For HRs or recruitment experts, communicating with candidates for potential openings is a part and parcel, a daily routine. Both the parties (recruiter and candidate) here see an opportunity developing, but then suddenly, there is a radio silence from the candidate. Yes, the candidate goes dark. This is followed by a streak of confusion and bitterness that stays with you and likely disheartens you. Yes, you have been professionally ghosted.
This has become a buzzword in HR community. When you finally get the perfect candidate after several searches and frantic phone calls. He gets shortlisted, is called up for interviews, clears each round and is offered the joining letter, sounds like a happy ending. The same candidate for some reason disappears without any prior intimation nor does he state any reason for going into the dark.
Here are 3 ways HR can respond to professional ghosting:
- Recruitment involves various rounds of interviews, tests and then salary negotiations. However, the entire process can be painful taking a lot of time, which is often frustrating on the part of candidates and forcing them to walk away. This is why it is advisable to have smarter tests like aptitude tests and a good online recruitment software to speed up the hiring process. Eureka! Improved candidate experience.
- Communication is the most important factor most HR folks tend to give a blind eye. When the candidate finishes the interview or test, he/she expects to know the results at the earliest. Keeping communication clear and transparent is a healthy step in retaining the candidate’s trust in the company.
- Most importantly, HRs ought to take efforts to decrease the time it takes for a candidate to move from interview to offer letter. In case of extended time periods, ensure that you come up with ways for improving candidate engagement in that time window. Considering the amount of calls, mails, and interviews HR has to set up on a daily basis, it is impossible to keep track of all the candidates and focus on the ones the hiring managers find suitable. Having a good recruitment system in place would help manage this in an efficient manner.
Read also: Did your new recruit back out at the last minute? Here is what to do.
Pocket HRMS is one such HRMS solution that takes care of critical and routine HR processes from hire to retire thus, rendering more time at hand for the HRs to focus on other strategic chores. To learn more about how an online recruitment management software can help curb job ghosting or write to us at sales@pockethrms.com for a free demo.
