Keeping candidates engaged

It’s most frustrating for companies when candidates drop off during the hiring process. Especially when there is such a dearth of talent when it comes to specific skills. As Kinjal Choudhary, Senior Vice-President and Group CHRO, VE Commercial Vehicles, says, “The moment the search is specific to a particular set of skills or competencies, the market becomes narrower.”

There are a wide number of reasons why candidates drop off. The Airtel story highlights some of the factors, but there are many more that industry veterans pinpoint.

Vishpala Reddy, Chief People’s Officer, India and South Asia, Uber, picks out five big reasons for candidates rejecting offers.

According to her, when companies fail to treat potential candidates with respect and empathy, they lose that job-seeker. The mantra to be followed is to treat the candidate like a customer, she says.

The second reason for candidates to decline an offer, she says, is when the interview process is long and complex. “Almost 30 per cent of the candidates drop off when the interview turnaround time is longer than average.” Add to that the lack of experience in interviewing and that can also lead to candidates rejecting offers. The fourth reason candidates lose interest is when prospective employers fail to give clear briefs on what their roles and responsibilities will be.

“Often, lack of information confuses candidates and misleads them,” she says. Finally, she points out that a candidate whom you are interviewing is likely to be meeting other companies as well and if their offer is better, you have lost the talent.

Reddy suggests that companies should give realistic job descriptions, share a true picture of the work culture, make sure interviews are short and share timely updates to ensure the candidate is engaged throughout the hiring process so that they feel sought after and valued.

Kinjal Choudhary says, “My advice would be to be realistic with the candidate – do not paint an all rosy picture because nowadays every candidate does his or her research about the company.” He alsocautions against trying to attract talent on the basis of compensation alone “though that needs to be competitive of course”, he says.

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