Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Experience
2012
United Kingdom
Contributing Authors
Gerry Crispin, Ed Newman, Elaine Orler,
Bill Boorman, Leigh Carpenter, Jillyan French-Vitet
and Joseph P.Murphy
Sponsored By
Talent Collective, Monster,
KellyOCG, ChangeBoard, Peer Group, and
HireRight
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Foreword
Dear Reader,
The Candidate Experience Awards are the brainchild of the Talent Board, a not for profit
group of recruitment industry experts who wanted to ensure candidate experience was a
priority on the talent acquisition agenda.
We are proud to be sharing the main findings from the inaugural U.K. Candidate Experience
Awards (known as “the CandE Awards”) with you. When the Talent Collective agreed to help
get the awards up and running in the U.K., having been inspired by the first awards held in
North America in 2011, we weren’t too sure if our enthusiasm for the topic would be shared by
others in the U.K. recruitment market. We need not have worried; the U.K. CandE Awards got
off to a flying start.
The CandE Awards are designed to highlight the innovative practises, technologies and
standards that some of the most forward-thinking employers are implementing to enhance all
aspects of their talent acquisition process. The winners are raising the bar to let candidates
know their investment, time and interest in the company are valued, and the CandE Awards
offers industry recognition to those employers.
The CandE Awards, while an awards programme, are also designed to provide confidential
and specific feedback to help every participating organisation improve its candidate
experience efforts. All companies that participate have the opportunity to 1) benchmark their
candidate experience against peers’ provided experiences, and 2) participate in the CandE
Awards survey of their employment candidates.
This report, “Candidate Experience 2012, United Kingdom” is based on the data collected
during the employer application and candidate survey rounds of the 2012 U.K. Candidate
Experience Awards.
Please consider this report as an open source document. It’s written for everyone in the
industry who cares about the candidate experience. It’s intended to engage talent
acquisition leaders, recruiters, vendors, consultants, analysts and candidates in a two-way
dialogue about the standards, technologies and expectations that affect us all at some point
in our careers.
Everyone who cares about the candidate experience should feel free to participate by
reading it, using the data to inform decisions about their recruitment process, and share it with
others.
Our hope is that this report sparks and elevates the candidate experience conversation, and
inspires you, whatever your role in the talent acquisition process, to create the strategies that
will continue to advance it in the future.
Regards,
Jeremy Tipper
Talent Board member and managing partner at the Talent Collective
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Table of Contents
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2012 Candidate Experience Award Winners, United Kingdom
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Executive Summary
Having completed the U.K. inaugural year, the Candidate Experience Awards (known as the
CandE Awards) started in North America in 2011. This year’s programme attracted a range of
participating employers, job candidates and sponsors. The programme is supported by many
sponsors, and the research data was based on 857U.K.- based candidates and 17,500 in North
America. The benchmark results and participation emphasise that candidate experience and
its impacts are valuable to both employers and candidates. Employers are taking notice and
working to improve candidate experience as they seek, evaluate and hire the talent that they
need to build successful workforces.
The landscape in the war for talent is shifting. Candidates are gaining equal footing with
organisations regarding perception, communication and the ability to choose whether or not
to maintain engagement. As the talent playing field levels, organisations which recognise this
evolution in candidate-employer partnership will have an edge when it comes to employment
and overall brand, candidate interest to re-engage and even refer future talent regardless of
whether or not they have been dispositioned or withdrew from the hiring process.
Some key findings from this year’s awards and benchmarking programme follow:
49.3 per cent of the candidates claim some positive relationship with the company prior to applying.
This includes just over one fifth citing they were existing customers and 11.5 per cent having friends
and family working at the company.
Referred candidates are four times more likely than non-referred candidates to receive an offer.
Prospect and candidate engagement through Connections on LinkedIn (73.7 per cent), Facebook
(41.4 per cent), Google+ (23.5 per cent) and Glassdoor (11.4 per cent) are significant and growing.
On a positive note, the theoretical ’black hole,’ where no status or notification is ever forthcoming,
seems to be a decreasing practice among the firms that competed for the 2012 Candidate
Experience Awards. While more employers are providing notification to candidates and are willing
to provide feedback to dispositioned candidates when asked, few have made it a standard
practice to do so. As per candidate responses, the majority received standard non-specific
feedback, and more than one-third received no feedback at all.
Nearly half (47.1 per cent) said that they asked candidates – whether or not they were qualified –
for feedback if they were not advanced to the Finalist evaluation phase. Nearly 53 per cent of
employers are missing a meaningful opportunity to better understand their processes and the
impact that they have on candidate experience. The vast majority (76.3 per cent) of candidates
said they were not asked to provide any feedback once they were notified they were no longer
being considered.
Candidates responded (66.7 per cent) “no” when asked if employers were interested in learning
about their experience in applying for a job despite the fact they withdrew from the position.
According to 2012 employer application results, the majority (70.7 per cent) have practises that
require qualified candidates (not among the Finalists) be informed with a standard script or with
feedback – much higher than the 50 per cent of employers that have those same requirements for
unqualified candidates.
Shouting Out: The majority of candidates are ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to tell their ‘Inner Circle of Friends’
(~5) about their experiences whether it is positive (72.7 per cent) or negative (61.7 per cent). A
growing and significant number are willing to go further and share their positive (27.6 per cent) and
negative (16.7 per cent) experiences with EVERYONE via blogs, Facebook and sites like Glassdoor.
Ultimate test of your employment brand: In the end, fewer than half (45.9 per cent) of candidates
surveyed were likely or highly likely to refer others to the employers they were surveyed about. More
than half (53.8 per cent) were neutral and nearly 1 out of 10 (10.3 per cent) would not.
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Phase I – Candidate Attraction
The Candidate Attraction phase of the recruiting process examines the period of time when
the individual actively investigates a firm to decide whether or not they will apply. In its simplest
form, this represents the conversion of an employment prospect to a candidate.
To better understand how employers treat their prospects during this phase of hiring – and
learn which factors have the greatest impact in their decision to become candidates – the first
series of 2012 U.K. Candidate Experience survey questions probe employers on their
communication tactics, employment messaging, and the level of transparency as it relates to
those messages in this early stage.
