Ghosting candidates is damaging your brand

It’s a term that’s rife in the dating world, but it’s not relegated to that corner alone. Ghosting has become a part of the job search experience, and is so pervasive that it’s creating a negative ripple effect on brand perception.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term ghosting, it refers to the act of suddenly ceasing all communication with a person. It’s unthinkable to leave a customer hanging high and dry once they’ve engaged in the purchase cycle - so why would you do it to a candidate? 

Candidates are now fighting back through movements like #endghosting. Brands are also switching on and pledging their commitment to end a practice that has a detrimental impact on candidate wellbeing and confidence.

But there’s more to the story.

The real question you should be asking is this: What is the commercial value of candidate experience?

For many organisations, your employees and potential employees are also your customers. Every interaction they have with your brand (as a candidate or customer) has a lasting impression and shapes your reputation. 

Translating that into numbers is important to quantify the impact ghosting may be having on your brand. The founder of #endghosting Graeme Johnson put a value of £4.4 million (AUD$8.15) in revenue per year on Ghosting while at Virgin Media. The analysis indicated that 6% of rejected candidates (123,000 rejected candidates per year) would go on to cancel their subscription ($50 per month). 

Now let’s imagine if the experience was positive, and instead of losing subscribers, 6% of rejected candidates then signed up. That’s an additional £4.4 million (AUD$8.15) on your bottom line.

And imagine those 123,000 walked away with a belief in who you are, and could confidently talk to your Employer Value Proposition (EVP). That’s a huge audience out there in the world building your Employer Brand and reputation (for free!).   

By thinking strategically about candidate experience, you can unlock commercial outcomes for the organisation usually reserved for Marketing and Sales Teams. (And contribute positively to candidate wellbeing and confidence.) 

Quantify the impact of ghosting

Get clear on the commercial value of not only ending ghosting but unlocking advocacy through the candidate experience. By shifting the stakeholder conversation internally from happiness to business performance and reputation, you’ll put candidate experience firmly on the agenda.

Commit to tracking candidate experience through a survey or 1:1 interviews (depending on the size of your organisation) and measure your CNPS (Candidate Net Promoter Score) to quantify the % of detractors and promoters in this audience. 

Be more like Casper - the friendly ghost

“Caspering” - also in the dating lexicon - is all about letting people down gently before disappearing from their lives. Design your candidate experience in a way that not only provides successful candidates with a great experience but also consciously designs the experience of unsuccessful candidates (including those who don’t make it to the interview stage).

Run a series of deep dive 1:1 interviews with successful and unsuccessful candidates to map out the experience and identify the key moments that matter to focus efforts and investment in the right places. Design interventions (aligned to your organisation’s EVP) and build capability in TA Teams and Hiring Managers to deliver the experience consistently.     

Unlock brand advocacy and build community

Virgin Media has 123,000 rejected candidates every year. What is this number for your organisation? This audience, full of potential candidates or customers (just like specific talent pools) needs an ongoing strategy to nurture and maintain this ready-made community.

Educate and strengthen connection by inviting this audience to events, sharing the latest opportunities, serving up content that reinforces your EVP and news from your organisation to build their awareness and understanding so this audience can confidently advocate for you. 

If you’re still unconvinced it’s worth the investment, let’s look at the numbers. Research in the UK has found that 86% of ghosted candidates are left feeling down or depressed and a whopping 94% of ghosted candidates retain negative feelings toward the brand.

Organisations are investing millions of dollars into the customer experience, and overlooking the customers interacting with their HR department.  There’s a fundamental truth at play - your candidates are your customers (and potential customers). Treat them well.

If you’re interesting in learning more about creating lasting positive experiences for your candidates, and establishing an EVP that is felt across all touch points, get in touch with our Client Advisor, Nicola Hutchinson at Nicola@weareunity.com.