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This is Part 1 of our two-part guide on how to improve the candidate experience during the hiring process. In this article, we discuss what makes a good candidate experience and provide advanced strategies to improve the candidate experience during the hiring process. In Part 2, we explore how Verifile’s frictionless screening process can help you maintain a positive candidate experience to the very end.

In the current talent markets, candidates still retain substantial leverage, driven by ongoing skill shortages and a competitive landscape for top talent. Despite some stabilisation following the 'Great Resignation' that occurred in the aftermath of Covid-19, the demand for specific skill sets remains high. This continues to give candidates significant control in selecting their employers, especially in sectors such as technology, healthcare, and engineering, where the gap between job openings and qualified candidates persists.

To thrive in a fiercely competitive market, it's crucial for companies to prioritise creating a positive candidate experience at every stage of the recruitment process. 30% of workers surveyed by Reed say that they’re unlikely to apply to a company again, or recommend it to a friend, after a negative application experience.

Candidates want to feel valued and respected from the moment they fill out an application to when they receive a final decision from your HR department. Setting a good impression from the get-go carries on to employment and allows candidates to start the job with a positive impression of your company.

What is the Candidate Experience?

The candidate experience can be defined as how an applicant or new hire feels about an employer. The experience begins during the application process and can cover all recruitment touch points including:

• Advertisement (job description)
• Job search (your website’s career page)
• Application (ease of instructions & forms, user-friendly website)
• Communications (transparency, acknowledgement, feedback)
• Interview (in-person, video, or telephone)
• Background screening (ease, efficiency)

All of these interactions affect how a candidate perceives your company before they even begin the job.

What Makes a Good Candidate Experience?

A good candidate experience places the applicant at the centre of the hiring process. Every interaction is done with the intent of making candidates feel valued, appreciated, and respected from the very beginning and ensuring a positive and enjoyable experience whether they are hired or not.
Four important aspects of a positive candidate experience are:

• Clear communication
• Transparency
• Streamlined hiring process
• Efficient background checks

Investing in the above not only improves the candidate experience but can save your company time and money by also enhancing the experience for recruiters and HR managers.

Advanced Strategies to Improve the Candidate Experience During the Hiring Process

Continuing from the points above, below you will find advanced strategies to improve the candidate experience for your applicants and ensure your company makes a positive first impression.

1. Clear Communication
Good communication is vital for the candidate experience as it shows you respect them and value the time they’ve put into their application and interview. It’s all too common for job applicants to be ghosted by recruiters after applying or interviewing for a role. While the delay in response may not be the fault of the recruiter, it’s important to maintain communication with the candidate to avoid leaving them in the dark.

Advanced Strategy: Personalise communication by addressing candidates by name and referencing specific details from their application. Use a mix of email, phone calls, and SMS to keep candidates informed and engaged.

Implementation Tips:

• Set up an automatic response that goes out whenever an application is received, and if possible, follow up with a personal email to reassure candidates that their application is being reviewed.
• If there are delays with the hiring, communicate with applicants and let them know that the position has yet to be filled.
• After an interview, call the candidate and let them know if they haven’t received a job. Offer feedback and wish them luck in the job search.

2. Transparency
Research by CareerBuilder found that 83% of candidates felt their experience would be improved if employers gave more information about the hiring process. This not only sets expectations from the beginning but makes candidates feel more valued and involved in the process.

Advanced Strategy: Use advanced technologies like candidate portals where candidates can log in and check the status of their application in real time.

Implementation Tips:

• Explain how many interviews will be held in total.
• Let candidates know who they will be meeting in the interview.
• Clarify how long an interview is expected to take.
• Inform candidates early on if background screening will be part of the hiring process.
• Let candidates know as soon as possible if you’re no longer considering them for the role.

3. Streamlined Hiring Process
A streamlined hiring process not only improves the candidate experience but also increases efficiency for your company. The goal is to create a simple and effective process that guides job seekers through the recruitment funnel swiftly and easily.