As communication trends continue to evolve and intensify due to social media, and more
social recruiting tools and tactics develop; the initial attraction phase gains yet another facet
for delivering and receiving employment branding messages. Both challenges and
opportunities surface as a result. To better understand employers’ and candidates’ tactics and
awareness, respectively, the 2012 survey also queried participants on social media usage
during this early Attraction stage.
Overall, and not surprisingly, employers competing in the U.K. CandE Awards viewed their
practises related to Attraction as positively skewed. The majority (61.2 per cent) said the
experiences they provide are Advanced, 22.2 per cent reported Neutral, and few (16.8 per
cent) said it was Lagging. Generally, candidates agreed with 60.3 per cent reporting an
Advanced experience, 20.5 per cent Neutral, and 19.2 per cent Lagging.
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While just less than half the surveyed candidates report a positive pre-disposition, a significant
portion (50.7 per cent) is left to be ‘engaged’ with content relevant to the prospect’s decision
to become a candidate. It is these neutral prospects that employers might want to
concentrate on influencing through branding messages, marketing tactics, choice of media,
etc.
For prospect attraction, employers consistently rely on web and social networking base media
to communicate with candidates. Top cited media included their Career Sites (88.9 per cent,
Routine and Extensive), LinkedIn Company Pages (76.5 per cent) and Twitter Feeds (47.1 per
cent Routine and Extensive Use, with 29.4 per cent in the experimental stages). Twitter is, not
surprisingly, gaining ground although, given the almost universal penetration of mobile devices
in the general population, employers, disappointingly confirm here what many already know –
that many firms are far behind on the curve to enable their content and communications with
mobile devices.
In a world where companies seek to leverage their brand and use multiple channels to cast a wider
recruiting net, Candidate Attraction provides an opportunity to gain competitive advantage by
attracting the right talent vs. all talent. Employers benefit most when they know their talent audiences
and focus on messaging candidates deem important to determine fit. Better honed content regarding
an organisation’s culture, business unit or department, or where an opportunity is located, for
example, serves to invite talent to explore who the company is. Leveraging channels which align to
how talent communicates enhances messaging. Brand leverage is important, however, it is not
necessarily the determining factor of a candidate’s choice in electing to apply to an organisation.
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While employers are flocking to certain online recruiting
“Other” Online methods, they have not yet abandoned some of the more
Communication traditional venues during the Attraction stage. For example,
Methods Reported by responding companies reported that they’re most heavily
Employers in the invested in Employee Referral Programs (88 per cent) and
Attraction Phase Direct Calls [Cold Calling] (82 per cent). These
communication methods rely on one-on-one personal
- YouTube content interactions with the companies’ employment prospects.
- Links with colleges
- Visioning boards Employers are also heavily invested in traditional outreach
- SEO strategies and methods particularly for reaching new graduates. Internship
solutions Programs (70 per cent) and Career Fairs (71 per cent) are
- Alumni networks listed as some among the most used traditional
- HR awards communication methods for attracting prospects before
programmes they apply for full-time opportunities.
- RMS job boards
- Niche job sites
- Job alert technology
Unexpectedly, only 17.5 per cent of candidate respondents indicated that they were aware
of and used employees within a company to become their “referral.”
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While employers report that they experiment with more social and mobile Online
communication methods (such as Facebook Career Pages), the 2012 U.K. CandE Awards
survey data suggests that candidates are aware of these venues, but do not weigh the
information provided there in their decision to apply to an open position with the employer. It
will be interesting to watch how these trends evolve over the next few years as social media
offers both employers and job seekers more features and the world continues to adopt a more
mobile-enabled lifestyle.
2012 U.K. CandE Awards Winner Spotlight: Avanade Walks in the Candidates’ Shoes
Avanade, a business technology solutions provider, understands the needs of candidates and
regularly tests their own systems and recruitment processes, walking in the candidates’ shoes.
Based on feedback from candidates about their application process, they adopted a three
click rule and shortened the process.
It shouldn’t be difficult for employers to review their own recruitment processes. Doing so may
include searching for one of the company’s jobs on the web and following all the steps
required to apply. Like 2012 U.K. winner, Avanade, companies can capture the number of
page changes, brand changes and number of times the candidate has to create an account
to log in. Employers should also consider how long it takes to apply to the position. Would they
be willing to do all of those tasks all of the time? Organisations can then create a list of
changes that would simplify and enhance the process for candidates, positively impacting the
impression they make on potential hires.
Avanade also focuses on open communication with candidates. The company provides
contact details of recruiters in automated emails, generated via the applicant tracking system
(ATS) and encourages candidates to contact them. Two years of CandE research confirms
that two-way communication is key to any successful relationship, but a high volume of
response will significantly reduce the time available and opportunity for recruiters to do this. Full
transparency in public channels reduces applications, because people choose to opt out or
identify themselves as unqualified to apply. This creates the time needed to give a great
candidate experience to those who remain in the process.
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What is your experience with the online recruiting
methods of the company?
GE Capital recognises the importance of hiring manger involvement in all stages of the
recruitment process. Internally, the organisation awards a Candidate Experience Award to two
hiring managers each year based on candidate feedback. The company has found that the
more hiring managers are involved in the process in all areas, including feedback and
communication, the better the experience for the candidate.
Without abdicating all responsibility, hiring managers are required to sometimes provide
specific feedback, and in some cases to facilitate communication with candidates directly, or
to be available for follow up.
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Employer Communicated Content of
Which Candidates are Aware
“It is encouraging to see employers experimenting with The content an employer makes
a wide range of methods to communicate pre-hire. available to candidates is a function of
The career site is unsurprisingly the primary source of
communication. Mobile apps and text messaging
their transparency, a term that is often
received the second and third highest ‘do not use’ used but seldom defined.
response. Given the significant growth in Smartphone
usage for web access, I would have expected greaterThe 2012 U.K. CandE Awards sought out
experimentation in this area. This will become critical in
to better understand what content was
candidate experience, as an increasing number of
potential employees move from desktop access to routinely made available in the
recruiting process and at what stages it
mobile device, Traditional methods like career fairs
and career sites dominate communication. This mightbecame available. The survey was
make sense for active job seekers, but ignores the designed to help uncover whether that
passive browsers. Employer communication is still
information was easily found online at
largely broadcast, rather than engaging, with little or
no use of features like live chat.” an early stage, or if it was not shared
until much later in the hiring supply
– Bill Boorman, U .K. CandE Awards judge chain when recruiter and candidate
are directly engaged and
communicating. The survey queried
employers and candidates about Marketing and Job Specific content. Job Specific content
includes more detailed demographics about the employees involved in hiring and managing
the position.
