Improved recruiting process for a better ‘candidate experience’
This case study is adopted from a presentation by Olivia Melman, manager of recruiting operations, Digital Ocean, as presented at the ERE Recruiting Conference, San Diego.
It’s no secret the hiring process can be confusing and frustrating for candidates. A lot of times they never hear back after submitting an application, or they don’t know what to expect from an interview.
We didn’t want to miss out on interviewing a good candidate because of a clunky process, so we decided we needed an improved recruiting process. So we streamlined everything in order to optimize the candidate experience.
Better recruiting email
The first thing we did was redesign the email we use to
initially communicate with candidates.
The email we had been using was somewhat plain-looking, and wordy.
We edited every sentence to make sure it was as clear and concise, and said what we meant.
Next, we hired a developer to design an email template with our logo to give us a fresh look – we wanted it to be eye-catching and to show people what our brand is.
Next, we embedded useful links such as FAQs and Glassdoor
reviews for the candidates’ convenience.
Before, we used to manually upload these as PDFs, which
created a high chance for human error. Now, everything is conveniently located
in the email template.
Hiring interview preparation
Once we got the email right, we turned our attention to preparing candidates for the actual interview.
Interviews can be stressful and even a little mysterious at times. Candidates just don’t know what to expect. So we wanted to foster a sense of ease by being as transparent as possible.
We developed a candidate resource page, which gives
applicants a line of sight into the interview. It has information on how they
can prepare and how we evaluate them. We want them to know we aren’t trying to
trip them up or make things difficult.
Candidates also can engage with the hiring team and their potential future co-workers on the resource page before their interview to get any questions answered.
Not only that, candidates can see and get to know who’ll be
interviewing them. Our goal is for everyone to feel supported so they can be
their best self.
Scheduling the job interview
We know many of our candidates are traveling from out of
town to come interview with us, so we book all their arrangements for them.
Another thing we wanted to work on was assembling our
interview team. Everyone’s schedules were hectic and we needed to be able to
coordinate better.
We started using Slack to ensure everyone involved gets
interview reminders. Questions to help prepare are sent out as well.
We also track how often someone cancels or reschedules an
interview, so we can hold each other accountable – candidates’ time is
valuable!
A lot of these changes were small, but as we gradually rolled them out, it has made a big, positive impact. Candidates are coming in more relaxed and confident, ready to help us learn who they really are.
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