Recruiting talent is not a cakewalk, especially when the majority of the potential candidates are either millennials or Gen Z. They not only prioritize getting a job but also emphasize secondary factors like the company's culture, their application and interview experience, and communication with the recruiter and hiring managers. That’s where traditional recruiting techniques fall short and the need for a candidate engagement platform arises. Engagement platforms go beyond conventional recruiting techniques, employing technology such as AI, chatbots, etc. to build stronger relationships and streamline your hiring processes.
What else?
Candidate engagement platforms help recruiters maintain a steady stream of interaction with candidates throughout the process.
Deloitte states, 80-90% of talents can change their minds about a company/role depending on their candidate experience.
This adds more to the fact that effective engagement platforms are essential for staffing agencies and corporations and to recruit top talent. With this blog, we explore what candidate engagement means for recruiters in 2024 and throw some light on the best platforms you can integrate into your recruitment toolkit.
What Does Candidate Engagement Mean For Recruiters In 2024?
In 2024, candidate engagement is more than a buzzword – it’s a strategic decision, particularly in the context of recruiting millennials and Gen Z. A tech-savvy generation demands personalized and interactive experiences all through their candidate journey.
Understanding Candidate Engagement
Candidate engagement involves building relationships with potential employees and keeping them informed, engaged, and connected during the hiring process. Effective engagement requires using tools and technologies that create smooth, efficient interactions.
According to LinkedIn, 75% of job seekers research a company's reputation and employer brand before applying. This adds to the fact that maintaining consistent communication with candidates is essential to attract and hire the best talent.
The Expectations Of Millennials And Gen Z
Millennials and Generation Z are now a majority within the workforce, with particular preferences and expectations. They give priority to aspects like company culture, career growth opportunities, and work-life balance, among others.
A Glassdoor survey says that 77% of job hunters consider the culture of the company before submitting their applications, while over half of the respondents think that they would even accept a lower salary to be satisfied with their job.
Moreover, these age groups are highly tech-driven and demand prompt and open communication. Therefore, millennials and GenZs would rather engage with employers via social media and feel that regular communication is crucial for a good candidate experience.
The Impact Of Candidate Engagement On Hiring Success
Candidate engagement is not only confined to attracting top talent but also improves the overall hiring process. Engaged candidates are more likely to respond to job offers, attend interviews, and accept positions than those who lack a connection with the employer.
Furthermore, having a positive candidate experience will result in greater acceptance rates and reduced turnover. According to Forbes, this investment in candidate engagement can lead to a 70% improvement in the quality of hires.
How To Choose A Candidate Engagement Platform?
Selecting an effective candidate engagement platform is vital for attracting and securing the best talent. Here are five steps to guide you:
1. Identify Strategic Objectives
Each organization has some strategic talent acquisition objectives. Make sure the platform you choose aligns best with those objectives. Objectives can vary, from enhancing the candidate experience and streamlining your communication to improving your data analytics. Finalizing objectives will help you select platforms that make your recruiting experience a breeze.
2. Consider Easy Integration
When choosing a platform, continuously assess how well it integrates with your current technology, ex. AI candidate matching tool. Overall, your candidate engagement platform should integrate seamlessly with your existing HR stack. This includes your ATS, CRM, HRIS, and other essential tools used across the recruitment lifecycle. Integration ensures data normalization across systems and minimizes manual effort. It also assures you make your hiring decisions more efficiently.
3. Consider Cost and Support
Evaluate the platform’s ROI when selecting a candidate engagement platform. Look at the one-time/recurring costs as well as the cost-benefit over time, considering the potential improvement to your hiring efficiency and candidate experience. Be sure to look for pricing transparency and comprehensive services to support you in your implementation, ongoing training, and ongoing support.
By following these strategic steps, you can choose a candidate engagement platform that aligns with your professional standards, improves your talent acquisition process, and yields actual results.
Top 6 Candidate Engagement Platforms To Choose From
While there are many candidate engagement platforms, these six stand out for their innovative features and proven results. Check them out and see which one aligns best with your strategic objectives.