What marketing CONTENT do you make available (or that a job seeker might want to ask about)
BEFORE they apply?
What Job/Position CONTENT do you make available (or that a job seeker might want to ask about)
BEFORE they apply?
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From the reported data, overall employers indicate that the more general the content, the
more willing they are to offer it at an earlier stage in the talent acquisition process. More
content, such as recruiter contact information, cultural content, how much the position pays,
how frequently a position becomes open, what happened to the previous incumbent, and
more, is less likely to be shared at the very start of the recruiting process. This data is more often
shared by employers with fewer candidates who advance and have direct contact with the
recruiter or hiring manager in the stages the follow.
In contrast to the employers’ description of their transparency, candidates report that they
decide whether or not to apply to an open position based on their awareness and use of the
Marketing and Job Specific content that is available to them during Attraction.
For the most part, candidates report that they are ‘not aware’ of much of the Content –
Marketing or Job Specific – that companies are curating and offering at the Attraction stage.
A job candidate’s interest is likely influenced by why they might want to work at the company
and why they would stay at the firm they are considering if offered a position. Just as a firm
seeks to assess the fit of a candidate, candidates are interested in the culture of that firm and
how the job (as it is presented by the employer) is aligned to the success of the firm.
Heightened participation in sites like Glassdoor and on social media align with this observation
as well. As Candidate Experience research continues, it is expected that focus on fit for
candidates is likely to differ by job level and type.
What is your experience with the company’s What is your experience with the company’s
marketing content available BEFORE you making specific job related content available
applied? BEFORE you applied?
Values: i.e. 'Fit' 32.6% 45.1% Frequently Asked Questions 29% 45.7%
Assessment Focused on
Work Culture or Environment 42.7% 34.7% 31.1% 51.7%
Cultural Fit
Answers to 'Why' People Want to
41.1% 35.9% Salary Ranges 30.5% 51.9%
Work Here
Jobs- Open in the Recent
Answers to 'Why' People Stay Here 35.7% 39.9% 21.9% 52%
Past But Not Open Now
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Additional Employer Attraction Initiatives Early in the Supply Chain
Beyond internship and work experience programmes, many companies have substantial
career education initiatives at grad school, high school, vocational school, and special
education community programmes. Additional attraction methods in the education space
include special programmes at the university levels to help prepare students for their careers.
These initiatives can be an integral part of employers’ successful strategies; the 2012 U.K.
CandE Awards found that about 44 per cent of respondents participate in these programmes.
What’s more, the majority of those that do also participate in the development and
management of the programmes to enhance their employment brands within the developing
workforce.
Of those that do, employers report that they often rely on Online Surveys (66.7 per cent) and
Focus Groups (33.3 per cent) to gather prospect feedback. Additional methods include
standard discussions with the recruiter; phone- and email-based application walk-throughs
with candidates; requests at conferences, association events and job training sessions;
requests for feedback over social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and
Google+; and direct follow up requests with all potential candidates during the phone
screening process. All (100 per cent) of the responding employers who say they collect
candidate feedback at this stage believe this practice is a standard part of their audit
process, the rest indicate that they do so whenever possible.
Employers are invested in schools and college students, encouraging them to learn more about potential career
paths and resources, as well as their companies. Examples include:
Industry-specific career fairs for high-school students;
Working with public schools to offer industry-specific curriculums and programmes;
Encouraging executives to share their expertise with the college community as adjunct professors;
Resume-building and interviewing strategy workshops for vocational and community college students;
Consulting and mentoring programmes
Business simulation competitions for high school students;
Providing students, parents, counselors, teachers and administrators with comprehensive online products to
help manage high school-to-college-to-career planning processes; and
Summer jobs and internship programmes for high school and college students.
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Active listening definitions emphasise that it is the person you are speaking with who
determines in the end whether you have listened. When posing a similar set of questions to the
employers’ random candidate-base, fewer than 10 per cent of the respondents realised that
the employers were interested and willing to listen (which is about half of what employers
reported).
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Phase II – Expression of Interest
This aspect of the survey explores candidate experience at the moment when prospects
discover that they in fact are candidates. To the serious candidate, the expression of interest is
a big decision, and the point at which they are going through the conscious phase of
potentially leaving their current employer and joining another, or committing their future to a
hiring company. This does not imply that those candidates have any clear perception as to
how they have been evaluated and qualified, and if they are considered an applicant –
someone who is properly qualified, considered, and clearly interested in a specific position.
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When you applied, did you note any of the following?
Candidate Viewpoint Question 18 (n=366)
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What kind of screening,
knockout or testing
questions are asked?
Employer Application
Question 33
Notably, many employers report that they ask general screening questions that allow non-
qualified job seekers to complete the application and reject them later (61.1 per cent). Just
16.7 per cent advance the job seeker to an exit with explanation that they do not qualify for
the position immediately. The results are mirrored for specific screening questions.
Collecting Candidate
Feedback during the
Expression of Interest Phase
The single best way for
employers to better
understand how well
candidate expectations are
set (and whether
assumptions about how
recruiting technology
performs as experienced by
the candidates) is to ask. According to the 2012 U.K. CandE Employer Application results,
nearly half of employers (45 per cent) do ask their candidates.
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Do you ask Candidates to give you feedback about the
application process?
Feedback needs to be collected in a consistent way, and in real time at every stage of the
process to bring about improvement in candidate experience. Without meaningful feedback
and data, companies can only work on gut feel and guess work.
