Setting Great Candidate Expectations using an ATS

It can be quite easy to unintentionally neglect candidate expectations as recruiters. At the end of the day, what they tend to focus on is to simply fill the job openings like horses on a one-track field.

It’s only natural, right? Right-- except that the recruitment landscape is changing and turning more into a candidate-driven market. Thus, the need to satisfy applicants is progressing steadily and setting such expectations is extremely crucial.

Talent Board reported a spike in great candidate experience across various continents from 2019 compared to 2020. For example, it increased from 25% to 31% in North America, while it climbed by 10% to 32% in the APAC region. Interestingly, the resentment rate fell from 14% to 8% and 11% to 6% respectively, too.

All these establish a strong employer branding and increase the chances of people sharing their positive experience about the company. Both factors help recruiters get quality hires and promote employee retention and satisfaction, which inherently give higher ROIs and reduce costs of turnovers and/or bad hires.

The question now is: how do you do it?

Setting Candidate Expectations using ATS

It’s easy enough to set great candidate expectations with the right Applicant Tracking System (ATS) like Manatal. With its all-in-one solution, it’s more manageable to effectively cater to the innate demands of the talents without compromising core recruiter duties.

Here are some best practices that can be achieved with the application of ATS:

Communicating and Being Transparent

With an ATS like Manatal, you can easily contact candidates about their progress directly through the platform without the need for any third-party software. Connect your Gmail or Outlook/Office365 account to send or receive emails directly, as well as sync events calendar so you won’t miss important activities or reminders.

All data is consolidated and can be accessed anytime and anywhere, so you can better organize and monitor what they need to know in real-time. Need to send out email marketing campaigns? Save time and energy with Manatal’s integrated solutions like Mailchimp or other service providers of your choice.

Remember to be transparent throughout. Whether it’s good or bad news, hearing a response from the employer will be much appreciated by the applicant.

Setting Clear Job Expectations

Clear job expectations for the candidates means knowing exactly what they’re applying for and what the role entails in terms of responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and more.

Manatal has a free career page builder tool where you can customize an attractive pitch with complete details. We wrote a guideline on how to create a compelling one. You can read more about it here.

Be as comprehensive as possible and don't be afraid to showcase your brand. Adding bits and pieces about your company to emphasize work culture can be a good drawpoint for candidates.

Ensuring Equal and Objective Treatment

Manatal provides a centralized platform where you will see and interactively track the status of candidates. This easy-to-use interface ensures that everyone goes through the same process in an organized way.

Nothing will fall through the cracks and applicants will move along the pipeline step-by-step from initial contact down to the hiring phase. This is to give equal opportunity and, at the same time, prevent confusion and disorderliness.

To add to that, company diversity will also be bolstered. It opens up new opportunities for companies to grow and reach milestones that go beyond borders. This is very significant in adhering to a healthy and amiable company culture.

Asking for and Providing Feedback

Asking for and providing feedback would be a good way to instill great candidate expectations. Not only does it suggest that you value team collaboration and engagement, but it also allows talent growth where they can freely showcase their wit and creativity.

Back-up your feedback enquiry by getting valuable insights from Manatal’s reports and analytics first. Based on what has transpired, figure out what can be improved and what potential trends you think can be introduced to your next hiring strategy for continued company development.

Then, you can ask applicants and even existing employees specific questions that address the concerns that showed up in the reports. 

ATSs are very powerful and can be beneficial to both candidates and the company. For the former, it gives them an understanding on how they fared and clarity on where they stand. As for the company, it perpetuates a solid employer branding, which can lead them to better hires and longer employee tenures.

As recruiting professionals, don’t just fixate on filling job vacancies. Be sure to follow through and manage impeccable candidate expectations, as well. You’ll learn from each and every applicant as much as they learn from you, too.

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