With Canada’s unemployment rate currently at the lowest it’s been in four decades, it’s a tight market for recruiters. That’s why it’s more important than ever for employers to keep candidates well engaged throughout the recruitment process.

This means making changes to the way hiring has been done in the past. Savvy employers are realizing that candidates expect better communication throughout the hiring process—and that failing to meet those expectations is costing them top talent.

Reality Check: Taking Too Long is Losing You Talent

Hiring the right talent is an important decision; making good decisions takes time. Take too much time, however, and companies risk losing the best candidates in their pool.

A study conducted by Robert Half found that 6 out of 10 job seekers rated the long wait post-interview as the most frustrating part of the job hunt process. Moreover:

  • 23% lose interest in the firm if they don’t hear back within a week of the initial interview; and
  • 46% lose interest if they don’t hear back within 1-2 weeks of the interview.

Employers should be aware that the average time to hire in Canada is 20.1 days. This drops closer to 8 days in service industries. If your company is taking significantly longer than the competition to hire, top talent will almost certainly be going elsewhere.

The 48-Hour Rule

Given this, companies should aim to live by “the 48-Hour Rule.” This means that once you’ve interviewed a candidate, you should contact them with a yes/no decision within two days. While this may require some upfront time invested in getting hiring managers on board, the benefits of keeping candidates engaged are clear. This rule allows companies to have their pick of the top talent and reduces the risk that competitors will snap up desirable candidates. It also means job vacancies get filled quicker: a plus for any business.

Focus on Communication that Builds Employer Brand

Living by the 48-Hour Rule is just one way to build employer brand by communicating quickly. Remember: it’s good business sense to treat your candidates like customers. When 75 percent of candidates never hear back after applying for a job, there’s an opportunity for companies to set themselves apart. Implementing consistent, timely, and courteous communication with candidates helps boost a company’s reputation, not only with candidates, but with current employees and customers, too.

At Mindfield, we’ve been focusing on how we communicate at all stages of the process. When we present candidates to our clients, we give the client a two-day window to make their decision. This addresses the reality that almost 25% of candidates report dropping out of the application process if they don’t hear back within a week. This strategy helps our clients reduce the risk of losing top talent, and supports an effective candidate communication process.

Looking to lower candidate dropout and improve the recruitment experience? Learn how Mindfield’s solutions can help keep your candidates engaged.

 

About Mindfield

Mindfield is a Recruitment Outsourcing solutions provider that partners with companies to create powerful hourly workforces. Our solutions combine a recruitment team, simple to use technology and a data-driven hiring strategy that promises to improve the quality of your hourly workforce. This approach focuses on tying business outcomes such as sales performance, tenure, and engagement to the selection, hiring and measurement of quality candidates.