Candidate Expectations From Employers in 2020
Meeting candidate expectations throughout the hiring process can help your company stand out a long way. It’s the little things that help employers earn a reputation for being people-centered, done consistently: painless application experiences, timely follow-ups with each candidate, a seamless interview process that uses smart questions, and so much more.
Here are the things that you should know about employers seeking candidates.
1. A CEO who puts talent first
A recent survey of relationship-building platform Thanks found that 96 percent of employees say that feeling appreciated at work is somewhat important or very important, yet only 37 percent indicated that they were satisfied with the level of gratitude expressed to them at work.
This is just one facet of an overarching demand for CEOs to move away from thinking about their employees as a resource to a strategic investor.
2. The ability to reach candidates where they are
Technology is now so seamlessly integrated into our daily lives, it’s almost a shock when a business isn’t social, mobile-optimized, or uses omnichannel recruitment.
That is because the preferences of candidate communication are undergoing a transformation. Gen Zers makes more use of their smartphones than any other device. And now 1 in 5 users of smartphones blocks advertising when they browse. Last but not least, 50 percent of adults aged 18–24 are now saying that texts as calls are no less meaningful to them.
3. Experience for a world-class candidate
Imagine the deception a candidate may feel after falling in love with your company and applying only to be lost in a disorganized hiring process that shuns them from recruiters to hiring managers with little to zero communication between them. They are going to be the ones to ghost you!
Candidates today have no time for disjointed experiences. And with a mere 0.9 unemployed people opening up every job in the U.S., the business has no time for them either. The best candidates will be off the market in 10 days so it’s a must to provide a world-class experience.
4. Domestic mobility
More than half (57 percent) of workers today believe that finding a new job with a different employer is easier than finding it with their current organization. That’s bad news for business and not just because the average company is spending around $4,000 per open role hiring a new worker.
Candidate expectations for opportunities within themselves. LinkedIn research shows that if it invested in their careers, 93 percent of employees would stay longer at a company. And offering career training and development would keep out of their present position 86 percent of millennials.
5. Diversity and Integration
Employers committed to diversity have seen a significant increase in the last decade. But as businesses started prioritizing diversity without tandem focusing on making everyone feel inclusive and safe in the workplace, candidates began to feel like D&I was an empty promise.
That’s why the next decade is all about getting workplace diversity and inclusion. Two-thirds of job seekers say a diverse workforce is an important factor in assessing businesses and job offerings. It’s even more important for millennials, 83% of whom say they ‘re engaged at work when they believe the organization fosters an inclusive culture.
6. Business decisions which relate to the mission of the company
Why a company hires a new role, scaling to a new location, or acquiring a new company is very important to the people who are already working there. After all, when they applied, they bought into the mission and they want to feel like they understand where the firm is going.
For good reason, transparency is a barometer of the success of a company. Research shows that high trust organizations are 2.5 times more likely than lower performance organizations to operate as a high-performance company with growth in revenues. Therefore, it’s no wonder that transparency from the top is one of the items candidates want more in the coming years.
7. Onboarding from candidate to employee is seamless
Today’s candidates want to develop their skills and careers in companies. Yet insufficient employers invest after a hire has been made, leading to productivity loss and increased attrition. The solution, right? Companies need to make efficiency easier for all employees as quickly as possible.
One way that companies can help new hires hit the running ground is by giving priority to the onboard experience. Research shows new employees who go through a structured onboarding program are 58 percent more likely after three years to be with the organization. And a good onboard system will help boost the efficiency of new hires by 70%.
Conclusion
For employers and workers alike it is a changing world. With candidates more than ever having a say in where and how they work, it is important that companies are ready to pivot as emerging trends in talent acquisition become the new norm.
