Talent Board 2016 North American Candidate Experie

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 8, 2017) - Talent Board , a non-profit organization focused on the promotion and data benchmark research of a quality candidate experience, today announced the release of "Candidate Experience 2016," its signature research into the best practices, platforms and processes that enable companies to provide an exemplary recruiting experience to their job candidates. Presenting the key research findings from the 2016 Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards and Benchmark Research Program, the report showcases the leading factors impacting candidate experience today from pre-application to onboarding.

"For the past six years, Talent Board has aimed to shed light on the need for businesses to adopt positive and transparent recruiting practices that contribute to a strong candidate experience and help them to continually attract and engage the best talent," said Elaine Orler, co-founder and chairman of Talent Board and CEO of Talent Function. "The recruiting space is dynamic, and the reality is that there are five distinct generations all searching for jobs, each with their own set of expectations. Through our annual research report, Talent Board keeps a finger on the pulse of the candidate experience landscape, from the moment a candidate starts to research a company through onboarding, recognizing innovative practices and identifying where improvement may be needed."

A major focus of the 2016 report is the business imperative of providing an exceptional candidate experience. More than ever, a company's recruiting practices, from the talent attraction stage through application, interview and disposition, can have a potentially significant impact on its business. Candidates who have a positive experience will be more likely to apply to the company again, refer their peers and, for consumer brands, continue to be a customer and advocate for that company. However, a negative experience can have the opposite effect, as candidates with poor experiences indicated they will actively discourage others from applying. This can contribute to a negative employer brand, hurt referrals and impede on the company's ability to attract, hire and retain the best talent.

The North American Candidate Experience 2016 research report is based on more than 183,000 surveys of candidates who applied to positions at over 240 companies, most of whom did not get the job. Through these candidate surveys, Talent Board discerned the current state of candidate experience, as well as the tools, processes and technologies employers today use in their recruiting practices, and how they contribute to the candidate experience. Key findings include:

• The business imperative for a positive candidate experience : Overall, 64 percent of candidates who had a positive experience with an employer (the majority of whom weren't hired) will increase their relationship with the company. On the other hand, 41 percent of candidates who had a negative experience say they will take their alliance, product purchases and relationships to another company.
• The importance of communication and feedback : A total of 87 percent of candidates who reported a 1-star experience were never asked for feedback on the interview process, while 32 percent who had a 5-star experience were asked for varying levels of feedback, highlighting a key candidate experience differentiator. However, there is still room for improvement in terms of communicating application status -- 47 percent of candidates were waiting two to three months or more for a response from the company, post application.
• Why a candidate experience may fall flat : One of the main reasons candidates who had a 1-star experience withdrew from the hiring process was because they felt as though the company didn't respect the time they put into the process, such as applying and interviewing.
• Sharing the candidate experience : What happens during the candidate experience doesn't always stay between the candidate and the employer; candidates share their positive recruiting experiences with their inner circles more than 81 percent of the time and their negative experiences 66 percent of the time.
• Impact of social media : Candidates also share their experiences, both positive (51 percent) and negative (34 percent), online via social media and on sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn. Negative experiences can impact the employment brand, result in less revenue for consumer-based businesses and diminish a company's ability to attract sought-after talent and the referral networks that come with them.

"Each year, Talent Board takes a deep look at how employers are managing their recruiting and candidate experience, and how it impacts overall hiring processes and the business at large," said Kevin Grossman, vice president of the North American Candidate Experience Awards Program for Talent Board. "We thank all candidates for sharing their impressions and opinions with us, and are grateful to all participating companies for opening themselves up to an in-depth evaluation of their recruiting practices. Their participation is what powers our research and provides the insights to help all businesses learn what they can do to continually improve the candidate experience."

Registration for the 2016 North American CandE Awards will open in March 2017.

The 2016 North American Candidate Experience Research Report is available for download at: http://www.thetalentboard.org/cande-awards/ca...sults-2016 .

About Talent Board Talent Board is a non-profit organization focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience. The organization, Candidate Experience 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.thetalentboard.org .