Candidate Communication SLA
Yesterday, I participated in a conversation on LinkedIn regarding what principle is best: A) Letting a candidate know early that they have not been selected for a position they are interviewing for, or B) Waiting until someone is hired for the position and simply letting them know the role was filled.?
Although some may think option B will mitigate some complications of follow-up questions, etc., there are a few reasons (in my mind) that a candidate communication SLA, which follows the principle of early feedback and decision, is the right way to go:
Metrics
Delays in comms to candidates mean candidates are likely not being dispositioned in a timely manner. This impacts Time-in-Stage metrics and skews/complicates weekly reporting, given that real-time pipeline numbers will be deceptive; thereby, impacting hiring forecasts. ?
Employer Brand
Not following up in a timely manner damages your Employer Brand. Candidates talk to each other ( #teamblind ). Furthermore, you might have a silver-medalist in that pool and you will miss out on a potentially great hire in the future as a result of following the wrong principle.
TA Culture
Following a principle of delayed follow-up develops very bad habits within your Talent Acquisition team/culture that I guarantee are impacting follow-up SLA's throughout your pipelines and candidate lifecycle; irrespective of a hiring decision.
Humanity & Respect
These candidates are humans. Leading them on is just a lousy thing to do. It's a waste of time and/or energy for the candidate to be placed in a holding pattern unnecessarily. We should afford each candidate the respect and dignity they deserve both as people and professionals.
Reputation of our Craft
Going dark is one of the reasons people hate recruiters. It damages ALL of our reputations. In addition to the long-term negative impacts poor communication with candidates has on our industry, it will also impact your team when working with stakeholders. Furthermore, it will have an impact on you as an individual TA professional. That candidate you placed in limbo might be a perfect fit for another role at your current company or someplace else you are recruiting at down the road.
There is a reason that candidate experience metrics have become a staple in hiring. The impacts of a poor or positive candidate experience; whether a candidate is hired or not, have far-reaching consequences in our industry, with our companies or agencies, and in our ability to hire A+ players. Let’s strive for excellence!