Chapter 3: Project Part
3.5 Literature Review
Candidate relationship management is the process of attracting in applicants, keeping them interested, and building sincere bonds with them over time, how you handle applicants prior to, throughout and after the hiring process. essentially keeping up a good rapport with all of the candidates past, present, and future. This is done so that there will always be a skill pool available for hiring and as a recruiter, you must engage in ongoing candidate relationship management in order to draw in these individuals (Foundry and T. H. R., 2021)
P a g e 45 In order to promote candidate engagement and enhance the candidate experience, HR professionals implement a technique called candidate relationship management. One of the main problems facing the HR sector is attracting talent, which is why this relatively new approach to recruitment was brought to the world of talent acquisition. With the use of candidate relationship management solutions, you may maintain a candidate's information, communicate with them, post job openings, access resume databases and convert inactive candidates into active ones. (Lalwani, P., 2021).
Benefits of establishing candidate relationship program using software:
In every organization the most important and valuable asset is the human resource and that is why it is essential to hire the right candidate at the right place in the right time. So, it is understandable the benefits of candidate relationship program and its impact on the organization. A comprehensive CRM software with features that enable to find, develop, interview and recruit personnel in a streamlined, uniform manner. (Team, S., 2020)
Firstly, the most significant benefit that the organization will get is the right candidate at the right time means when the organization needs an employee in that time they can hire from the pool of skilled candidates. Recruiters can easily find all the passive candidates as well as active candidates, former candidates when they required (Foundry, T. H. R., 2021).
Secondly, by staying connected with the candidates and maintain a good relationship will help a lot to create a positive brand image of the company as well as brand employer. The candidates will feel valued by the company and feel motivated to apply again because they will think the company’s door is open for them and will be consider for future opportunities. They will not discourage others to apply because of their positive and good relationship with the organization (Foundry, T. H. R., 2021).
However, using CRM software for establishing candidate relationship program will benefit to the HR team and recruiters as many manual works will be done through software. As a result, it will be more convenient and put less pressure on the recruiters.
P a g e 46 Next, the risk of recruiting and selecting the wrong candidate will be reducing as from the talent pool recruiter can easily find the second choice of candidates, and more engage and active candidates will also be available (Linney, S.,2022).
After that, recruitment costs will be decreased and will be really beneficial for company'
Moreover, software for managing candidate relationship will be beneficial to save time searching for candidates and do the works more effectively. As all data information will be tracked and stored automatically, pre-set emails will be receiving and many other options to execute the work easily in less time (Linney, S.,2022).
Furthermore, one of most common problems that recruiters face is finding the required KSA’s in candidates for the job. In this way organization does not lose any potential candidates. With time candidate’s skills and knowledge develop also gain experience so in future there will be sufficient candidates for finding and hiring the right fit for the organization and increase the chances more to attract and hire the potential candidates. Also helps to nurture them and gain mutual benefit as well (Friginal-Sanchez, M., 2018).
Last but not the least, when a candidate gets rejected that does not mean he/she is no longer in need or should be forgotten. Maybe that person is not eligible for a particular position but might be a good fit for another department’s other position. So, company can utilize the candidate for other job position, other work to achieve goals. For example, other major subject can be considered or based on other experience and knowledge. In this way, by establishing a candidate relationship program the organization can let them know for other vacancy and future opportunities and these candidates can reapply (Friginal-Sanchez, M., (2018).
These are the benefits of establishing candidate relationship management in the organization using the software. Without the software it will be difficult to manage and maintain the big pool of candidates.
Challenges and different ways of establishing candidate relationship programs:
P a g e 47 In every organization establishing candidate relationship program is really important. Companies have better prospects to hire people who may not have been competent in a past position but are appropriate for a more recent one because of candidate relationship management.
“The problem I have faced while maintaining database of the employees to find and update. As everyday other day new joining or transferring into departments is going on so without any software it is difficult to keep the track of the reports and data and information as these works I have done manually. It takes a lot of time to put data in the excel files. Moreover, attendance rechecking and late count also done manually. Along with these issues, managing pool of candidates also difficult. As for our company we need many technical expert and experience candidate for the technical work.” (Interviewee 2)
Firstly, build and maintain an informative good Career Site is challenging. So establishing CRM it is important to build a good career site because it's crucial to develop good career pages that capture the heart of the business in order to build meaningful interactions with applicants. A career page should be updated frequently. While doing so, it should be able to notify visitors of key facts about your business. Remember that one of the primary avenues for promoting an employer's brand is a career page. An AI-powered digital solution like an applicant tracking system (ATS) can assist in creating a strong and appealing career page that will help to reach the objective of developing positive candidate relationships. Manatal provides an ATS that enables customers to design career sites that may be customized, match a company's brand, and encourage applicants to apply for jobs. (Buzzwork(B).,2022).
Next, strong and effective communication across platforms as it takes active engagement and constant communication to build trust with candidates. Social networking sites, employment boards and even email are common mediums that should consider for the communication strategy.
People nowadays are more active in social media so it is a great way to know about the new opportunity about the company and engage with them through comment section or direct message option (Team, L.,2022).
Furthermore, email is a great way for engaging and updating the candidates about new campaigns or other events. Through email organization can stay connected with the candidates by sending them emails and make sure that the candidates are opted in to receive the message. They will feel
P a g e 48 that even though they are not a part of the company but still organization valued them and giving importance to let them know about the company’s update (Team, L.,2022)
“There was not any software for us to do the HR operation activities which was a big problem. If I have to address some problems, then it was the manual work which is time consuming. We need to collect and stored candidate’s information and data manually in excel or drive file. It was a bit difficult to keep track of the active and passive candidates and candidates schedule and attendance.
We have to search and find manually in pc for candidate data and information. These types of problems we have faced.” (Interviewee 1)
Moreover, keep talents engaged throughout the recruitment cycle as maintaining contact between recruiters and candidates is another great challenge. Candidates are aware about considering a number of people for a position and that it takes some time to decide who would be the best fit.
The recruiter can automate and streamline the pipeline with the use of an effective digital solution, such as the ATS. With the intelligent digital assistant, it can now update candidates on the hiring process and keep them informed. The most important aspect of offering a positive applicant experience and developing enduring relationships is this (Team, L.,2022).
Figure 17: Candidate relationship management
P a g e 49 Lastly, stay focused on active and passive candidates both is challenging. An effective way as the relationships with a pool of passive applicants who have the necessary skills and qualifications for the roles will therefore increase the chances of finding people who have what it takes to fill the post. Even though good ties with passive candidates are crucial, it is also need to put effort into cultivating bonds with active candidates. Since active prospects are always looking for jobs, channels like social media are useful ways to connect with them and develop relationships.
(Lalwani, P.,2021)
So, these are some different ways of establishing candidate relationship programs. These will be helpful for the organization as well as for the candidates. Organization should establish the candidate relationship program especially for the long-term benefits.