In the hiring world, providing a positive candidate experience can make all the difference in attracting and securing top talent for your organisation. As a payroll or finance hiring manager, understanding the key elements of creating a favourable candidate experience will go a long way in making the hiring process much more successful.
Here are some essential tips to ensure you not only attract but retain the best talent throughout the hiring process:
Feedback is key
Through the interview process, it’s important to provide constructive feedback to those candidates who were unsuccessful; Particularly if candidates have taken time to interview with you, it's important to show respect for their time and effort and give them takeaways for areas of improvement.
It also offers a positive perception of your organisation, regardless of whether they were successful in securing the role.
Maintain communication throughout the interview process
In fields like payroll and accounting where candidates are often interviewing for multiple opportunities, keeping communication channels open is vital. Keeping communication strong throughout the recruitment process through regular updates and timely responses can prevent candidates from accepting other offers and enticing them to stay interested in your organisation’s opportunity.
Something I find helpful whilst conducting my own hiring processes is the “no update, update” - simply taking a short moment to let the candidate know that there is a delay and that more updates and information will be communicated when they are available.
Highlight the benefits
Clearly communicating the benefits of joining your organisation during the interview process is something that is often forgotten. Whether this be actual benefits, or simply talking more about the team and the culture that they might be working with. This can really help candidates imagine themselves as part of your team and motivate them to choose your organisation over others.
It’s always good to be reminded that in most cases, the candidate is also interviewing you and the organisation, and any additional information on why they would possibly want to work for you will only benefit a positive outcome.
Streamline the hiring process
Planning ahead when starting your hiring process is key to making sure there is a streamlined process. If interviewers or decision makers are going to be unavailable due to leave or other commitments, ensure alternative arrangements are in place to keep the recruitment process moving forward smoothly.
It's common that we see hiring processes start, only to have a week or two (or more!) of waiting in the middle for interviews, decisions and offers. If you can think ahead before starting the recruitment process and put placeholders, or time aside to interview and make decisions, it ensures the whole process is seamless and good candidates aren’t lost out to other opportunities along the way.
Preparation is king
As a hiring manager or interviewer, having the tools and being prepared to interview the candidate is also important. Think about what answers you want to get out of the interview and what skills and behaviours you want to assess.
If you need multiple people to make a decision on the hire it might pay to think about how you can combine people to make a joint decision whilst still gathering the opinions you need. One - two stages of interviews are the general standard for accounting support and payroll roles, so trying to get all of your questions answered during this time keeps the process engaging and to the point.
Timing of the interview is also something to consider - an interview that’s too long can be exhausting for the candidate and often be either an influx of information or repetitive questions. An interview that’s too short, can feel to a candidate that they didn’t get enough time to put their best foot forward and often feel like they were a comparison or benchmark if they’re unsuccessful.
Enhancing candidate experience
Ultimately, creating a positive candidate experience through an interview process requires a somewhat proactive approach. By preparing and implementing these strategies above, hiring managers can enhance your organisation's reputation as an employer of choice and attract top talent into your business.
And remember, if you're facing challenges in finding the right talent for your team, don't hesitate to reach out to us at AccountAbility Recruitment. We specialise in connecting exceptional candidates with opportunities in payroll, accounting support, and administration, ensuring a seamless recruitment experience for both employers and candidates alike and in the end finding the right candidate for your vacancies.
Watch our video series discussing these points, in our video library.
If you're looking to hire for your team please reach out to myself or our team of experts here.
Author Lucy McDonald has been recruiting in Melbourne since 2018, specifically in all Accounting and Payroll Support roles across multiple industries for over four and a half years.