Research has shown that organisations are damaging their employer brand and bottom line by engaging in poor recruitment practices.
A survey of more than 500 recruitment managers, by psychometric testing firm SHL, revealed one-quarter felt overstretched by the number of applications they received during the economic downturn.
This is having a knock-on effect on their recruitment processes, with nearly half of the 1,600 workers surveyed reporting they were left with a negative view of an organisationfollowing an unsuccessful job application. A further 18% said their recruitment experience had been so bad it had stopped them doing business with the company as a result –a figure that rose to 28% for those aged 25 to 34.
The recruitment practices most likely to put candidates off a company were not being told they had been unsuccessful (46%) and a lack of feedback (39%).
David Leigh, chief executive of SHL, said it was vital HR remembered that "candidates are customers too", adding that it was "worrying" that many customers were applying for jobs but employers were not answering them. "Businesses could be losing significant sums over the lifetime of a disgruntled candidate," he said.