Treat Candidates Well or Lose Them as Future Employees and Customers, According to Korn Ferry Futurestep Survey

– 79 percent are unlikely to accept a job offer if they were treated poorly during recruitment process –
– Only 14 percent would remain a customer of a company if they had a bad experience as a candidate –
– A third (30 percent) do not believe recruiters give them the tools and tips they need to land a job –

Bangkok, 11 January 2018 – A new survey of professionals across Asia Pacific (APAC) has found that, regardless of whether they felt the role was a good fit, almost eight-in-10 (79 percent) respondents are unlikely to accept a job offer if they were treated poorly during the recruitment process. The survey, conducted by the Futurestep division of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY), demonstrates how critical it is for organisations to place a strong emphasis on the candidate experience during the recruiting process.

Whilst just over a tenth (14 percent) would remain a customer of a company if they had a bad experience as a candidate, over half (51 percent) would actually be likely to urge their friends and family members to stop being a customer. What’s more, a quarter (27 percent) would consider taking to social media to share their bad experience as a candidate applying for a job.
“By failing to employ an effective and informative environment during the hiring process, businesses face alienating top candidates, but potentially loyal customers too,” said Pip Eastman, Managing Director, APAC Regional Solutions, Futurestep. “This means wasted money, time, and potential loss of revenue too through customer loss.”
When asked what would aggravate them most during the recruiting process two issues came out on top. Whilst more than two-fifths (44 percent) said not hearing back from the recruiter or hiring manager would aggravate them most, almost a third (32 percent) pointed to people being rude during an interview. This is particularly important when considering that respondents are often looking for guidance and support from recruiters and hiring managers during the recruitment process, with nearly a third (30 percent) claiming they do not believe recruiters give them the tools and tips they need to land a job.
“There is absolutely no excuse for recruiters and hiring managers to not respond to candidates, even if that communication is electronic. New technology and AI tools are automating many of the traditionally manual recruiting tasks, freeing up time for recruiters to provide stronger candidate care and strategic counsel to their clients,” continued Eastman.
Word-of-mouth communications is also a key factor to potential hires, with nearly every respondent (93 percent) admitting to researching online to gather feedback on working for the company. A key tactic to help win candidates over is through adopting an employer branding strategy, which can be brought to life using a company’s digital platforms. For a third (33 percent), the elements that matter most to them on a career website are video or case studies from a range of employees on company culture and what it is like to work there.
“The need to stand out as employer is bigger than ever and the impact of how employers communicate and sell themselves to candidates cannot be underestimated,” said Neil Griffiths, leads Employer Branding solutions embedded within RPO partnerships at Futurestep. “Recruiters and hiring managers should take a look at the company culture and make sure the go-to-market strategy is authentic to the brand. A brand that can communicate its purpose and culture – and how each individual fits into those – will ultimately come across as a far more attractive employer.”
Note to editors:
About the survey
Korn Ferry Futurestep fielded the survey in September and early October of 2017. It garnered 589 responses. Percentages are rounded to the nearest decimal. Totals may not equal 100 percent.

About Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. We help companies design their organization – the structure, the roles and responsibilities, as well as how they compensate, develop and motivate their people. We also help organizations select and hire the talent they need to execute their strategy. Our approximately 7,000 colleagues serve clients in more than 50 countries.
More information on Futurestep can be found at www.kornferry.com/futurestep