Is There Light at the end of the recruitment funnel?
The recruitment climate is shifting at an accelerated pace, as both employers and candidates have more access to data about each other than ever before. While candidates seek a place of belonging and authenticity in society, companies struggle to differentiate themselves as attractive employers with unique value propositions. Technological advancements in the field of recruitment continue to push boundaries, while also awakening reactions from the candidates, who need both the efficiency of robots and the effectiveness of human touch in communication.
All these shifts in the world of talent are captured by the Potentialpark Study 2020 which looks into candidate behavior and preferences, as well as the development of talent communication tools among employers.
Candidates do not seek to be found, but seek to find themselves
In some ways, the recruitment process is experiencing the best period in its history; never before has so much data and information been available to guide the process of employing new teams. Social media platforms continue to be widely and frequently used by candidates; Facebook (79%), Instagram (86%), YouTube (76%) and LinkedIn (60%). Employers follow suit; Facebook (78%), Instagram (75%), YouTube (89%) and LinkedIn (100%). But after years of being subject to targeted ads, candidates in the US are displaying an aversion to sponsored content and it is not enough for companies simply to be present on these platforms.
The good news for companies is that while only 45% say that they would be open to sponsored career-related content, significantly more (56%) have actually clicked on career-related content when seen on Instagram. The key is relevance - relevant content in the right form. Right now, candidates expect to find insights into culture on Instagram and Facebook, jobs on LinkedIn and peek into different workplaces on YouTube (Potentialpark Study 2020). In general, candidates are looking to find their place of belonging and where they fit within a company. With 58% of companies now using the Stories format to reach candidates, the classic post format should not be neglected as most candidates (85%) still also appreciate posts in the feed which are not as ephemeral as Stories which disappear after 24 hours.
Learn what frustrates talent in the US
Even on social media, where filtered images and cliché captions are commonplace, candidates are seeking authenticity. In pursuit of insights into real interview experiences and typical workdays, candidates in the US continue to seek out employee reviews wherever available; on Indeed (63%), Glassdoor (57%) and Monster (15%). While candidates go to review platforms primarily to check reviews about a company, they are often also exposed to similar job opportunities by other employers who are often competing for the exact same pool of talent.
Knowing that more than half of the candidates (56%) use reviews to help them decide if they will work for a company or not, more employers (19%, up from 12% in 2019) are choosing to take control of their company narrative by responding to negative reviews on Glassdoor, which have been shown to be more important to candidates in the US than responding to positive reviews (Potentialpark Study 2020).
The battle between A.I and Human Touch
While A.I. initially appeared to make the human role in recruitment obsolete, the supposedly conflicting elements of A.I. and human touch should be harnessed in combination by companies to propel themselves forward into the future of talent recruitment. As companies embrace automation and HR tech, candidates have clear preferences on which parts of the recruitment process should not be automated, yet. While a majority of candidates in the US are open to chatbot assistance when searching for information about the company and jobs (54%), and when going through an application process (54%), only 17% are open to having their skills assessed during an interview.
Also, over the last one year, there has been a resurgence of interest in campus events, particularly on social media, where updates about upcoming events to meet employers went from Top 10 pieces of content in 2019 to Top 3 in 2020. It’s clear that A.I. and automation are here to stay, but there’s also a greater need for human interaction than ever before.
There is Light at the end of the recruitment funnel
Finally, after almost a decade of “mobile-friendly” developments, almost all companies in the US now have mobile-friendly career sites, but not all of them follow through with mobile-friendly job search and application functions. Companies need to recognize that most candidates (61%) prefer the company's career website as their top route for job applications and they are increasingly completing their applications on their mobile devices (29%). The number in the US is still lower than the global average (36%) where candidates in Asia are ahead of the curve with almost 45% actively submitting applications on smartphones.
In striving to make a good first impression, many candidates believe that their Linkedin profile adds value (69%), in contrast to sharing their social media profile for jobs (37%). The majority of candidates in the US have already shared their LinkedIn profile for a job application (72%) and, this in combination with the growing popularity of applying without user accounts, creates a clear need for companies to provide a seamless experience from job search to application, both on mobile and desktop. As both candidates and companies find new ways to stand out from the pack and communicate better with one another, the new decade of 2020 promises to shine brightly with less filters and more authenticity.
US Rankings
Summary of Winners, Biggest Movers & Shakers
The Auto Insurance company GEICO is the top winner among all the employers in the ranking when it comes to their Career site as they have the content that candidates are looking for.
One of the biggest improvements in the online applying experience has been made by L’Oréal who jumped +73 in the Applying Online ranking. Despite the fierce competition, they managed to maintain their third spot overall, as well as the number one spot in the Social Media ranking. We see the overall improvement is boosted by application intelligence tools which creates a more candidate-friendly experience.
A company to look out for is the global corporation Cargill who managed to improve increasingly in each category and who’s doing major investments and efforts to build a strong employer brand and communication strategy towards talents.
From being in the second place last year, UnitedHealth Group managed to take over the first place in the overall ranking and is therefore titled the most Talent friendly employer in the US!