RMS, a risk management company, understands that its business and the jobs for which it
recruits are not for everyone. As a result, RMS seeks to find and engage with a targeted group
of individuals that really fit what it is seeking.
Once RMS connects with these candidates, it’s important for them to make sure it remains
engaged in the recruiting process with a high touch recruiting process. RMS recruiters listen and
provide a two-hour daily chatter facility for all potential candidates to speak with a recruiter.
Fifty per cent of candidates using the chatter tool make it to the pre-screen interview with the
hiring manager or recruiter. In addition, sponsoring social games that fit the skills and interests
they are looking for in candidates, RMS strives to ensure that once the right candidates find the
organisation, there should be few reasons for these candidates to fall off in the recruiting
process.
RMS also focuses on candidate referral processes, and receives referrals from external
candidates including those who were not successful in their application. For RMS, this is a true
sign of how well the company manages its candidate relationships. This is an excellent
example of how candidates leaving the process with a positive experience and still play an
important role in an employer’s attraction strategies and recruiting results.
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How do you collect feedback from the Were you invited to provide feedback on the
Candidate as they apply? APPLICATION process after you applied?
Many organisations are making strides to provide candidates with an easy, direct and transparent
application process. Following are some of the ways that employers can enhance the process:
Provide company or recruiter contact support details (email and phone), so that candidates
can contact someone directly regarding their application and working at the company.
Deliver (automated) thank you emails that not only acknowledge receipt, but provide details
on next steps and contact information for the recruiting communications specialist that can
assist them moving forward.
Online candidate helpdesks, live chat and social media offer direct and real-time support
candidates while they complete the application process.
Send personal email notifications when the status of a candidate’s application changes.
Commit to feedback timelines.
Allow candidates to save and complete applications at a later time.
Keep resumes on file for multiple job listings.
Use video technology to share more about your company culture and the position.
Offer a quick apply option that allows candidates to complete an application from their social
media (LinkedIn) profiles.
Invite candidates to connect over social media after they’ve submitted their applications.
Designate an internal resource to maintain communication and follow up with applicants
throughout the entire hiring process – start to finish.
Implement a seven-click application process, making the process short and sweet for
candidates.
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Expression of Interest – An Overall View
Despite the challenges associated with the general application phase, the vast majority of
employers and candidates report a positive or neutral experience during this phase of the
recruiting process. Employers said they deliver a Positive (65.5 per cent) or Neutral (17.6 per
cent) candidate experience during the application. 16.9 per cent offer that their candidate
experiences are lagging while candidates apply for an open position. Candidates offer
feedback in a similar vein.
Just like candidates who value feedback during a recruitment process, organisations have an
opportunity to seek feedback from their candidates on their experience before/during/final stages of
the hiring process. Individuals have a tendency to appreciate ‘being heard’; assume large
organisations do not listen and value the exceptional companies which do. When candidates invest
their time and energy to engage with an organisation, they expect an investment in return. The
ability to give feedback, in a timely fashion, directly impacts a candidate’s perception of an
organisation, both now and in the future.
How an organisation attracts talent is a constant evolution; asking candidates, and receiving their
input benefits an over-arching talent acquisition strategy and can foster a deeper relationship with an
employers’ targeted talent audience.
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Monster Worldwide, Inc. is the parent company of Monster.com, the premier global online
employment solution for people seeking jobs and the employers who need great people.
We've been doing this for over 10 years, and have expanded from our roots as a "job board"
to a global provider of a full array of job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent
management products and services. At the heart of our success and our future is innovation:
we are changing the way people think about work, and we're helping them actively improve
their lives and their workforce performance with new technology, tools and practises.
Monster's Promise
At Monster, we don't just sell better jobs, we help promote better lives.
Because, in the end, a better job is much more than just that. A better job is a better
experience; an experience that leads to better possibilities, better opportunities, better
relationships, better perspectives – all working together to improve life along the way.
So, simply put, our mission is to inspire people to improve their lives.
Learn more about how Monster’s innovative suite of products are helping employers improve
workers lives by improving the candidate experience.
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Phase III – Candidate Dispositioning before the Finalist Stage
Candidates who have applied and are identified as unqualified, not considered or just not
competitive enough to be further evaluated are dispositioned by employers in any number of
ways. At the front end, the job application itself may have provided sufficient evidence for the
employer to determine not to go forward. However, at the back-end, some individuals are
ruled out as finalists after a considerable investment in virtual as well as face-to-face
evaluation. This is often the result of a direct comparison of the similarities and differences in
job-fit among the finalists.
As it relates to assessing candidate experience, it’s important to understand how and what a
firm is prepared to do to inform candidates about their status, as well as seek feedback from
them. The challenge organisations face in collecting meaningful feedback is that it is often
viewed as inversely proportional to the size of their operation, combined with compliance
requirements and company expectations. The greater the number of applications, particularly
unqualified applications, the harder it is (according to employers) to ask for and receive
feedback.
How many applications do you receive for a What percentage are typically NOT qualified for
typical position? the position?
Employer Application Question 38 Employer Application Question 39
201 - 250
11% - 25%
76 - 100
51%- 75%
26 - 50
More than 90%
fewer than 10
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0%
“We provide contact details for candidates to call if they need support”
“Our recruiters partner with candidates to guide them through the process, they provide interview
information and are in constant contact”
“We provide feedback to all candidates who submit their CV”
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Only 11.1 per cent of the responding employers indicated they do not as a matter of course
tell unqualified candidates that they are no longer being considered. However, 39 per cent
either don’t require communication or reach out via automated message. Half of the
respondents are required to directly reach out to candidates, either with a standard script or
through recruiters who are trained to offer feedback. This “black hole” experienced by many
candidates can be avoided by setting clear expectations for recruiters, and line managers at
every stage in the process, as well as making progress visible on-line, so that a candidate can
check in and monitor their progress at any time.
How do you communicate with candidates who How do you inform the QUALIFIED candidates
are UNQUALIFIED? that don’t go on as Finalists?
With the remaining (qualified) candidate pool, next steps take each individual through further
evaluation. Typically additional screening takes place using computer-based assessments,
phone screening and other testing to reduce the number of candidates to a group of Finalists.
