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About a quarter of North American job seekers (26%) say they’ve had such a great candidate experience that they’ll apply again, refer others, increase brand affinity, and make purchases from the company. But 13% of candidates feel the opposite, and plan to decrease their relationship with the company that provided a poor candidate experience.
The impact of your candidate experience can be far reaching, making it a crucial component of modern talent acquisition.
Here are 3 ways to measure candidate experience and identify opportunities for improvement.
1
Candidate experience surveys
The best way to measure and improve your candidate experience is to ask your candidates what they think about your hiring process.
Candidate experience surveys help you collect and analyze job seeker feedback at scale. Surveys can provide a unique mix of quantitative and qualitative data that helps you identify high-level problem areas while learning how they impact individual job seekers.
When to send surveys
The right time to send a survey depends on your goals.
For example:
There is an important caveat: You need to send the survey when your candidate experience is still fresh in job seekers’ minds.
Sample candidate survey questions
Again, let your survey goals guide you. The questions you ask should reflect the areas you care most about or want to improve upon.
Here are some sample candidate experience survey questions to get you started:
Pro tip:
Candidates are more likely to complete shorter surveys. Only 27% of people would be willing to answer more than 15 questions on a survey.
2
Employer reviews
Not every candidate will complete your survey—and some may hesitate to include candid survey feedback for fear of retribution.
Employer review sites may offer additional insights you can use to evaluate and improve your candidate experience.
Review sites to monitor
While most employer review sites are focused on collecting feedback from employees, some also allow candidates to leave feedback.
Here are a few examples:
You might also find candidate feedback on forums such as Reddit and Quora.
Monitor these sites regularly to stay informed about the state of your organization’s candidate experience.
3
Key performance indicators
Internal metrics can also indicate the state of your candidate experience. Use KPIs in conjunction with your candidate feedback loops to measure your candidate experience, identify opportunities for improvement, and measure progress.
Here are a few metrics you can use to measure candidate experience.
Withdraw rate
Many candidates who have been mistreated during the hiring process will withdraw their candidacy. Track the percentage of candidates who voluntarily withdraw—and why. Watch for concerning patterns and trends, such as a higher percentage of withdrawals due to compensation, so you can address the root cause.
The 3 most negative reasons North American candidates withdraw from the recruiting process are:
Time to stage
Speed is an important part of providing a positive candidate experience—and this matters at every stage in your hiring process. Monitor your time to stage to understand how long it’s taking candidates to reach each stage in the process.
You can use time to stage to improve your process in a couple key ways. First, you can identify bottlenecks in your recruitment process so they can be addressed. Second, you can use it to more accurately communicate your timeline to candidates.
Time to hire
Too many stages or taking too long to make decisions can cause candidates to lose interest and accept other offers.
Time to hire measures the duration of the interview process for a hired candidate, helping you measure your hiring speed and identify bottlenecks in your process. Track this KPI over time to ensure it’s staying within a reasonable timeframe—and make reasonable adjustments to reduce it.
Job offer acceptance rate
Candidates who have had a poor candidate experience are less likely to accept your job offer.
Track your offer acceptance rate over time to look for clues that your candidate experience may be driving job seekers away.
Final thoughts on measuring candidate experience
Measuring candidate experience isn’t just about gathering data—it’s about creating a hiring process that attracts and engages top talent while building your employer brand. Start with the basics, be consistent in your measurement, and use insights to make continuous improvements.
Remember, candidates are evaluating you just as much as you’re evaluating them. A data-driven approach to candidate experience helps ensure you’re putting your best foot forward and making the most of every interaction.
Ready to enhance your candidate experience? Learn how JobScore can help.
