"I decided not to hire a candidate after a recent interview. He'd like to know why he didn't make the grade. Do I have to tell him why?"

You certainly don't have to - but it might be a really good idea!

It's already April and the busy season is just around the corner. Perhaps you're looking for someone to round out your team?

Let's say you put together a short list and you're getting ready to interview a few candidates. If you have a vacancy, you'll usually meet with 3 to 7 people before making your final decision. Of course, pleasant surprises sometimes happen: you might only have to interview one person and he or she might turn out to be the right one - but that doesn't happen too often!

Let's say you interview five people and three candidates are clearly more qualified than the rest. You do a second round of interviews and check all their references. Finally, you decide to hire the best person. Luckily, your "star candidate" accepts your offer! You send him the information he'll need for the first day on the job, you finalize the hiring details and you get ready to bring him on board.

All's well that ends well, right? But wait: are you sure you haven't forgotten something important?

What about the other four people you interviewed?

Obviously, if they never hear back from you, they'll eventually realize they didn't make the grade. But have you ever considered telling them why?

First of all, put yourself in their shoes. What if you were looking for a job and you never heard back from a potential employer - wouldn't you like to know why?
If you figure you don't have enough time to follow up, maybe you don't just need a new employee - maybe you need several!

When you think about it, Quebec's insurance sector is a "small world" in which everyone knows everyone. That means that it's in your interest to ensure that unsuccessful candidates understand why they weren't hired. So, explain things simply and show empathy - those are important parts of client service. After all, don't you want the unsuccessful candidates to know what's going on? Of course, they may feel rejected, but surely you don't want to make them feel worse? And don't you want them to say good things about you and your firm within their personal networks?

Who knows? Maybe an unsuccessful junior candidate who lacked experience in 2018 might be the right choice for your company in 2019 or 2020 or 2021. If you stay on good terms with them, they might be willing to give you a "second chance" in the future!

Still, you might be thinking that making that dreaded phone call will take valuable time and effort. Perhaps you're not feeling entirely comfortable with the situation. That's perfectly natural: no one likes to be the bearer of bad news.

So, I have some good news for you! You don't have to make the call yourself!

If you're already working with a recruitment agency, I probably haven't told you anything you don't already know. That's because following up with unsuccessful candidates is one of the things that agencies do - at least it is if you're working with the right one.

A good recruitment agency will place its clients and candidates on an equal footing, building trust with both groups. Explaining to unsuccessful candidates why they weren't hired means providing them with constructive criticism; areas for potential improvement can also be identified for the "next time around". That's known as creating a virtuous circle, based on trust. Whether candidates are hired or not, the most important thing in business is the service you provide: if you treat jobseekers and clients equally well, you've achieved your goal!

Recruitment consultants are trained to communicate positively with candidates, both before and after the interview. They not only have the right tools, they also have the required experience. That's part of their day-to-day job.

Following a recruitment process, entrusting a professional with the task of contacting unsuccessful candidates on your behalf is another (perhaps lesser-known) advantage of dealing with a recruitment agency.

That way, you don't have to deal with any situations that might prove embarrassing. And you'll preserve your firm's reputation.

So be sure to always do business with a recruiting professional!

James Devinant, Recruitment Consultant, Insurance Division, Totem Talent Recruitment.