The Importance of Candidate Relationship Management in the Recruiting Process
This blog discusses how maintaining strong relationships with candidates throughout the recruiting funnel can help fill jobs faster and improve the candidate experience.
Maintaining strong relationships with candidates throughout the recruiting funnel is crucial for filling jobs efficiently and providing an excellent candidate experience. In today’s competitive talent market, companies need to treat every candidate like a potential customer in order to attract and retain top talent. This is where an effective strategy for Candidate Relationship Management(CRM) comes into play.
According to a 2021 study by PeopleMetrics, 93% of job seekers say the overall candidate experience factors into whether they would accept a job offer. Furthermore, 72% of candidates are more likely to reject an offer after a poor recruiting experience. With the costs of making a hire estimated around $4,000 by SHRM, poor candidate relationships can be an expensive recruiting mistake.
CRM allows recruiters and hiring managers to nurture ongoing connections with candidates, whether they are immediately hireable or early in their career exploration. By keeping candidates engaged and committed to your employer brand, you minimize the chance of losing interested individuals to other opportunities down the road. According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Global Talent Trends report, 73% of candidates are open to opportunities from other employers while in the middle of an application process. Maintaining contact is key to retention.
Effective CRM streamlines the process of maintaining consistent communication with candidates through various touchpoints in the recruiting lifecycle. For example, an applicant tracking system (ATS) with CRM capabilities automates tasks like acknowledging receipt of applications (which 61% of candidates say improves their impression of a company according to a 2022 MRINetwork study), providing timely updates on application status, and sharing relevant content to keep candidates informed and invested in your organization.
According to a 2021 study by PeopleMetrics, 93% of job seekers say the overall candidate experience factors into whether they would accept a job offer.
Benefits of Effective CRM:
- Faster time-to-hire. Talent pools established through ongoing engagement allow recruiters to more easily reach back out to qualified candidates when future roles become available. This reduces the time required to source, screen, and hire for openings. Some studies have found CRM can cut weeks or more off the hiring cycle. According to LinkedIn, nurtured talent pipeline candidates can accelerate time-to-fill by up to 30%.
- Higher candidate satisfaction scores. Candidates report much higher levels of satisfaction when recruiters and hiring managers communicate respectfully and keep them apprised of next steps, even if they are ultimately not selected for a role. Positive experiences influence whether a candidate would accept an offer or refer others to your openings. According to Talent Board, candidates who have a positive experience are about 2x as likely to reapply in the future.
- Increased referrals from candidates. Staying top-of-mind with past candidates through CRM leads more of them to think of your company first when opportunities arise where they could refer a friend, colleague, or former coworker. Referrals generally result in higher quality hires who are less likely to turnover. LinkedIn data shows referred candidates are hired 3x more often than non-referred candidates.
- Better quality of hire. By gradually qualifying candidates over numerous interactions rather than a single interview, recruiters gain a more holistic sense of long-term fit beyond basic qualifications on paper. This results in hiring decisions with a lower risk of a new hire not working out long-term. According to Aberdeen Group, companies with mature talent CRM see 34% greater new hire retention.
Implementing a truly strategic CRM program requires integration with your end-to-end hiring technology. Leading applicant tracking systems offer robust functionality to automatically capture all candidate touchpoints, trigger tailored communications at the right moments, provide a centralized hub for ongoing candidate profiles and notes, and analyze CRM data to optimize outreach over time. With the right ATS supporting your efforts, you can take your recruiting performance to the next level with stronger, long-lasting candidate relationships.
In today’s competitive talent landscape, implementing candidate relationship management best practices gives companies a clear recruiting advantage. Those who invest in continuous two-way engagement position themselves as employers of choice and see quantifiable returns in the form of faster hiring, higher satisfaction, and better hiring outcomes overall.
