Earlier this year, we published a report on candidate-first automation and the importance of trust, feedback, connection, and inclusivity. For most companies, the value of automation is perceived through the recruiter and hiring manager experience. And, the candidate is often ignored. Recruitment automation is more than simply moving candidates through the process quickly. Automation should enable companies to communicate in a meaningful and inclusive way, personalize all feedback, and build trust between candidates and employers. Companies that invest in automation and view it through a candidate-centric lens are two times more likely to improve the candidate experience.
A candidate-first approach to automation does not replace the human experience. It enhances it by giving candidates the confidence and the support they need through every stage of talent acquisition. To achieve this goal, companies need to shift their view of automation and invest in fair, consistent, and human.
This report included a case study on Iceland, a British food retailer with over 900 stores in the UK and a global export business that employs over 30,000 people. In early 2020, Iceland received over five hundred thousand applications in 4 months. It needed to automate candidate screening but found that few solutions ensured a positive candidate experience.
Iceland had several objectives when evaluating automation providers, including:
Save store managers’ time: It wanted to deliver a level of fairness to candidates and a level of consistency for store managers to reduce the amount of time they spent on recruitment. Iceland saved over 8,000 hours in screening time over three months, equivalent to £170k in savings.
Improve the candidate experience: Iceland also was committed to improving the candidate experience. It wanted to give candidates more consistency and create greater engagement. And, more importantly, it wanted to give something back to the candidates.
Iceland felt a duty to provide candidates with feedback. It partnered with PredictiveHire to help candidates understand their strengths and development needs. 100% of applicants received feedback, and as a result:
- 80% are more confident
- 77% are more likely to recommend Iceland as an employer
Candidates are engaged far more with the brand and feel like they are getting something back. They genuinely feel like the process is more human which is reflected in 99% positive candidate sentiment from the more than 50,000 applications a week.
This latest research featuring Iceland, Automation with Humanity: Putting the Candidate First, is available on our website.
