The recruitment industry has a problem. It has a bad name amongst candidates. Over the past ten years or so there has been a shift away from what was perceived to be a personal service towards an on-line keyword-led transaction. Automation may have been necessary, even desirable in many cases, but a lack of focus on candidate experience (not to be confused with website interaction) has severed the connection between recruiter and candidate.
The difference is particularly acute in executive recruitment, where anecdotes of poor or non-existent service abound, even when contact has been initiated by an executive search agency.
It’s time for a change.
Changing jobs or seeking a new role following redundancy is not a transaction. It represents the candidate’s needs and aspirations whilst also providing validation of expertise and achievements. There needs to be a personal connection, not least because today’s executive candidate may be tomorrow’s search client.
At Customer Journey Consultancy, we believe that it is possible to strike a cost-effective balance between the selective use of automation and the quality of candidate experience. We believe in a more balanced model that can build candidate advocacy and employee engagement to create competitive advantage.
Naturally we recognise that one size does not fit all, so we work with you to collect insights from candidates and employees to provide a relevant foundation for idea generation. This is not about ‘blue-sky thinking’; it’s about personas and emotional engagement; it’s about making life easier for candidates and employees; it’s about collaborating to release useful ideas that can be implemented to deliver the intended benefits at a realistic cost.
In an increasingly crowded market with more candidates than ever seeking work, this may be the best time to step out from the crowd. It’s not about budget, it’s about balls. To quote a well-known doctor: ‘Cough’!
