SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 12, 2014) - Talent Board, a non-profit organization focused on the promotion and elevation of the candidate experience, today announced that its new eBook, "Candidate Experience 2013" is now available for download. Based on the data collected throughout the organization's third annual North American Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards, the eBook highlights the best-in-class strategies from candidate attraction to application, notification and onboarding used by organizations that deliver an exemplary candidate experience.
The CandE Awards were founded with the belief that companies that treat their candidates well, even those who are not hired, benefit in measurable ways and should be recognized for their success. As candidates who are not hired but were treated well are more likely to apply again, refer others to apply, and remain a customer or admirer of the companies to which they applied, a positive candidate experience is essential to a company's brand.
In conducting the research for the 2013 CandE Awards, Talent Board evaluated the survey responses of more than 46,000 candidates and 122 companies eager to look in-depth at their candidates' experience and see where there was room for improvement. The overwhelming response from companies and their candidates highlight the growing importance that both parties are placing on candidate experience. Participation in the CandE Awards continues to grow steadily, improving over last year's 17,500 candidate responses and 90 participating companies.
The findings from the process indicate several revealing trends, including:
- Fifty-three (53) percent of candidates rated their overall experience as either a four or five star experience, where 5 stars is the highest rating.
- Nearly 60 percent of candidates expressed some relationship with the employer prior to applying, suggesting that positive association is the employer's to lose.
- Winners of the 2013 CandE Awards were more likely than non-winners to set expectations for the amount of time it would take to apply, provide details on privacy commitments, include screening questions customized to the job or job family and ask candidates for feedback on the process.
- Continued improvement is needed in gathering feedback from candidates, with just 31.2 percent of organizations reporting that they ask candidates for feedback, and only half of those doing so routinely.
- An overwhelming majority of candidates (87.3 percent) reported feeling satisfied to very satisfied with how the application processes allowed them to present their knowledge, skills and experience, compared to 12.7 who felt dissatisfied.
- Nearly all candidates with a positive experience (96.9 percent) would refer someone to or apply again, defending that a positive experience for all candidates creates a stronger network for recruiters.
"The results of the 2013 Candidate Experience Awards highlight the growing emphasis that employers are placing on delivering a positive, insightful and rewarding candidate experience, from the application and interview stages all the way through onboarding," said Elaine Orler, chairman and co-founder of Talent Board. "Today's candidates are more aware than ever about what a strong candidate experience should be, and are eager to share those experiences with their peers and social networks, further demonstrating the need for employees to get the candidate experience right."
She continued, "The participants of the 2013 CandE Awards have proven to be ahead of the game, showing their desire to see what candidates think of their application processes and striving to improve. We are pleased to recognize all of the companies that participated in this year's awards and the 64 winners for helping Talent Board elevate and advance the role of the candidate experience. We also look forward to welcoming all participants and any company looking to benchmark their candidate experiences in the 2014 CandE Awards."
The CandE Awards program was established to evaluate the way in which employers and candidates engage during the recruiting process. Through three rounds of evaluation, Talent Board collected data on how each participating company produces its candidate experience while enabling them to confidentially benchmark their hiring practices. Companies' reported data was evaluated against collected candidate survey feedback for an accurate review of candidate experience.
The 2014 Candidate Experience Awards is now open to all recruiting operations based in North America. Participation is confidential and free.
The "Candidate Experience 2013" eBook is available for download at: http://bit.ly/2013CandE_Report.
About Talent Board
Talent Board is a non-profit organization focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience. The organization, awards program and its sponsors are dedicated to recognizing 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