Advanced Strategy: Implement AI-driven recruitment tools to automate resume screening and identify top candidates efficiently.

Implementation Tips:

• Introduce a user-friendly hiring platform that prioritises the applicant. Make it easy for job candidates to fill in their information, add attachments, and save their details for the future.
• Ensure your website is mobile-responsive and easy to navigate on desktop, smartphone, and tablet, to allow candidates more opportunities to apply and manage their applications.
• Have a support team available to help with questions and concerns, showing candidates that your company is supportive of their employees and takes the hiring process seriously.

4. Efficient Background Checks
Many background check processes are lengthy and can be a source of frustration for job applicants as they juggle printing, signing, scanning, and uploading multiple files. To improve the candidate experience, and reduce the amount of work they need to do, you can start by having a more efficient screening process.

Advanced Strategy: Choose a background screening provider that offers an integrated online portal for easy document submission and status tracking. Ensure the process is mobile-friendly and provide clear instructions and support to candidates.

Implementation Tips:

• Go paperless with a background screening provider that has an online portal. This allows candidates to quickly fill in their information from a desktop, smartphone, or tablet, and save their information to continue their application later.
• Provide clear information on the process and guidance on how to use the online portal. Videos are a great way to do this.
• Offer customer service and support that can guide candidates throughout the process and clarify any questions or concerns they may have.
• Move the background check process online to offer faster turnaround times. This benefits both the candidate and your company by reducing the chance that applicants will accept jobs elsewhere due to delays.
• Integrate your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) with the background check provider to streamline the workflow for the recruitment team. While this may not directly impact candidates, it significantly increases efficiency for the recruitment team, allowing them to focus more on candidate engagement and less on administrative tasks.

5. Integration with Employer Branding
The candidate experience impacts employer branding significantly. Aligning your recruitment processes with your brand values can attract top talent and ensure consistency in your company’s messaging.

Implementation Tips:

• Showcase your company culture and values throughout the hiring process. Use your career page, job descriptions, and social media to highlight what makes your company a great place to work.
• Provide a seamless and positive experience that reflects your company’s commitment to its employees.

6. Measuring Success
To continuously improve the candidate experience, it’s essential to measure the success of your initiatives. Regularly review and update your hiring process based on feedback and performance metrics.

Metrics to Track:

• Candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• Time-to-hire
• Candidate satisfaction surveys
• Application completion rates
• Interview-to-offer ratios

7. Continuous Improvement and Feedback Loop
Create a feedback loop by soliciting feedback from candidates at various stages of the hiring process. Use this feedback to make iterative improvements and stay responsive to candidate needs.

Implementation Tips:

• Send out surveys to candidates after each stage of the hiring process.
• Analyse the feedback to identify common pain points and areas for improvement.
• Implement changes based on feedback and monitor the impact on candidate experience.

A good impression starts from the very beginning

The candidate experience is not something that should be overlooked. Instead, companies should strive to exceed expectations by making job applicants feel valued and appreciated for their time. A candidate who leaves the hiring process feeling respected is more likely to start the job with a positive attitude and confidence that they’ve made the right decision to dedicate their efforts to your company.

If you’d like to improve the candidate experience by making your background screening process more efficient, we’d love to help you. Verifile is a leading background screening provider that makes it easy for both companies and candidates to conduct their background checks online. Our service is simple, efficient, and user-friendly, and we have a dedicated candidate support team ready to answer questions and queries.

Speak to our team to see how we can help you create a background screening programme that puts candidates first. Give us a call on +44 (0) 1234 60 80 90 or send an email to sales@verifile.co.uk.

Read Part 2, How Effective Screening Can Enhance Your Candidate Experience, to get an insight into how Verifile’s frictionless screening process can help you maintain a positive candidate experience to the very end.
 

This is Part 2 of our two-part guide on how to improve the candidate experience during the hiring process. In Part 1, we discussed what makes a good candidate experience and provided four strategies to improve the candidate experience during the hiring process. In this article, Part 2, we explore how Verifile’s frictionless screening process can help you maintain a positive candidate experience to the very end. 

