Poor candidate management damages clients' brands

Brown - who has over 15 years' experience in recruitment, including 10 years at London's leading headhunters - says that recruiters should look at the recruitment process as another brand 'touchpoint' and should do all they can to make the job seekers' experience with the brand a pleasant one.

"Why do candidates always choose one company over another? Often the differences are the brand reputation and their history of experience with the company. And far too often the experience is negative and the candidate will tell others of their shoddy treatment. During the hiring process, recruiters are their clients' brand ambassadors and should behave accordingly.

Good people hard to come by

"Good people are hard to come by and all companies aspire to being an employer of choice and that starts from the moment an ad goes into the papers. Open the jobs pages of the Sunday Times and you'll see the companies with stand-out adverts that appeal to the individuals' values rather than the nuts and bolts of what the job is all about."

Continues Brown, "Other ads are so drab and dour it gives the impression they're wanting a Dickensian factory worker they're so overwhelmingly depressing. A good ad is not just appealing but it also is extremely cost effective in the long run as it lures the right person and reduces the need to advertise repeatedly."

Brown also points out that it's not just the look and feel of the ad, but rather how a candidate it treated from the moment he sends an application in to the day he is 'onboarded' in his new job.

Just plain hostile

"Why do some ads say if you haven't heard from us by a certain day, you have been unsuccessful? Why are others so officious and copy-heavy that people never read to the bottom? This is just plain hostile.

"Others ads say only faxed copies of CVs or emails will be accepted which is risible - if an employer really wants to see who is out there, they will allow as many channels as possible to submit CVs.

Brown mentions that they hear stories all the time of people who submit CVs and never receive even a call or any response ever from the recruiter, which leaves such a bad brand impression. "Another big no-no is the tardy response. Why would anyone get back to a talented job seeker three months after they've applied for a position?

Keep candidates in the loop

"Not only will they more than likely have found another job, but are definitely going to take a dim view of such a languid attitude. We strongly advocate keeping all candidates in the loop and to tell them if they have been unsuccessful and why."

Brown says that even once an offer has been made, the recruiter needs to keep the candidate up to date on at all times and ensure they are 'onboarded' correctly.

"Consumerism is definitely on the rise in SA and the service we expect from hotels and restaurants is also what people expect from recruiters."

Adcorp Talent Resourcing is a division of JSE-listed Adcorp, which ranked first in the Financial Mail Top Empowerment Companies in 2006 and ranked seventh overall on the JSE.