Talent Board Shares Findings of 2014 Candidate Experience Research

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 2, 2015) - Talent Board, a non-profit organization focused on the promotion and elevation of the candidate experience, today announced the release of its new eBook, "Candidate Experience 2014," now available for download. Based on the data collected during the organization's fourth annual North American Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards, the eBook reveals the best practices and proven strategies used by today's organizations to elevate the entire candidate experience, from initial candidate attraction and application to notification and onboarding.

The CandE Awards were established on the premise that companies that deliver a positive candidate experience -- whether they are hired or not -- keeping candidates informed throughout the hiring process, will benefit the organization in numerous ways. The multiple years of research now defend the concept that candidates who are not hired but were treated well are more likely to apply again, refer the company to their peers and remain a customer or admirer of the company, validating that a positive candidate experience is essential to a company's overall brand. The goal of the CandE Awards is to honor those companies that are committed to and elevated by their candidates as an organization that created a positive candidate experience.

To conduct the research for the 2014 CandE Awards, Talent Board evaluated survey responses from 95,000 candidates responding to more than 170 participating companies' requests to better understand the candidates' perception and experience during the recruiting process. As more companies and candidates alike recognize the importance of candidate experience, the CandE Awards have grown exponentially year over year, represented by the volume in 2014 over the 2013 program's 122 participating companies and 46,000 candidate surveys.

The findings from the 2014 CandE Awards research reveal several key trends, including:

• Nearly half of all candidates (47.7 percent) had no previous relationship with a company before applying, meaning that the candidate experience is the first exposure they have to a company's brand and highlighting the need to for employers to get it right.
• Company values are crucial to shaping an employer brand; 41.4 percent of candidates stated that the most important marketing material influencing their decision to apply was the company's values.
• Three-quarters (75.4 percent) of candidates said they were never asked about their experience by an employer, highlighting the lag in truly benchmarking how the candidate perceives the overall experience. 
• With 43 percent of candidates spending 30 minutes or more on the average application, and 10 percent spending an hour or more, time had less of an impact on the candidate experience compared to if the candidate felt they were able to accurately represent their skills and abilities to perform the job.
• Employers are winning at candidate experience; almost 70 percent of candidates reported that they would definitely or are likely to apply to the company again.

"The research behind 2014 Candidate Experience Awards illuminates the current state of candidate experience and highlights what employers must do to deliver a more rewarding, transparent and positive experience for all applicants," said Elaine Orler, chairman and co-founder of Talent Board. "As candidates continue to become more aware of what a strong candidate experience should be, their honest insight and feedback is crucial for companies to take the first steps toward improvement."