As a recruiter, you’ve likely invested significant time and effort into securing a great candidate and providing them with a pleasant hiring experience. Don’t let background screenings, often the final stage of the process, damage the positive impression you’ve worked hard to create. 
 
For many candidates, the background check process can be a tiresome, lengthy, and sometimes isolating experience. Making this process more positive, efficient, and supportive can help you deliver a great hiring experience right until the very end. 
 
In this article, we discuss how Verifile’s frictionless background screening process can enhance your candidate experience with helpful support, efficient use of technology, customised communication, and a focus on privacy. 

Nurture your candidates with outstanding support every step of the way

When Verifile partners with employers, we like to think of ourselves as an extension of their HR team. We recognise that the screening process can be stressful for some candidates, and we are supportive throughout the entire process. 
 
In the early stages, our team can help candidates positively understand why screenings are necessary and dispel concerns to put them at ease with the process. If something comes up in a background check, we handle all communications with utmost respect and sensitivity. 
 
We are just as dedicated to providing a positive candidate experience as you are. The following are some examples of how our team supports candidates from beginning to end: 

1. Clear Communication

Many candidates approach the background check process with hesitation and worry. It can feel uncomfortable to feel like you’re being questioned and checked, and for some people, the process may involve dealing with sensitive information. This is why we invest in human interaction to support all choice channels, ensuring candidates can communicate through their preferred method, whether it be email, live chat, or speaking directly with our team.
 
We have a dedicated Candidate Relationship Team with patient, thoughtful, and highly experienced team members who are there to guide candidates every step of the way. The goal of this team is to make people feel heard, respected, and supported throughout the entire screening process. 
 
If a candidate has special circumstances, we know it’s important to speak to a human being to seek reassurance or resolutions. Our team members are always there to provide guidance and make the process smooth and comfortable for candidates. 
 
Clear communication is essential for a positive candidate experience. At Verifile, we are experts in background screening, and we ensure the process is simple and straightforward to avoid overwhelming candidates. Our team provides timely updates at every stage, from application receipt to completion.
 
By combining human interaction with clear and consistent communication, we strive to create a seamless and supportive background screening process. This approach not only helps alleviate candidate concerns but also enhances their overall experience, ensuring they feel valued and respected throughout the hiring journey.
 
2. Gentle follow-ups and assistance 

If a candidate doesn’t complete the online screening form within the first 48 hours, we offer an enhanced service to follow-up and provide assistance. One of our professional Candidate Relationship Team members will make a courtesy call to provide any assistance and assurance required to help candidates access our system, complete their form, and provide us with all the information we require to initiate the checks you’ve ordered. 
 
This proactive approach not only helps increase the speed and efficiency of background checks but also supports candidates who may be too shy to reach out for help. Additionally, we offer live chat support within the form, allowing candidates to get assistance without navigating away from the page.
 
3. Minimal back and forth

When we first receive your candidate’s details, we carefully review the information and cross-reference it with your background screening policy to ensure we have everything we need at the outset. If we identify any possible discrepancies, insufficiencies, or apparent errors, we list these down and consolidate them into one conversation. 
 
Once we have completed our review, we then call and/or email the candidate to request the information required. This process ensures that candidates aren’t being contacted by multiple team members for different pieces of information or documentation. Or worse, being contacted by different teams seeking the same information from candidates for multiple checks. By cc’ing clients in the last chase, we ensure they are aware of what is going on.
 
As a result, the candidate’s user experience is more positive, and they feel that their time is being respected. Candidates can interact with us through various channels that suit their preferences, including phone, email, and live chat. We also provide a comprehensive knowledge base for help and support, and live status updates are available within the candidate portal.

Streamline the process with efficient technology

Efficient screening benefits both candidates and employers by reducing back and forth and speeding up the process. We invest in technology to reduce a lot of friction and points of frustration for candidates by automating many manual processes, enhancing user experience, and making it quick and easy to submit information. 
 
