career path and scope of responsibil- process may be translated directly
ities, or creating an attractive image into their loss.
of the employer in the social media are
just some of the examples. One of the main benefits of candi-
date-centric recruitment is its ability
The foundation of the candidate-cen- to build a successful brand image.
tric recruitment process lays in treating Employees who were happy with
every applicant with respect and their recruitment process will be more
attention. According to the Candi- willing to recommend their workplace
date Experience 2017 study, as many to others.
as 62%3 of respondents claim that
companies do not care for the candi- A positive candidate experience
dates who apply for a job. The lack also streamlines the onboarding
of communication and feedback are process. New hires, who felt supported
cited as the main causes of the unsat- by their future employer throughout
isfactory experience. When candidates the entire recruitment are better
are assured they will get a response prepared for their new role.
regardless of the decision but The success of each business is
do not receive one, they feel particu- the result of the effort people from
larly discouraged. the organization put in their work.
Happy employees are the best adver-
WHY PRIORITIZING tisement for the employer. To attract
THE CANDIDATE IS A CRUCIAL and retain exceptional talents
PART OF THE RECRUITMENT in demanding market conditions,
STRATEGY? it is necessary to carefully analyze
Dynamic development of technologies elements encouraging candidates
and social media channels allows for to apply for offered positions. Keeping
an immediate spread of information. in mind the fact that the company is
Candidates also like to share their composed of employees, it is worth
opinions online. As many as 72% paying attention to them even before
of respondents declare they have they join the organization.
described their bad experiences
online or directly to others.4 If they Do you want to know more about
feel ignored or mistreated, it seems the effective recruitment process
likely they will advise others against and efficient onboarding? Visit
applying to the given company. www.skilohr.com. 
It leads not only to the loss of poten-
tial candidates but above all negates
the efforts to attract the best talents
to the organization. Building employ- Author:
er’s brand is then contrasted with
the burden of negative experiences
of people from outside the company
3
Candidate Experience 2017, eRecruiter
and Great Digital report, 2017. Aleksandra
Kowalczyk,
4
The State of the Candidate Experience, Marketing Specialist,
CarrerArc, 2017. Enxoo Sp. z o.o.
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