Half of all employer respondents will, at a minimum, phone screen qualified candidates to
create their shortlist; half also report they phone screen all qualified candidates sourced via
employee referral.
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And if the qualified
candidates who aren’t
finalists ask for
feedback?
Employer Application
Question 43
As more hiring companies move from transactional recruiting based on one job towards continuing
relationships with candidates through talent networks and talent communities (as operated by all of
the With Distinction winners), extra attention will need to be paid to how the rejection message is
delivered. The message should be “Not ‘not right,’ just ‘not right now.”
– Bill Boorman, U.K. CandE Awards judge
How did you learn you were not being considered for the position?
24.7% I received a phone call from a recruiter notifying me I was not being considered.
19.4% I received an email from a recruiter notifying me I was no longer being considered.
12.9% I did not receive any communication prior to calling the recruiter to request my status.
7.5% I received an email from the hiring manager notifying me I was not being considered.
5.4% I was provided a link where I could check the status of my application independently.
3.2% I received a phone call from the hiring manager notifying me I was not being considered.
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While employers are providing some form of notification to candidates and are willing to
provide feedback to dispositioned candidates when asked, few have made it a standard
practice to do so. As per candidate responses, the majority received standard non-specific
feedback, and nearly one-third received no feedback at all.
How did the company provide specific feedback to you? [Check the BEST answer]
30.1% Standard template email was received without any specific details.
17.2% Phone call received from the recruiter/hiring manager, providing specific feedback and
answering my questions.
8.6% Phone call received from the recruiter/hiring manager providing general feedback.
7.5% Phone call received from the recruiter/hiring manager, but little feedback was provided.
5.4% Other
If this seems to be an embarrassing oversight, the responses from candidates are even more
critical. The vast majority (76.3 per cent) said they were not asked to provide any feedback
once they were notified they were no longer being considered.
As companies look to maintain relationships with candidates beyond the job stage, revisiting
their skills, experience and qualifications for future opportunities, then managing rejection in a
positive way will be critical for on-going relationships. Without feedback and data, this critical
stage is left to chance, with no real opportunity to evaluate and improve on candidate
experience.
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Candidates’ expectations of better feedback at this stage do not appear to be met. If
employers do not collect feedback at this stage, they risk losing an opportunity to understand
those expectations, and the reasoning behind them, as well as the chance to meet them in
the future.
0% 0%
Negative Negative
22.2% 44.4%
Positive Positive
35.8% 38.9%
Negative Neutral
77.7% 55.5% 25.3%
Neutral Neutral Positive
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Phase IV – Candidate Evaluation & Selection
More than 11 per cent of participating employers stated they receive more than 76
candidates per opening or requisition. Nearly six (5.6) per cent stated they receive more than
100 candidates per opening. While volume alone can cause a challenge, the situation is
exacerbated by the percentage of candidates who are determined to be unqualified for the
position. As a result, technology is often used to aid in determining which candidates are best
qualified for the position. However, too heavy a reliance on the ATS for selection means may
lead to only sharing automated notifications or rejections from “do not reply” mails rather than
personalised feedback. While the ATS is critical to effective hiring and providing a positive
experience, hiring companies should also collect on-going feedback from applying
candidates to ensure that the application process is user friendly, intuitive, relevant and as
short as possible, with clear instructions and on-line help.
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Examples of best practises from the 2012 U.K. survey results include limiting the application
process to seven clicks, C.V. or résumé parsing for speed and convenience, issuing clear and
simple instructions at every stage and the opportunity to engage with recruiters throughout
the process. Hiring companies may reduce the volume of applications through greater
transparency and access to information at the pre-application stage, encouraging opt-out
from those who are unqualified or a poor culture match. In demand candidates will likely
have a lower tolerance for a lengthy, complicated or confusing application process, which
may lead to application abandonment.
72.1% general screening questions. i.e. Are you eligible to work in the U.K.?
49.2% a detailed questionnaire about their work history and preferences.
40.9% job specific questions. i.e. Are you able to lift 50 lbs.?
The screening questions typically presented by an ATS help eliminate the most unqualified
candidates. Factors such as eligibility, previous experience and physical requirements do not
identify differences that have a meaningful impact on job performance. That is, these
variables – while essential – do not define or isolate characteristics that contribute most to the
ability to achieve superior performance. Evaluation methods that examine performance
capabilities are required.
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Employers reported that they or their RPO provider…
The phone interview establishes personal contact with candidates and may set candidates’
expectations for further consideration. As the phone screen determines those not advancing,
employers should consider sending disposition communications after this step in their screening
processes. As noted in Phase III, various methods of communicating with those eliminated from
consideration are used, the most common approach being standardised emails that share
status updates with candidates.
>
2.2%
How many interviews did you participate 10
in related to the position you applied to?
8- 2.9%
Candidate Viewpoint Question 24 (n=139) 10
5-
12.2%
Candidates are able to observe 7
differences in interviewing and
3-
evaluation methods. Candidates 4
37.4%
described encountering a wide
range of behaviours from their 1-
45.3%
interview experience. Candidate 2
survey feedback addresses the range
0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00%
of skilfulness of the interviewer and
the overall interview process.
What are some of the typical interview selection methods? (Check all that apply)
Panel interviews: multiple people interview the finalist 31.3% 62.5% 87.5% 87.5%
Varied interview approaches: hiring manager and 37.5% 75% 93.8% 100%
recruiter develop, plan and execute interview schedule.
Varied interview approaches: hiring manager and RPO 33.3% 55.6% 55.6% 44.4%
recruiter develop, plan and execute interview schedule.
Sequential interviews: recruiter then hiring manager, 33.3% 53.3% 73.3% 73.3%
etc., then selection is made.
Behavioural-based interviews are routine. 56.3% 75% 93.8% 81.3%
Testing/simulation/assessment are included 20% 80% 66.7% 46.7%
Recruiters must attend training or demonstrate 53.3% 60% 73.3% 66.7%
competency in interviewing skills.
Hiring managers must attend training or demonstrate 50% 71.4% 78.6% 71.4%
competency in interviewing skills.
