Thu, 5 Dec 2013Failure to ask candidates to join a talent community is one of the biggest mistake employers make in their recruitment process.

This is according to a new report from recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) firm Seven Step RPO. Available online, the report has the lengthy but very much definitive title ‘Seven Step RPO Talent Acquisition Survey: Four Mistakes That Talent Acquisition Departments Make That Drive Thousands of Candidates Away’.

Over 2,500 US candidates were surveyed, with the RPO provider putting together four key ways firms are risking their employment brands through careless practice. They are:

1. “Two-thirds of companies are not bringing their recruitment efforts full-circle by capturing interested candidates within a talent community. Companies cannot afford to keep making this mistake.”
2. “Employers should design their online applications with target prospects in mind.” Candidates of different age groups, salary levels and geographic locations have differing levels of patience for online application forms. “There is no one-size-fits-all online application process companies can deploy,” the report says.
3. Three-quarters of companies “are putting their employment brands at risk” by making applicants wait more than two days for acknowledgement of their online application. “The proliferation of social sharing among candidates has opened the door to potentially damaging criticism,” Seven Step notes. Millenials in particular should be engaged to avoid damaging fallout.
4. Applicants are split between those preferring to email their CVs to an HR contact (49%) and submit their application via an online form (48%). Only 3% like to go direct to the hiring manager. The study recommends: “Employers should include a direct HR contact alongside automated forms as a best practice, especially for positions requiring more experienced applicants.”
   

Seven Step president Paul Harty says: “Corporations need to recognise that their job application process is the gatekeeper of their recruitment success. Those that ignore candidate preferences risk losing top talent and tarnishing their employment brands.”