Building talent loyalty requires speed and accuracy at all stages
Talent pools remain tight in most industries, and 57% of contingent workers are considering leaving temporary work for full-time employment if it is available, even as many employers increasingly rely on contingent workers for the flexibility they offer. This is a slight improvement from last year when 64% of workers were considering the same shift — a positive sign for the recruitment industry.
Still, the data suggest a misalignment between employer strategies and candidate preferences that will keep labor markets tight for the foreseeable future — and many candidates may take contingent work because they have to, not because it’s what they want. Given this state of affairs, it is even more important for agencies to deliberately create a frictionless, talent-centered experience that can attract, nurture, and retain the most qualified candidates who remain in the contingent labor pool.
And the data show that every step of the recruitment process matters when it comes to attracting, nurturing and retaining high-quality talent. Overall, 68% said they would work with their recruitment agency again, a proportion that is good but not great. But a positive experience at each stage of the recruitment lifecycle, from initial search to onboarding, can improve candidate loyalty by as much as 57%, offering a real opportunity for agencies to differentiate themselves.
Candidates want the right jobs, and they rely on reviews to decide if the agency can deliver
A little less than half of respondents chose a recruitment agency based on positive past experience — their own or that of someone rating their experience with the agency. Second only to having the right jobs available, creating a positive candidate experience is a huge factor in attracting and retaining talent. Agencies should make sure they are investing in reputation management solutions and actively driving positive reviews.
Candidates want weekly communication
When asked if they would be willing to work with a recruitment agency again, candidates who received the most outreach and attention from recruiters were the most likely to say yes. Candidate loyalty increases to 80% when recruiters reach out with a new opportunity before their last assignment ends. Technology makes it possible for recruiters to meet this goal, which is why Bullhorn sees a 53% increase in redeployment rates for recruitment agencies who automate their processes.
Only half of recruiters are reaching out at least one a week — by ramping up communication, agencies can really stand out and improve redeployment rates. With over a quarter of candidates only hearing from their recruiter once a month or less, there is a huge risk of talent loss at a time when recruitment agencies can ill afford it.
Candidates expect to be placed quickly
Quick placement in the right job is top of the priority list for most candidates and has the biggest impact on candidate loyalty. 22% of contract workers expect to be placed within a week of their first contact with the recruitment agency — and nearly three-quarters of candidates expect placement in 1-4 weeks. Chances are most candidates are hoping for the lower end of that range. Right now, recruiters are placing temp candidates in about two weeks, exceeding the 4-week expectation, but falling a bit short of the 1-week target. Agencies should be looking for ways to streamline the process, arming their recruiters with technology to make job matching faster and more accurate to retain and redeploy talent.
Candidates are 73% more likely to keep working with an agency if they found their recruiter to be attentive and responsive
Much of what creates a positive candidate experience and builds loyalty is within the control of recruitment agencies, either through automation or human effort. When recruiters proactively line up new opportunities, candidates are nearly 40% more likely to stay loyal to the agency — and automation can make it easy for recruiters to meet this expectation.
Agencies should also take note of how candidates want that attention — 44% of all candidates list email as their top choice. It should be noted that this differs regionally, with as many as one-quarter of candidates preferring WhatsApp in some areas of Europe. Those that keep candidates engaged on their preferred channels will retain the most talent.
What drives talent away?
It is worth noting that 62% of candidates stopped working with a recruitment agency for reasons related to speed: either the process was taking too long or they found another job before the agency was able to complete the process. Speeding up the process could go a long way toward retaining talent and building loyalty.
More than a quarter found the process was too complicated and 22% were dissatisfied with the job matching. Deploying the right technology can improve performance in all these areas, and free recruiters up to focus on communication and candidate engagement.
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Candidate experience at all stages of recruitment significantly impacts loyalty
Every stage of the recruitment cycle affects the candidate experience and, as a result, their willingness to continue working with a recruitment agency — it is crucial to get them all right. In some cases, candidates who were satisfied with a given phase of the cycle were nearly 60% more likely to remain with the same agency in the future. Filling out forms is a particular weak point in the cycle potentially leading to a loss of talent. In fact, candidates who had a positive onboarding experience with respect to forms were 57% more likely to keep working with their current recruitment agency. Agencies should lean into automation to make this step easier for candidates.
How often would you like your recruiter to reach out to you with opportunities?
Most candidates report recruiters are communicating with them less than they would like — 4% say their recruiters never reached out to them, and that jumps to 9% when they are actually on assignment. The sweet spot really seems to be weekly communication while looking and while on assignment — a rate that is really only possible through automation. Given the correlation with candidate loyalty and redeployment rates, it is especially important for agencies to focus on contacting candidates with new opportunities before their current assignment ends — something fully 20% of respondents say did not happen for them.
Most recent experience with a recruitment agency leaves opportunities to improve
73% of candidates who said signing and submitting paperwork was mostly automated indicated they would work with their recruitment agency again — as compared to 61% of those for whom the task was largely manual. Offering convenient, self-service technology throughout the process can enhance the candidate experience by removing friction and can make the recruitment process more efficient, yielding substantial cost savings for recruitment agencies.
When asked to describe their most recent experience with a recruitment agency, fully one-third of respondents cite issues with their credentials or licensing. And nearly one-quarter were not satisfied with the job matching offered by the recruiter. These are areas where highly successful recruitment agencies can really focus their attention and stand out from the rest of the market.
Conclusion
Overall, candidates are pretty clear about what they expect from recruiters and their agencies: timely placement in the right job, clear communication, and an easy process. The good news is, what candidates want is well within the control of recruitment agencies. Technology can enhance candidate matching, and automation can make administrative tasks simpler, freeing up recruiters to focus on the human aspects of candidate engagement.