Recruiters have specific training in accommodating 10% 20% 20% 20%
people with disabilities in the hiring process.
Recruiters are periodically observed/audited by 36.4% 63.6% 72.7% 81.8%
recruiting leaders during interviews.
Hiring managers are periodically audited by recruiting 40% 50% 60% 60%
leaders during interviews.
RPO recruiters are periodically audited by recruiting 14.3% 14.3% 28.6% 14.3%
leaders during interviews.
Company has mystery shopped the recruiting process 11.1% 11.1% 11.1% 11.1%
by applying and interviewing.
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Which interview methods did you experience during the interview cycle with the
company? (Check all that apply)
Interview structure and format should not come as a surprise to the candidate. Giving
candidates the opportunity to prepare is essential for a positive experience. More than half
(51.1 per cent) of candidates reported being required to attend a panel interview as part of
the selection process. This experience can be nerve-racking enough for a candidate looking
to make a positive impression, but the pressure is intensified when the panel comes as a
surprise. The survey results indicate that few candidates were advised that a panel interview
was going to take place.
63.5% received interviewer names and background information prior to the interview event.
54.7% were provided a discussion of next steps for processes, expenses, etc. and a promise of
follow-up.
29.9% received a detailed agenda in advance of the interview.
23.4% were debriefed at the end of the day.
18.2% received a campus / facility tour during the interview event.
16.1% received interview transition support between each interview event.
16.1% reported that travel was fully coordinated by the employer.
13.9% received none of these items.
10.2% received an updated, printed agenda at the interview event.
4.4% received video information, tools and instructions prior to the interview.
Fifty-four (54) per cent of candidates were advised on the next step, timescales and
expectations, which means that 46 per cent were left in the dark. Coordinating candidates in
a timely and informed way should is also important for providing a positive experience. Care
and attention paid to the candidate at the critical selection stages may suggest the level of
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care and attention the candidate can expect to be paid if they become employees, and
can impact their decision-making as the recruiting and screening process moves forward.
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Select the answers that best represent the level of information you were provided when notified that
you were not selected.
30.1% I received an email from a "do not reply" address notifying me I was not being considered.
24.7% I received a phone call from a recruiter notifying me I was not being considered.
19.4% I received an email from a recruiter notifying me I was no longer being considered.
12.9% I did not receive any communication prior to calling the recruiter to request my status.
7.5% I received an email from the hiring manager notifying me I was not being considered
5.4% I was provided a link where I could check the status of my application independently.
3.2% I received a phone call from the hiring manager notifying me I was not being considered.
The communication process with candidates who withdraw was also seen as largely negative.
Of those that withdrew, nearly half (28 per cent) reported a Negative candidate experience.
What is of particular interest in this case is that it indicates a qualified candidate, one under
active consideration received some form of communication that detracted from their view of
the organisation. While not every candidate that withdraws might have been the best-fit, it is
important to leave those with a positive impression for future openings and to limit impact to
the organisation’s overall brand.
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On the scale below (1-10), how do you rate the quality of
communication after decision to withdraw from Positive
Negative
consideration with [Company]? Neutral (7 – 10)
(0 – 3)
Candidate Viewpoint Question 41 (4 - 6) 38.9%
27.8%
33.3%
Candidate Selection
Making a hiring decision, while an act of judgment, is
complicated by a number of qualifying steps. As such,
finalist candidates must still advance through a series
of additional steps after they have been identified as
the candidate of choice. These sometimes include:
drug testing, background or security screening and
credit report review. Also impacting candidate
experience during Selection is the negotiation toward
a mutually acceptable total package for
employment by both the employer and candidate.
Which of the following statements were part of your experience in communicating with the
company through the offer and hire processes? (Check all)
The 2012 U.K. winning companies interviewed reported that they were operating either a talent network or
talent community where on-going relationships with candidates are maintained regardless of the
outcome. Some employers are adopting candidate relationship management (CRM) technology for
maintaining relationships, as well as methodologies of sourcing from previous candidates for all new, open
positions.
– Bill Boorman, 2012 U.K. CandE Awards judge
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The Gold Standard – Would Candidates Apply Again?
A company’s NetPromoter score indicates the likelihood that a customer will refer others to
that company. It is considered the gold standard for evaluating overall experience with that
company. To better understand the gold standard for candidate experience, the 2012 U.K.
CandE Awards asked job candidates whether or not they would apply at the company again,
and whether they would refer others to apply at that company. While the response rate is
skewed to the favourable end, it also documents that many candidates are left with a neutral
(25 per cent) or negative impression(15.6 per cent) for future personal interest and a neutral
willingness (53.8 per cent) to enhance a company’s sourcing though their referral actions.
49.5%
Sharing Feedback
The majority of surveyed candidates are Likely or Very Likely to tell their Inner Circle of Friends
(~5) about their experiences finding, researching, interviewing, etc. for a job whether it is
positive (72.7 per cent) or negative (61.7 per cent). A significant number are willing to go
further and share their positive (27.6 per cent) and negative (16.7 per cent) experiences with
EVERYONE via blogs, Facebook and sites like Glassdoor. The effects of an employer’s
candidate experience have the potential to echo loudly, often and over time – impacting
their potential to recruit the talent that they need as well as the company’s overall brand.
Inner Circle
How likely are you to vocalise
your recruiting experience
with your inner circle?
72.7%
Candidate Viewpoint Question 43
(n=417)
61.7%
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Final Words
The U.K. CandE Awards are designed to capture how companies produce their candidate
experience, with the goal of determining where employers can improve and highlighting
those organisations that are paving the way for an advanced experience. Candidates and
employers both play a crucial role in ensuring a positive experience. More individuals and
companies recognise this and are committed to optimising the talent acquisition process.
The Candidate Experience research not only assessed the employers’ practises during
screening and how they impact experience, but delved deep into the candidate’s role in the
process. A candidate that has a positive relationship with the employer prior to applying is
more likely to be hired. A candidate that is referred to the company is more likely to be hired.
Candidates are willing to share their experiences, and impact others’ relationships with the
company whether those experiences are positive or negative. Armed with this insight,
employers can work to foster open lines of communication with candidates from start to finish
– before they even apply and after they’ve been considered, regardless of the outcome.
