Peer Group Communications to Sponsor First-Ever U.K. Candidate Experience Awards

Company to Support Inaugural U.K. Event as Gold-Level Sponsor


LONDON--(Marketwire - Aug 6, 2012) - The Candidate Experience Awards, a non-profit organisation focused on facilitating the evolution of the employment candidate experience, today announced that Peer Group Communications, an employer brand consultancy specializing in Employer Value Proposition (EVP) development, is a gold-level sponsor for the first-ever U.K. Candidate Experience Awards (known as "The CandEs").

Research from last year's North American CandEs found that an average of 8 per cent of those who apply for jobs at a company are likely to come away from the application process with enough resentment to affect their status as customers of that firm. Moreover, job seekers with a negative candidate experience are likely to share their anger with others, negatively impacting brand and potentially the company's bottom line. As a CandEs sponsor, Peer Group Communications is helping evangelise the impact of candidate experience and employers worldwide to improve the candidate experience and provide visibility into the recruiting process and candidate expectations.

"As leaders in the field of employer brand management, Peer Group Communications are delighted to support the inaugural UK Candidate Experience Awards (CandEs)," said Nick Holker, director at Peer Group Communications. "The way in which employers treat potential employees can have a major impact on their reputation and consequently their ability to attract and retain the people they need. In the age of social media, a bad experience can be shared with hundreds if not thousands of friends and colleagues within a matter of hours. These awards are a good way of highlighting the importance of delivering many elements of the employer brand through professionalism, courtesy and timeliness in the recruitment and selection process, and of recognising those companies that consistently demonstrate those qualities."

The Candidate Experience Awards recognise those companies who set a high standard for how they engage and treat candidates. Participating organisations receive a benchmark report allowing them to see how their candidate experience measures against the aggregate of all other companies in the CandEs. Following the tremendous success of last year's 2011 North American Candidate Experience Awards, the inaugural U.K. programme is open to organisations that recruit in the British employment market.

"More companies worldwide are recognising the benefits of providing jobseekers with a positive candidate experience and working to elevate the application process to a new standard," said Talent Board member and partner at Talent Collective, Jeremy Tipper. "As we take the Candidate Experience Awards to the U.K., we welcome Peer Group Communications' support and commitment to improving the candidate experience as we work to improve candidate experience standards and recognise exemplary companies."

About Peer Group Communications
Peer Group specialises in employer brand consultancy, research and communications. We help organisations across the globe to achieve their business objectives by identifying, articulating, promoting, managing and measuring the many and varied attributes that combine to define and differentiate them as employers.

About the Candidate Experience Awards
The Candidate Experience Awards is a non-profit organisation focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience. The organisation, awards programme and sponsors are dedicated to recognising the candidate experience offered by companies throughout the entire recruitment cycle and to forever changing the manner in which job candidates are treated. More information can be accessed at http://www.thecandidateexperienceawards.org.