Verifile uses its own in-house screening software which is frequently updated to improve processes and address inefficiencies. Candidates can access their information through a candidate portal which includes clear guidance, a video walkthrough, and autosave features so candidates don’t have to re-enter information they’ve already submitted. 
 
To enhance accessibility, our platform is equipped with tools that ensure it is usable by everyone, including those with disabilities. This commitment to accessibility ensures that all candidates can navigate and complete their background screening process with ease.
 
Our efficient use of technology is also useful to hiring organisations. Recruiters can integrate their Applicant Tracking System (ATS) into our system to allow information and service requests to pass seamlessly between the two. This speeds up processing times and eliminates errors that can arise through entering data manually. 
 
Case Study: How Verifile helped LSBU save time and money with paperless DBS checks – Verifile's innovative approach reduced LSBU’s screening time by 30%, significantly improving their hiring efficiency.
 
By leveraging advanced technology, we not only streamline the screening process but also ensure it is accessible to all candidates, providing a more inclusive and efficient experience.

Personalise communications with your brand identity and tone of voice

It can feel strange and unwelcoming for candidates to be directed to an unfamiliar third party screening provider. To make the process more pleasant, you can customise candidate communications so that your company feels like a part of the screening process.
 
Our screening process can be tailored to ensure continuity of tone, language, values, and company culture. You can also brand the Verifile portal with your company’s logo, while also making it abundantly clear to candidates that Verifile is undertaking the screening process on your behalf. 
 
This allows your background screening communications to feel natural and seamlessly fit in with your company’s other touchpoints. 

Case Study: How Verifile improved Aldi’s background screening process to streamline recruitment

Put candidates at ease with a focus on privacy

Many candidates feel nervous about submitting their information to a third-party provider. Privacy is a priority at Verifile, and we provide multiple assurances to candidates on how we use and protect their personal information. 
 
From the beginning, candidates are made aware that we only process or share their personal information with: 

• The company that requested it,
• Any third party we need to contact to collect of validate personal information, and
• Service providers we use to fulfil services and manage our infrastructure (e.g. the DBS, credit referencing agencies, and our Cloud hosting supplier).

Verifile is committed to protecting individual privacy rights and we hold ourselves to the highest legal and ethical standard for compliance. We value the trust our clients, colleagues, and suppliers place in us, and work to maintain that trust by building privacy protection into everything we do. 
 
This not only provides peace of mind for candidates but also reflects well on your company by assuring that privacy is a priority. 

Example: Verifile’s Commitment to Data Security and Privacy

Safeguard your candidate experience with a positive screening process

 At Verifile, we are just as invested in your candidate experience as you are. There’s a person behind every check and a team member ready to guide you and your candidates through each step of the screening process. Our goal is for candidates to leave the background process feeling supported and for your company to manage the screening process with ease. 
 
To learn more about how we can help you create a custom screening programme that benefits your company and its employees, get in touch with our team at sales@verifile.co.uk or give us a call on +44 (0) 1234 60 80 90. 

The importance of conducting thorough background checks cannot be overstated, especially in sectors where safeguarding vulnerable individuals is paramount. However, the challenge arises when historical convictions, particularly those committed during childhood, come to light during these checks. Employers must tread carefully to balance fairness with the need for security.
 
A recent article published in HR Magazine shed light on this very topic, highlighting how background checks often reveal minor childhood offences that might no longer be relevant or fair to consider. As a leading provider of background verification services, Verifile recognises the complexities involved in this process and advocates for an approach that ensures fairness while maintaining the necessary safeguards.
 
This blog post expands on the insights shared in the HR Magazine article, offering a deeper exploration of how employers can responsibly manage background checks, particularly in relation to childhood offences. We aim to guide employers in making informed decisions that protect their organisations while also upholding fairness and giving candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their rehabilitation.
 

The Context of Childhood Offences

It is well-recognised that childhood is a time for growth and learning, during which individuals may make mistakes. The UK legal system acknowledges this by implementing the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) filtering rules, which are designed to limit the disclosure of minor offences committed in youth. The purpose of these rules is to prevent such offences from having a lasting impact on a person’s life, particularly when they are not indicative of their current character.
 
