Employers looking to adopt mobile-friendly solutions in recruiting

Dive Brief:

Better communication with candidates is a priority across industry sectors, according to a recent study released by background screening company HireRight. The firm's study noted a particular interest in mobile-friendly processes, with 32% of technology industry employers, 29% of education employers and 25% of retail and manufacturing firms indicating an interest in deploying mobile-friendly application and screening processes.
Candidate experience is a growing priority for businesses, but none of the industries recorded had a majority of employers saying that candidate experience is their most significant challenge. The closest to this mark was the education industry, in which 40% of education industry companies said it was their most significant challenge. The value of screening and background checks was also rated; technology companies were more likely than those in any other sector to conduct checks for work experience, criminal records, education and references on a global scale.
Technology industry employers were also the most likely in the study to find credentialing discrepancies for mid- to senior-level applicants, HireRight said. A majority of employers in all industries reported discrepancies in junior-level job applications.

Dive Insight:

Strong communication is key to recruitment efforts, but many believe HR has some blind spots when it comes to effective messaging.

Previous research shows that employees, including remote and in-the-field workers, want more communication from HR. Bad communications are problematic for job seekers; 58% report clear communication would enhance the candidate experience, but not receiving information and callbacks from interviews were cited as irritants for 41% of candidates, according to a Harris poll survey.

Companies that don't heed the warning and continue to put forth a poor candidate experience risk not only losing out on talent, but also potentially damaging current employee engagement. One study suggests treating job seekers like customers by focusing on creating a fast and friendly experience, even for seasonal workers.

A recent series of awards, the 2018 North American Candidate Experience Award, honored employers who promote excellent candidate experiences, including Sheetz, Waste Management and T-Mobile. These examples can provide other companies with a starting point to improve their own processes.