Why Considerate Recruitment Is Good For Business

Ghosting – as everybody under the age of 25 knows – is when a partner or friend suddenly goes silent on you.No messages, no calls, no emails – nothing.Not nice in your personal life. But equally so when you apply for a job and then don’t hear a thing.That’s recruitment ghosting. It can be upsetting for a candidate, especially if they are on a run of bad luck with applications.And, in a general time of turmoil caused by Covid-19, Brexit uncertainty and an economic downturn, ghosting can cause further misery. Jobs are scarce and application lists are growing – a situation that won’t improve any time soon. Many people are going through a difficult period and may see a new job as a lifeline. So, they deserve to be treated with sensitivity and respect every step of the way.How do you avoid ghosting?If you put yourself in a candidate’s shoes for a minute, it’s easy to see that they want and need responses throughout the recruitment process, even if they don’t get the job or make the shortlist. A touch of humanity can soften the blow of rejection and give them the impetus to try again. Hearing nothing, by contrast, can leave someone wishing they’d never bothered.But, much as you want to be nice, a personal response to hundreds of applicants is probably not feasible.So, what do you do?You use technology to send out automated responses to all applicants and use details from within your CRM to add a personal touch.Now, although this won’t carry the same weight as a truly personal message, it still acknowledges the effort of each applicant. It’s a bit of hope and reassurance.Obviously your most important consideration is those candidates who made it through to the final stage, without landing the job. They deserve and need recognition of this, so you should think about how you can deliver positive and helpful feedback that is specific to their situation.The human touch is good for business Is it unnecessary effort to contact all candidates? Especially when time is short and you’re under pressure to fill roles and hit targets?No. Recruitment is an emotional process – behind each CV is a person, with career dreams and ambitions. Those that aren’t successful at least need recognition of their efforts.Acknowledging every applicant is morally right, but it’s also the correct business decision.Recruitment is about reputation and trust. If you ignore unsuccessful applicants, the impression they take away is that your interest stops as soon as they leave a shortlist.This makes your firm stand out as one to avoid. They may ignore your agency in the future, possibly when they’re in a hiring role, and could tell others how they were treated.In harsh economic times, like now, this may not be a problem – jobs are scarce, and applicants are numerous. But when things start to pick up that turns around, and it may be the turn of applicants to ignore you.Equally, think about your clients – those with roles to fill. Do they want to work with an agency with a reputation for treating people badly? Many would not.It doesn’t have to be this way. Technology makes it easy to add the human touch and give out some much-needed recognition and thanks to every applicant.So, a little time and effort invested in developing automated responses will not only help people at a time when they need it, but will also build your reputation and single you out as a trustworthy company that cares about applicants.Read more blogs