How top companies build an award-winning candidate experience

Introduction

Candidate experience is a central pillar of hiring great talent. 89% of candidates say that their experience in the interview process impacts their decision to accept an offer, and most won’t apply if they’ve heard negative things about your business. It’s crucial to get it right.

cord celebrates hiring teams delivering outstanding candidate experiences through the Hiring Leaders Awards. We interviewed leaders from seven of the top companies to uncover their insights and the strategies they are applying.

You’ll learn from Talent Teams inside startups Fifth Dimension and Humans, Scale-Ups Dexeroy, Sano Genetics and Partnerize and recognised brands Starling Bank and Houseful.

Below we summarise the key action points discussed across the Q&As.

Build a feedback loop

One of the most consistent themes across all discussions is the emphasis on gathering comprehensive feedback from candidates. This feedback is crucial for understanding and enhancing the candidate's experience.

• "We send out surveys to both successful and unsuccessful candidates... we keep a close eye on Glassdoor as well." - Myriam, Houseful

• "We do this during culture fit stages so candidates have an opportunity to either feedback to us in person, over video, or separately via email." Steph, Dexory

• "We also find direct candidate feedback helpful, which can come from different stages of an interview process." - Chen, Fifth Dimension AI

Be transparent and proactive

Clear and consistent communication is a cornerstone of a positive candidate experience. Transparency about the process, timelines, and expectations helps build trust and respect with candidates.

• "Provide clear communication, set expectations, and give candidates visibility from the very beginning." - Sam, Humaans

• "Transparency is key; we provide candidates with a clear view of the role, team, and company culture." - Miguel, Sano Genetics

• "We've implemented automated updates, system reminders, and have set strict internal response timelines to ensure candidates are always in the loop." John, Partnerize

Treat everyone with respect and empathy

Treating candidates with respect and empathy is essential. This includes acknowledging the effort they put into the application process and providing constructive feedback, even when they are not successful. Not receiving feedback after interview was the biggest pain point for 52.3% of candidates in our recent survey.

• "Respecting candidates’ time commitment during the interview process is important for us... The key principle we abide by is that we should treat candidates the way we want to be treated." - Chen, Fifth Dimension AI

• "Treat candidates with respect and acknowledge the effort they put into applying." - Miguel, Sano Genetics

• "Our scorecard system helps us provide written feedback, especially in terms of sharing what went well and what could be improved." - Alex, Starling Bank

Build a streamlined and efficient process

Streamlining the recruitment process to avoid unnecessary delays and ensuring it is as efficient as possible is crucial. This includes setting clear timelines and adhering to them. Our interview survey suggests keeping your processes to 3 or fewer stages to meet candidate’s expectations.

• “Getting the most out of your ATS really helps with candidate experience. Being able to schedule interviews, provide updates & feedback, and manage integrations with sourcing tools all in one place is crucial”- Sam, Humaans

• “ We recently introduced information packs at various stages of the process for candidates…[these] provide transparency and answer common questions candidates ask.” - Alex, Starling Bank

• “Audit your current hiring process to identify and eliminate unnecessary steps that may cause delays or confusion for candidates.” - John, Partnerize

Get the full insights

Read the full Q&As on establishing an excellent candidate experience, from:

• Start up companies: featuring Fifth Dimension AI and Humaans

• Scale up companies: featuring Dexory, Sano Genetics, and Partnerize

• Established companies: featuring Starling Bank and Houseful

See what some of our other Hiring Awards winners had to say about building a diverse team!

cord is the hiring tool used by technology-led companies to find active people, fill their pipelines and make direct hires. To understand how cord can help you make hires, run a search now to test out the candidate pool.