I wasn’t at the RAD Awards 2013 on Thursday but I gather there was a moment when the host, comedian Jack Whitehall, gave a company the impression that they had won an award, only to cut short their joy by saying that they hadn’t. Someone else had won it.
The reason he gave for doing is that he had applied for a job at the first company he mentioned ( the one he teased in to thinking they had won before letting them know they hadn’t) but he never heard back. It was his moment to get back at them for being ignored.
When I was at CIPD12 I wrote about the findings of their Our Young People research which included:
“Young people remember how you treat them for their whole lives, as customers, consumers and employees. In particular many spoke of their frustrations at not getting any replies or acknowledgements to job applications…seeing it as rude and damaging to confidence and aspiration”
Jack Whitehall is 24. Clearly his bad experience stayed with him, even though he’s found success in another field.
Mind you, the link between candidate experience and consumer/customer perception is nothing new…we were talking about this nearly 3 years ago and will no doubt be talking about it for years to come.
If you’re ignoring candidates then expect more embarrassing Jack Whitehall moments until something changes.
Talent Trends & Insights 
exactly! Most companies don’t “get” that every experience anyone has with their business creates their “brand”- how people feel about their business. Most recruiters are under time pressure, and even if they know it’s good practice to reply, it often gets left because they have to move on to fill the next position.
More resources need to be given to recruiters and HR when finding the right people for the roles they need filling. So often it’s seen as an overhead where costs need to be reduced, where the reality is that it’s one of the key areas (possibly THE key area) that any business should invest the most in. Without the right people any business has already lost the game. The right people, in the right roles, with the right systems and the right support from management is what makes a winning business.
So true Claire. I saw a presentation from McDonalds where they said how important the candidate experience was as every applicant is a customer…why would you apply to work there if you weren’t?
Small ripples, big waves.
The commoditisation of people is at the dark core of the current mindset; commission leads to misselling – we just have to look at PPI as an example and the cost that that continues to have for financial services.
Oh sorry, I don’t appear to have completed my comment. I guess the point I wanted to make was that it would be good for the recruitment industry to look at itself before anyone else does.
Indeed it should Meg…not sure it will!
Come on Merv, ‘a company’. Tell the tale in all its glory – names please 🙂
A large professional services firm beginning with the letter D. Allegedly 😉