As part of its primary mission, The Candidate Experience Awards recognise those companies
that understand how important experience is, and how deeply invested candidates become
as they advance in the screening and evaluation processes. By acknowledging the firms
whose practises are on the cutting-edge of the candidate experience, the employer
community can increase awareness of the choices they make and the concerns that are
growing within their future talent pools.
The Candidate Experience Awards continue to review and analyse the employer application
and candidate survey contributions. We look forward to sharing the results of the 2013 awards
and benchmarking programme.
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The Candidate Experience Awards 2013
Employers who participate in The Candidate
Experience Awards enjoy the following benefits:
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The CandE Award Process Design
The 2012 CandE Awards programme was designed to evaluate how employers engage with
candidates during the employment application process. The CandE Award process involved
three rounds of evaluation that were designed to capture how the organisation produces its
candidate experience. The goal of the survey process was to enable companies to
confidentially benchmark themselves. The CandE Award process was risk-free for companies
in that their identities would only be disclosed if the company won an award. The process
particularly encouraged companies that feel their candidate experience was not “award
worthy.” Any company that participated received confidential and constructive feedback on
how to improve.
The CandE Award process was a survey open to any U.K.-based company recruiting
operation that was interested in benchmarking themselves. Round 1 required completing a
multi-dimensional survey that addressed:
Each section of the Round 1 survey was designed to discern how organisations produce their
candidate experience. The questions examined the organisation’s processes, procedures and
priorities around candidate experience. Twenty-four companies initiated the process.
The Talent Board empowered 18 companies to provide their 2012 employment candidates
access to the Talent Board candidate experience survey. All organisations were required to
survey 2012 employment candidates in order to be considered in Round 2.
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Companies administered their survey through a
combination of email campaigns and by providing the
survey link on their career portals. Companies were
encouraged to survey a broad spectrum of candidates,
and were specifically encouraged to present the survey
to rejected candidates at all phases of the recruitment
cycle. Each company was required to submit its survey
distribution methodology to the Talent Board for
consideration when evaluating their results.
Each organisation that participated in the 2012 awards received a benchmark report that
compares their responses to the aggregate group. Organisations receive reports for both their
employer and candidate surveys.
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About the Responding Employers and Candidates
Unknown Under
/ Decline £10M
38.9% 27.8%
to state 19%
£11M-
44%
£50M
12%
22.2%
11.1% £101M-
£500M
Up to 500 19%
2,501-10,000
£1.1B-£3B
501-2,500 10,001-25,000 6%
Employee Population Company Revenues
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Under 10 11-25 26-50 51-100
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About the Candidates
Round 2 required candidate feedback and yielded more than 857 surveys across 18
participating companies. Six hundred and ninety-eight (698) candidates provided write-in
comments about their experiences. The response to the survey validates the conclusion:
employment candidates care a great deal about their candidate experience.
We Applied to:
34.7% An experienced salaried position (3+ yrs. experience)
20.4% A management salaried position
69% 31% 14.3% An internship
12.6% An entry-level salaried position (0-2 yrs. experience)
5.4% A contract position
4.6% An hourly wage position
4.5% A director salaried position
1.9% A senior leadership/executive salaried position
1.3% Other
Candidates by generation:
1.2% 1.6%
Silent 13.8% Generation
Baby 40.8%
Generation Z
Boomer 38.7% Millennial
<1945 Generation
X
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About The Talent Board and The Candidate Experience Awards
The Talent Board was formed in January of 2011 by recruiting industry veterans, Gerry Crispin
(CareerXroads), Ed Newman (iMomentous) and Elaine Orler (Talent Function Group). The
original spark behind the CandE Awards was a conversation in November 2010 between Chris
Forman, the CEO of StartWire, and Elaine Orler of Talent Function. Forman is credited with the
original idea to produce an industry award on candidate experience that operates
transparently. The spark turned to flame, and Orler rallied a consortium of like-minded industry
figures to form The Talent Board. In 2012 the Talent Board was led by volunteer Board
Members, Gerry Crispin, Ed Newman, Elaine Orler, Mark Stelzner, Jeremy Tipper and Sarah
White.
The Talent Board members are motivated to improve the experience of employment
candidates. Everyone engaged in the vocation of recruiting attracts candidate experience
stories from family, friends and even friends-of-friends. Often the stories do not reflect well on
our profession and a lot of the negative experiences seem avoidable. While there is an
inherent dissatisfaction that comes with rejecting employment candidates, the Talent Board
believes that it is possible to:
The Talent Board was established to assist recruiting organisations in understanding and
evaluating their candidate experience. The surveys and reports are intended to support
business cases that help secure enabling investment. In our professional experiences, we have
never encountered a recruiter that wants to treat a candidate poorly. Our goal is to help
corporate recruiting organisations improve through information sharing and positive
reinforcement.
The Talent Board is thrilled with the results of the first annual U.K. and second annual North
American award processes and competitions. The Talent Board is humbled, grateful and
excited to build on the success of 2012.
There will be a CandE Awards programme in 2013 that will follow a similar calendar to the 2012
process. Companies will be able to apply and enrol in the award programme by completing a
benchmark survey to be available in the spring of 2013. Candidate surveys will be
administered following completion of the employer applications.
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Ed Newman is the vice president of strategy for iMomentous. A well-known thought leader in the HR
field, he previously launched Inside Talent Management Technology, a community web portal for the
talent management technology industry. Earlier in his career, Newman founded The Newman Group, a
consulting firm specialising in the delivery of talent management solutions, and served as president from
1999 through 2010. During his tenure, The Newman Group was recognised as the preferred provider of
services to more than 25 accounts in the Fortune 100, and Newman developed several unique and
proprietary consulting methodologies, and established implementation service delivery partnerships
with some of the industry’s leading talent management technology providers.
