Accountancy Firms – it’s a great idea to audit your candidate journey
We cannot stress enough the importance of giving your candidates a great experience. A bad recruitment process is so damaging – it can harm your brand, as well as ruin any chances of winning the great talent out there. This is why you have to audit your recruitment process.
60% of candidates say timely communication during the application process
makes a positive impact, and 80% say that just one negative experience
can change their decision on accepting an offer.
Here are 5 basic steps to understanding the different stages of the application process, and most importantly – making it the best it can be.
1. Map it out
Grab the nearest flip chart and note down every touch point between you and your candidates. Then map out the internal processes from job description, to all communications in between and the moment you hire. Now you have a clear overview to connect all of the points throughout the candidate journey.
2. Use your recruitment data
Some of the metrics you should know:
- How long it takes you to fill vacant positions
- What is the drop off rate – candidates who drop out of the pipeline
- Visitors to your job application page – and the conversion rate
- Cost per hire – from sourcing to onboarding
- Percentage of candidates who accept offers
- Attrition rate
- Diversity metrics
3. Before you start building your talent pool…
Identify the most important roles you need to fill, determine the necessary skills and define the talent mix. If there are talent gaps with existing staff, could you assess their skills and strengthen them with training in order to fill a role?
4. Create a campaign
Identify your target e.g. social media, published media, specialist recruiters– then create an engaging campaign for each. The benefits of investing your time into a creative recruitment campaign are substantial. In a crowded marketplace, you need to stand out from the crowd. As with all stages of the candidate journey, metrics should be monitored and communication should be timely, authentic and human.
5. Involve your recruiters
It’s crucial to gather information from every person involved in the recruitment process – HR, hiring managers and your specialist recruitment team. This way you will have an insight into every step of the recruitment process. And why not go one step further with an anonymous questionnaire to new recruits?
A candidate journey audit is an essential step in the recruitment process audit. Without this, you’ll never have a clear understanding on spend, resource, results or retention. You should audit regularly and challenge it constantly.
As specialist accountancy recruiters, we know how candidates think – how their minds work.
When it comes to all aspects of the accountant recruitment process, we’re the experts – always here to help.
If you’d like help in building a clear picture of your practice and its individual recruitment needs, we’d be happy to work with you to develop a candidate journey audit.
Why not contact us here for an informal chat.
Or join us on LinkedIn for everything you need to know about accountancy workforce strategy.
