December 11, 2018
It's a Candidate's Market Part 4: Sweat the Details for a Great Candidate Experience
There are some common attributes of a great consumer experience. One is attention to seemingly minor details.
I recall reading Howard Schultz’s Pour Your Heart Into It, in which he articulated the entrepreneurial passion and commitment to a vision that underpinned the success of Starbucks. He and his colleagues were creating our “third place” to gather. No detail was too small to ignore: Schultz inspected the color and weight of the napkins, the presentation of the food, the look and cushioning of the chairs, and the employee experience of the baristas. Everything mattered.
In today’s competitive talent market, CPG organizations need to show candidates this same level of radical hospitality (which we talked about in Part 3). You must sweat the details. The little things matter, and they say a lot about your culture and your company.
Examine your entire process, including:
- initial conversations
- on-site discussions
- background work and references
- follow-up notes to candidates (don’t just expect a note from them)
- your approach to compensation
- how you extend an offer
- the onboarding process
By sweating the details, you can be sure you avoid any trap doors in the candidate experience.
An old friend and colleague worried about every detail, too. He worked hard to improve the candidate experience, because a great experience also led to deeper insight and better judgment about the person’s fit for the role. He created a list of little tactics that seemed disconnected when looked at individually, but created a holistic experience when combined. He established a caring, empathetic, safe harbor for executives to reveal who they were, what drove them and permitted them to risk sharing their dreams. We have so much more science today, but his art was revealing.
So, sweat the details. For example, when you bring executives in for interviews to your offices, don’t use the sign-in sheet at the front desk. Instead, guide reception on how to greet these guests differently. Far too often, executives look at the sign-in sheet and see their competition on the docket. They are not afraid of the competition. They are afraid you don’t respect their confidentiality.
Let your mind walk down the path of what that says about your company and your culture. How many other details in your process create employer and leadership team brand risk?
In Part 5, we explore the impact of the interviewing process on the candidate experience.
Art Brown is a member of Spencer Stuart's Board, CEO, Consumer, Private Equity, and Marketing and Sales Officer practices. He concentrates on the consumer sector, advising on talent and leadership. Reach him via email and follow him on LinkedIn.