Nurturebox
Nurturebox is an automated candidate sourcing and engagement platform. Nurturebox makes it possible to export vetted candidate profiles to your ATS through their browser extension. They also support automated campaigns to keep candidates engaged throughout the recruitment process. It provides multi-platform candidate reach outs, detailed analytics, and is designed to remember previous candidate contacts to prevent error.
Key features of the product include accurate, qualified candidates data import, integration to top ATS systems, and multiple touch points for engagement. For pricing, you will have to contact a sales representative.
Jobvite
Jobvite enables you to find and retain the best talent by providing an unparalleled candidate experience through personalizing career sites. It allows for multichannel recruitment campaigns, AI-powered candidate sourcing, and detailed analytics to know how your engagement is doing.
Its feature set includes fully custom career sites, a powerful ATS, and detailed communication tracking. The product integrates with multiple services to help streamline and improve your recruiting process. For pricing, please contact sales.
Personio
Personio provides streamlined core HR tasks, including recruitment, by providing integration with various other services, ensuring cross-functional seamless processes. Personio can post job openings to over 600 job boards and easily manage candidate pipelines.
Its feature set includes vacancy management, wide job board reach, a unified dashboard, and workplace automation. The product offers multiple integrations and high levels of customer support. For pricing, please contact a sales representative.
Phenom
Phenom covers the recruitment process, from sourcing to analytics. Its AI-powered platform prioritizes candidates based on their skills and offers personalized career pages, chatbots, and automatic campaigns.
Key features include personalized career site experiences for candidates, CRM capabilities, automatic appointment scheduling, and video interviews. Phenom identifies passive candidates and then personalizes marketing campaigns. The price of Phenom is offered upon request.
TalentHub
TalentHub contributes to your employer brand by focusing on positivity and reputation among potential employees. It will also gather and analyze candidate feedback from job postings, emails, and other touchpoints; then provide refined recruiting strategy.
Features of TalentHub include job management, personalized candidate feedback surveys, along with powerful analytics and reporting tools. It will provide you with insights to help improve your talent strategy as well as meet the expectations of your candidates. Pricing for TalentHub can be provided by contacting sales.
Lever
Lever combines a CRM and ATS to make the entire hiring process one simple flow of work. Lever has features such as automated candidate engagement, custom messaging, and robust analytics.
Additional functions include candidate pipeline management, a simple HR tool integration process, and detailed reporting. It is designed to allow for improved communication and candidate experience from start to completion. The price for Lever is provided upon request.
3 Effective Ways To Engage Candidates
In attracting and retaining exceptional talent, it is essential to effectively engage candidates. Career Builder research indicates that 78% of job seekers claim their perception of how much a company values them depends directly on their overall onboarding experience. Therefore, these below-mentioned ways can help you effectively engage your candidates:
Leveraging WhatsApp
In spite of being informal, WhatsApp is an influential tool that can be used to attract candidates due to its popularity and accessibility. It also helps in creating stronger communication links between recruiters and candidates through regular updates, prompt feedback as well as speedy responses. This informality may perhaps make the interaction more personal. However, recruiters need to use WhatsApp judiciously to ensure professionalism in their communication. To optimize engagement without compromising professionalism, one should strike a balance between using WhatsApp and formal channels.
Hosting Virtual Hiring Events
Virtual hiring events can be hosted to attract a wider applicant pool. Organise webinars, Q&A panels, and live chat sessions with potential employees using platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. A company culture can be showcased, and the hiring roles can be explained through the virtual event. These virtual events can attract a variety of talent and give potential candidates a better idea of your organization.
Leverage Social media
Social media, including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, can be used to create a more engaging platform for your branding, company culture, values, and employee experiences. Utilize behind-the-scenes videos, success stories, and employee stories. Engage with ads to target potential candidates. Social media is a heavily used platform amongst millennials and Gen Z and is a strong way to connect with them.
Finishing Off!
In 2024, strong candidate engagement will remain critical to successful hiring practices. The best way to ensure candidate expectations are met is by utilizing technology and implementing strategic engagement methods. By utilizing an understanding of the engagement platforms, recruitment agencies, and HR firms will be able to source and retain top talent. These types of practices will make hiring more efficient and allow hirees to create candidate relationships.