Elaine Orler is president and founder of Talent Function Group. Orler has been implementing recruitment
software for large organisations since 1993. Her introduction to recruitment technology started as an
employee of Qualcomm. She implemented an early version of Resumix and became the head of the
regional user group for Resumix customers. She then joined Gateway Computers to define and lead a
vendor selection process. She started her consulting career in 1999 for Watson Wyatt Consulting and has
been instrumental at building recruitment software consulting practises for Talent Market Group, The
Newman Group, and Knowledge Infusion. Orler has taken an active role in over 75 recruitment software
implementations across 15 different vendor platforms. In her years in the industry she has worked with
both practitioners and solution providers to shape the way Talent Acquisition solutions are delivered. A
dyed-in-the-wool “early adopter,” Orler has guided her clients through the evolutionary shifts in the
market. Orler is respected as a recruitment functionality expert and she takes an active role in industry
events and associations.
Mark Stelzner is the founder and principal of Inflexion Advisors, bringing more than 18 years of
experience in the implementation of internal and external HR transformational initiatives for public and
private sector clientele worldwide. Over his career, Stelzner has created more than $3.5 billion worth of
measurable value to his clients and employers. A respected and active thought leader in the HR
community, Stelzner has spoken at well over 100 industry conferences, events, user groups, forums and
professional organisations. A highly sought after voice in the industry, he has also been featured by Wall
Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, CNN, and NPR. Stelzner is also the founder of JobAngels, a
grassroots non-profit dedicated to helping people get back to work one person at a time.
Jeremy Tipper spent eight years in agency recruitment before becoming the interim head of Resourcing
for Vodafone. He established Capital Consulting, a pioneer of the Recruitment Process Outsourcing
sector, in 2001, creating a £30m revenue business with operations serving clients across Europe and the
Asia Pacific region. Tipper has created and run recruitment solutions for a wide variety of companies on
a global basis and has been at the forefront of innovation in the industry over the last 15 years. He
founded the Talent Collective, a U.K.-based Talent Acquisition advisory firm in 2010. Tipper holds a
bachelor’s degree in Banking & Finance from Loughborough University.
Sarah White is the principal & CEO of Sarah White & Associates, LLC, a Market Strategy Firm focused on
integration of technology and human capital. Initially founded in 2006 then re-launched after leaving
Bersin & Associates in 2011, White identified the real need for improved technology and its integration
into business processes within the Human Capital marketplace. Since then, the firm has partnered with
some of the world’s largest ERP solutions looking to redesign their offering and some of Silicon Valley’s
most innovative start-ups, trying to understand how to really fit into the HR Technology landscape and
vendors of all sizes in between. They have also conducted surveys, produced industry reports and
supported clients at numerous events around the globe.
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About the Sponsors
ChangeBoard is the leading global careers site for senior HR professionals with an
active community of over 85,000 people. Our unrivalled focus on the global HR
market, talent management, leadership, technology and wellbeing provide our
readers with up-to-date, timely information required in today’s fast moving economy
Monster Worldwide, Inc. is the parent company of Monster.com, the premier global
online employment solution for people seeking jobs and the employers who need
great people. We've been doing this for over 10 years, and have expanded from our roots as a "job
board" to a global provider of a full array of job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent
management products and services. At the heart of our success and our future is innovation: we are
changing the way people think about work, and we're helping them actively improve their lives and
their workforce performance with new technology, tools and practises
Maximising the impact and effectiveness of your employer brand requires precise
definition, compelling articulation, targeted communication and on-going evolution.
With candidates increasingly spreading the word about their recruitment experiences
(both good and bad) via social media, it has never been more important for every
aspect of the recruitment process to be handled consistently and professionally. Which
is why we are delighted to be a sponsor of the inaugural U.K. CandE Awards which recognise and
encourage best practice in this area. Peer Group specialises in employer brand management, research
and communications. We help organisations across the globe to identify, articulate, develop,
communicate and measure the many and varied attributes that define and differentiate them as
employers. Find out how Peer Group can help you provide potential and existing employees with a
lasting impression that is both appealing and authentic.
Talent Collective is a resourcing consultancy that, over two decades, has helped
companies to build and run internal talent acquisition and RPO functions. Talent
Collective advises on recruitment strategy, helps organisations to understand and
navigate the recruitment technology market, and provides implementation and training services that
are delivered with both an eye for innovation, but also a deep understanding of what really works.
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About the Judges
Gerry Crispin
An international speaker, author and consultant, Gerry Crispin’s views on employment
strategy, hiring processes and staffing technology are widely sought after by many of the
world’s most competitive corporations. He has nearly four decades of experience in the
human resources field, serving as director of Human Resources of Johnson & Johnson and the
general manager of Shaker Recruitment Advertising. Crispin is currently principal and co-
founder of CareerXroads, an international consulting practice. He holds an ABD in
Organisational Behaviour from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Bill Boorman
Bill Boorman has spent more than 30 years in the field of recruiting, serving as a recruiter,
trainer, operations director, consultant and coach. Over the last five years, he has served as a
consultant for a number of growing recruiting firms across Europe. Described as the “King of
Social Recruiting,” Boorman helps companies integrate social recruiting into their organisations
and consults on a number of recruitment applications. He is also the founder and host of #Tru
Events held around the globe.
Keith Robinson
Keith Robinson, widely considered a thought leader in the HR industry, leverages an almost
three-decade career in recruitment. Having experience in managing recruitment for
Computer Weekly, he founded HR magazine Personnel Today and was part of the
management team that took Totaljobs.com to U.K. market leadership. In leading two of the
U.K.’s largest recruitment advertising agencies, he knows full well the value of a positive
candidate experience. Robinson is currently founder and director of ECOM Digital, a content
marketing agency specialising in the HR and recruiting sector.
Jillyan French-Vitet is a Director for the Talent Acquisition Advisory Services team within Kelly
Outsourcing and Consulting Group. Her background in international recruitment spans nearly
15 years, including retained search, in-house corporate recruitment and recruitment process
outsourcing. In both Europe and the USA, French-Vitet has designed, built and executed
programs, from entry to executive-level hiring, with varying team sizes and geographies. In
2011, French-Vitet self-selected to ‘walk in the shoes’ of a candidate to understand the
experience from the front-line with organisations looking to hire. As a result, she has been
researching and writing about Candidate Experience since 2012.
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2012 Candidate Experience Award Winners, North America