For example, an offence like "taking a cycle without authority" committed at the age of 14 would likely be filtered out of a DBS check after a certain period, provided the individual has not reoffended. This allows individuals to move on from their past and be judged on their present merits rather than outdated misdemeanours. However, if the individual had multiple offences or if the offence was of a more serious nature, such as assault, it might still appear on a Standard or Enhanced check.


 

The Role of Employers in Background Checks

 When employers conduct criminal records checks, especially for roles involving vulnerable groups, it is crucial to select the appropriate level of DBS check—whether Basic, Standard, or Enhanced. Each level provides different levels of disclosure, with Enhanced checks revealing even spent convictions if deemed relevant to the role.
 
Yet, even when historical convictions are revealed, it is vital that employers assess each case on its individual merits. A 40-year-old conviction for something like fare evasion, particularly if it is the only blemish on an otherwise clean record, should not be weighed the same as recent convictions that indicate a pattern of concerning behaviour.
 

Choosing the Right Level of DBS Check

Employers must choose the appropriate level of DBS check based on the role they are hiring for—Basic, Standard, or Enhanced. Each type of check reveals different levels of information: 

• Basic Check: This level might suffice for most roles such as typical office jobs, warehouse operators and others. It only discloses unspent convictions, providing a more limited view of a candidate’s criminal history.
• Standard Check: This level discloses both spent and unspent convictions, along with cautions, warnings, and reprimands. It is typically used for roles that involve some level of responsibility such as some roles in Financial Services but do not necessarily include direct interaction with vulnerable groups. 
• Enhanced Check: This is necessary for roles involving significant responsibility, such as teaching or healthcare, as it can disclose all the information included in a Standard Check, plus any additional relevant information held by local police and checks against the barred lists if requested.

 
Employers should carefully consider the level of check required, as the choice has significant implications for both the organisation and the candidate. For instance, a historical conviction like a 40-year-old fare evasion offence should be evaluated within the context of the candidate’s entire history. If this is the only issue and the individual has demonstrated a clean record since, this should be weighed against their overall suitability. However, if the candidate has recent issues such as a history of fraud or dishonesty, even minor past offences might take on greater significance as part of a broader pattern of behaviour.
 

Balancing Safeguarding with Fairness

 Verifile strongly advocates that employers should not automatically reject candidates based on old convictions, especially those committed during childhood. Instead, it is advisable to engage with the candidate, providing them with an opportunity to explain the context of their past behaviour and any rehabilitation efforts they have made since. This approach not only fosters fairness but also aligns with the principles of natural justice and rehabilitation.
 

Considering Jurisdictional Differences

 It's also important to note that different UK jurisdictions have varying rules regarding the disclosure of offences. The filtering system discussed primarily applies in England and Wales. Employers must be aware of the rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where different filtering criteria may apply, and consider whether similar offences would be disclosed in these regions.
 

Conclusion

 Verifile strongly believes that while safeguarding is paramount, it must be balanced with fairness and recognition of an individual’s right to rehabilitation. Employers have a responsibility to ensure that their background checks are conducted thoughtfully, considering the full context of a candidate’s life and career, especially when dealing with historical offences from childhood.
 
Employers are encouraged to engage in a dialogue with candidates, allowing them to provide context for their past actions and demonstrate how they have moved forward. By taking a nuanced approach to background checks, employers can protect their organisations while also supporting the rehabilitation and fair treatment of candidates.
 
At Verifile, we are committed to helping employers navigate the complexities of background checks with integrity and fairness, ensuring that the right decisions are made for both the organisation and the individuals involved. Through careful consideration and a balanced approach, we can contribute to building a fairer and more inclusive workforce.

To learn more about how we can help you create a custom screening programme that benefits your company and its employees, get in touch with our team at sales@verifile.co.uk or give us a call on +44 (0) 1234 60 80 90.