Fix Your Drop-Off Rate in 4 Easy Steps with Candidate Engagement

Are you struggling with unwanted candidate drop-offs at key touchpoints in your hiring funnel? Bolster your recruitment pipeline and retain high-value candidates with one easy move. It doesn’t come with additional costs and can be seamlessly built into your existing operation.

The key to candidate retention is simple: Engagement. However, it’s how and when you communicate with candidates that really matters. Here are the four easy steps to take to start leveraging communication to stop unwanted candidate churn.

Step 1: Identify Drop-Off Points

There are multiple points at which candidates may self-select out of your recruiting pipeline:

• Application (during or just after)
• Pre-hire screening
• Candidate reference checking
• Pre- or post-interview
• Pre- or post-offer

There is a point to each individual stage and its requirements — ideally, candidates who are not a good fit will be filtered out naturally. However, if you believe that high-value candidates are self-selecting out of the process, it’s time to get proactive.

TalentWall™ by Crosschq gives you a bird’s-eye view of your entire pipeline and can highlight where the drop-off is occurring and whether or not it is voluntary. Excessive voluntary drop-off can trigger a deeper investigation of clients who prematurely left the recruiting pipeline, and why they left.

Step 2: Automate Your Pipeline to the Fullest Extent Possible

Your recruitment staff can only do so much with a limited number of hours in a day. Ensure they have time to focus on building deep relationships with candidates by streamlining your recruitment pipeline. 

• Applications can be standardized and made easier and more intuitive for candidates by using an app to collect resumes and applicant information.
• Pre-hire assessments can be chosen carefully and minimized to keep candidates from feeling that their time is being wasted.
• Reference checks can be streamlined and made more impactful by using Crosschq 360, a digital candidate checking system.
• Interview scheduling can be quickly and efficiently accomplished using a scheduling app that checks all parties’ calendars for the earliest possible interview dates and times.
• TalentWall™ by Crosschq can make sure you never miss a chance to communicate with a candidate with a color coding system that identifies candidates in need of nurturing.

Step 3: Maximize and Automate Communication Opportunities

Communications don’t have to be complex at the early stages of the recruiting funnel. Your recruiter or hiring manager shouldn’t need to personally text or email each candidate with basic information when they could be concentrating on personal interactions with candidates nearing the offer stage.

You can connect tools to your ATS that allow triggers to be set for candidate communications. Even chatbots can be ideal for this purpose. Send short, encouraging messages and further instructions whenever your candidate completes a step:

• Your application has been received, and we are reviewing it. Thanks for applying!
• We’d like to invite you to take our quick and easy pre-hire assessment.
• Congratulations! You passed the pre-hire assessment.
• Please complete this self-reference check, and supply us with your references.
• Your reference check is complete and your candidate score is great!
• We’d like to schedule you for an interview. Watch for a calendar invite.
• Thanks for interviewing with us! We have a few interviews left and will contact you.
• We’re happy to tell you an offer is pending. Our hiring manager will contact you soon. 
• We’re so excited you accepted our offer. Click this link to start the onboarding process.

By ensuring that your candidates are getting constant encouragement and affirmation, you can keep them invested in the recruitment process and increase your odds of having your offer accepted by your chosen candidate.

Let the other candidates down gently; something can always happen between offer acceptance and day one, or you may have a role come open in the future that’s perfect for a “silver medalist” candidate.

Step 4: Personalize Communications for Best Results

Not all communications between the recruiter or hiring manager and candidate will be directly personalized with automation - but a little bit of advanced work at fine-tuning the message content and setting up the right sequencing can make it seem like they are.

At any rate, candidates won’t necessarily expect high levels of personalization from a chatbot if that is your first point of contact; they’ll just be glad they have a tool at their fingertips to guide them more confidently through the application process.

Once candidates are deeper in the funnel, however, they don’t want to feel like just tasks being crossed off a list. In fact, 31% of candidates who are pursued by a recruiter or hiring manager expect to receive personalized communications from their potential employer. 

Make sure each communication uses the correct first and last name in the right order, matches the candidate correctly to the job they have applied for, and contains meaningful information, assurances, or feedback.

Leveraging communication to improve candidate engagement can keep high-value candidates in your recruiting pipeline and enhance their experience. Candidates who have a positive, personalized experience are more likely to be receptive to offers now and in the future. For information on how Crosschq can help you automate your recruiting pipeline, contact us for a free demo.