Recruitment is never done right if you fail to map, measure, and enhance your results. And sure – all candidate experience metrics are essential. So here’s one of the key indicators you absolutely need to track: candidate job satisfaction.
What does this type of evaluation tell you? Why is it crucial to measure the outcomes? How can you obtain the needed information?
Use this simple guide & upgrade your approach and hiring process according to the insights you get.
What is candidate job satisfaction?
Recruitment metrics are essential. The pieces of information obtained through them can help out any company pinpoint its fors and againsts. That way, the people in charge of attracting and recruiting new hires can come up with more effective ways to get their jobs done & develop new tactics. For instance, they could pay more attention to their social media recruitment game or go for a completely different approach, such as external or internal referrals.
And sure, candidate job satisfaction is a metric you just can’t skip. It’s the one that helps you grasp how candidates perceive your entire hiring process and the role they’ve applied for/have been sourced for. The best ways to track their satisfaction properly include surveys or collecting feedback from job seekers during and after the process.
So, the key is to get to know how talents you’ve interacted with feel about your brand and the candidate experience you’ve been building.
Why candidate job satisfaction is the key
According to research, both active and passive job seekers tend to get very vocal about their negative experiences. Whether it was an overly pushy recruiter, a lack of feedback or responsiveness, or a salary negotiation gone wrong, most of them would speak out. In fact, 70% will almost certainly share a poor experience via Glassdoor or another similar website that rates companies. So, if you hold your brand and all future recruitment efforts dear, be sure not to mess this part up.
Even though this matter is huge, it’s still far from being the sole reason to direct your thoughts and tries toward candidate satisfaction. More satisfied candidates usually help companies reach a higher offer acceptance rate. And simultaneously, firms get to save up a pretty penny due to more efficient hiring.
👉 Here’s the key point: you don’t really have to develop all recruiting tactics by the sweat of your brow. Some solutions are fairly quick and painless. But (nearly) all have to be accompanied by some assessments and metrics: to be extra sure that everything is coming up brand advocacy.
How do you measure candidate satisfaction?
When evaluating your processes and their impact on the candidates, it’s vital to keep your eyes on what truly matters. Then, you can go for the tested formula – a poll or survey that’s created accordingly. While there are other ways to measure candidate job satisfaction, this is the most popular one.
Usually, companies focus on key points like the strength of communication. It is also essential to double-check how well informed candidates felt about the company’s culture and benefits and how well they were prepared for their interviews. This data should be collected, processed, and analyzed. That is how you get your candidate satisfaction score. In fact, it’s similar to how a Net Promoter Score is calculated.
If this score goes below average, it’s a clear sign that you are overlooking your candidate experience metrics and their importance. So it would be best to retouch your strategies and see if the interview process is what’s annoying your prospects or scaring them away.
What is a candidate satisfaction survey?
A candidate job satisfaction survey should be composed and reviewed based on calculating the NPS (Net Promoter Score). So, here’s how it works – candidates should answer a set of questions that are related to their experiences with the company and its hiring process. Basically, they fill out a form where they get to use a scale of 0 to 10 to show how satisfied they were with each stage of their journey. And those answers get broken down into categories which helps companies measure the results.
All candidates who rate the processes with a score of 9 or 10 count as promoters, while those who gave it 6 pints or less are labeled as detractors.
Finally, it all comes down to this simple formula:
# of Promoters – # of Detractors = NPS
💡 But before you start evaluating your success, think about the type of information you need to measure as you assess your recruiting and hiring processes.
Candidate satisfaction survey questions you have to ask
When asking for feedback, it’s imperative that you respect the candidates’ time. So keep it brief and super simple. The best way to grab the info while not wearing out your potential hires’ will to cooperate is to go for a simple one-click reply.
These are the basic elements you absolutely need to tackle:
- Ask them to rate how realistic the job description was and whether it was consistent with the information they received before the interviews.
- Find out how well-informed they were about the upcoming meetings and assessments.
- Be sure to check out how easy it was to schedule the interview and whether the people in charge were accessible and flexible enough.
- Don’t fail to ask how likely they would be to apply again if they didn’t get the job offer.
- Learn how well the company communicated during each stage of the hiring process and whether the feedback a candidate received was detailed, objective, and timely.
- Ask them how likely they’d be to recommend the company to another job seeker with a similar set of skills and experience.
- Finally, ask the candidates to rate their experience as a whole.
Once you obtain the insights regarding these essential fields, it will be easier to come up with improved approaches and fresh ideas that will attract more qualified candidates and result in more quality hires.
Pro tip: When is the best time to run this survey?
Some candidates’ skills and personality traits make recruiters and hiring managers label them as the perfect match. Some, on the other hand, fail to meet the requirements and can’t fall under the “candidate persona” category. And finally, a certain percentage of prospects will just reject the job offer due to various reasons.
Still, it’s crucial to ask all candidates for feedback throughout each stage of the hiring process.
It may seem counter-intuitive. But asking candidates to reflect upon different stages of their journey immediately after going through them can generate data that matters. It yields insights that show the real pros and cons of your firm’s approach and processes.
But brace yourself: because not all feedback is going to be peachy-colored. First of all, you should know that those who get a job offer would normally rate your business higher than those you reject. But asking candidates for a quick review throughout multiple stages of the process catches job seekers’ real-time perspectives.
Keep track of the candidate job satisfaction through surveys
Knowing where you stand and how talents perceive your company is paramount. So be sure to create your very own candidate job satisfaction survey template based on the elementary points we’ve mentioned: starting with consistency, transparency, simplicity, and communication. Then, keep modifying it according to your needs and the results you’re focusing on. Once you pin on the strengths and weaknesses of your recruitment and hiring processes, it will be way easier to create a strategy or two that will add to your success.
Need more qualified candidates in your pool? If you’re hiring software developers and other tech talents, be sure to try the best recruitment tool – a referral-based platform that will help you nail your targets fast.
