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Food and drink firms offer the best recruitment process
Access’s Recruitment and Resourcing Index found that food and beverage firms were the seventh most likely industry to land top talent due to offering the best candidate experiences during the application process.
The index was compiled based on differing metrics, such as user-experience of careers pages, the number of questions on an application form and whether candidates can apply via LinkedIn or need to send a covering letter. The higher the score, the better the candidate experience.
Climbing the ranks
Food and drink firms broke into the top ten with an average index score of 146.9, while manufacturing as a whole placed fifth with a score of 148.2. Topping the charts was retail and ecommerce with a score of 158.6.
Julia Harvie-Liddel, head of recruitment at The Access Group, said: “In today’s competitive jobs market, organisations cannot afford to risk losing candidates at the final stage because of poor experiences with their website and arduous application forms.
“The good news is that with a few improvements, employers could see a vast improvement in the number of people who complete their application form. Make sure your careers pages or microsite is performing well from a technical perspective.
“Like customers, candidates will be put off by sites that are slow to load or don’t display properly on a mobile, so ask your digital team to check its Core Web Vitals. Just as important is updating your website with the latest roles and engaging content – everything from rewards and benefits to company life.”
The worst candidates
When it comes to the worst candidate experiences, industries with long-standing skill shortages led the way in the index with accounting and finance, automotive and building and construction firms all ranking highly in the index of industries struggling to land top talent.
Harvie-Liddel added that recruitment software can play a valuable role in improving the experience for potential new recruits.
“This technology enables firms to create a professional branded website that attracts candidates, engages them at every stage of the journey – keeping them updated on the status of their application and completing checks as efficiently as possible,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, research from Zellis has identified a worrying turnover trend in manufacturing in the UK and Ireland, with a third of employees saying they’re unmotivated by their current job. So, what will make them stay...?
