By Marie-Josée Tessier, CHRP, MBA, M.Ed.

I am delighted to have accepted the RCCAQ's invitation to write a column for their Liaison. My mandate is to discuss a range of topics relating to human resource management (HRM). As you know, HRM involves much more than staff recruitment, payroll issues and conflict management! In the past, HRM was more of an administrative function; nowadays, it is an increasingly strategic area for many companies. This comes as no surprise: according to a recent Deloitte study, 85% of the value created by a company is based on three criteria: branding, intellectual property and people.

The RCCAQ's convention last year was organized around the theme of "The Client Experience: A Guarantee of Our Success". In HR terms, the client experience corresponds to the experience of candidates seeking jobs with your company. In keeping with client-specific principles, the candidate experience encompasses all of an individual's emotions and feelings before, during and after he or she submits an application.

So why should you concern yourself with the candidate experience? Because if you wish to fill key positions quickly, the relationship you build with jobseekers is crucial; indeed, it will enable you to set yourself apart from the competition! According to the Talent Board's Candidate Experience survey (CandE), 96.9% of jobseekers who had a positive experience would advise an acquaintance to apply for the same position. Here are a few more statistics from the 2014 CandE survey that confirm the "word of mouth" benefits stemming from positive candidate experiences:

23.0% of candidates say they would become more frequent clients with greater "brand loyalty".

82.3% would become ambassadors for your brand among their circle of friends and family.

50.5% would blog about or otherwise share their positive experiences.

Let's not kid ourselves: nowadays, jobseekers have access to a wealth of information on a range of companies via the Internet, social media, etc. That means they may have formed an opinion about you even before you meet them! And as the above figures indicate, prospective employees may well turn to social media to talk about your company… in glowing or not so glowing terms!

Here are a few questions for you to consider:

• Am I attractive as an employer? Are my job descriptions well written, clear and punchy? Will they encourage jobseekers to "climb aboard"?
• Is my application process user-friendly?
• Do you send out an "acknowledgment of receipt" email to prospective employees reminding them of the various steps that lie ahead, i.e. so as to not leave candidates in the dark?
• When candidates come in for an interview, does the receptionist smile and greet them by name? Do you give them a quick tour of the office so they have some idea as to what the work environment is like? Bear this in mind: jobseekers may be trying to win you over, but you're trying to win them over at the same time!
• Do you follow up with unsuccessful candidates after the interviews are done? If you're only trying to fill one position, there will no doubt be multiple candidates who don't get the green light. If you take time to follow up with them, they may well come away with a positive impression of the process nonetheless.

When it comes to summing up the candidate experience, one good trick is to put yourself in the jobseeker's shoes—and not just during the interview. As you have no doubt realized, the candidate experience starts when a jobseeker visits your company's website (or hears about your job posting); it doesn't end until your new employee's on-the-job integration is complete.

Since a company's greatest asset is its employees, HR issues should always be front and centre. The same applies to the candidate experience.

So stand apart from your competitors by fostering a positive candidate experience!