By mapping the journey, talent acquisition teams can better align their strategies with candidate expectations, leading to improved engagement and better hires. Mapping any process in business takes time and can be an exercise in managing group dynamics, planning, etc, so go into this exercise with an open mind. This article was written as a guide to get you and your team started on your journey to improving your candidate experience.
Every business is different; therefore, every process map will be different. This four-step approach is meant to be a conversation starter or a foundation upon which you can build the right map for your particular needs.
At Largely, we think of the candidate's journey as a flywheel rather than a linear path. This approach emphasizes the interconnected nature of the recruitment process, where each stage builds upon and influences the next.
The candidate's journey, seen as a flywheel, consists of the following stages:
A candidate persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal candidate. This profile includes demographic details, professional background, skills, motivations, and behavioral traits. These personas will help you and your team better articulate the candidate's needs, what touchpoints will occur during the journey, and the potential channels to facilitate those touchpoints.
Different companies create personas in different ways, but most include some form of the following:
We recommend interviewing current employees or gathering data from active job seekers in your pipeline.
Once you have defined your personas, you must consider what they need at each stage of the journey. What questions will they have? What are they looking for in an opportunity at each stage? Align these needs with those of your organization and understand what content you'll need to answer those questions. This content can range from testimonials from key talent ambassadors to specific components of your culture on your website to preparing the hiring manager with the proper training to answer the questions.
You want to ensure your recruitment strategy is both candidate-centric and aligned with organizational goals. It is nearly impossible to be authentic when there is misalignment.
Various channels can be used to facilitate these touchpoints, such as Social Media, Job Boards, Targeted Job Ads, Career Sites, Company blogs, Email, SMS, Phone calls, and Meetings. Anywhere that can make potential candidates aware of or interact with your employer brand is a channel.
Choosing the right channels for each journey stage is essential to ensure effective communication. For example, social media is fantastic for showcasing your employer brand or generating interest in roles at a new location. However, it isn't suited for one-to-one communication after the application. Each channel has its strengths and weaknesses. Think about what you want to accomplish with a particular touchpoint, and then ke
Once the candidate journey map is created, the next step is to measure its effectiveness in your recruiting process and implement improvements.
Once you align the candidate journey touchpoints and channels to each stage of the candidate journey for a candidate persona, you can start collecting or developing the content, messaging, and processes for each stage. You'll likely find you already have much of the necessary content created, and it might just need a refresh or formatted for a particular medium.
Effectiveness can be measured by analyzing the conversion rate between stages, examining ATS stage data, conducting candidate surveys, interviewing hiring managers, reviewing company site feedback, and conducting 90-day check-ins with new hires. Your candidate experience will be directly impacted by the measures you have taken in each stage, so be sure to take the time to understand how you will measure the impact.
Based on the data gathered, map your analysis to the relevant stages and touchpoints. Engage stakeholders in the review process, discuss the findings, and make informed suggestions for improvement. Remember, the hiring process is a journey, not a destination.
We're here to help. If you have questions about creating a better candidate journey, we'd love to answer them!
