As engaging with and attracting the best talent increasingly becomes a strategic HR and business objective, organisations have understandably focused time and money on creating a positive experience for applicants. However, while there are careers and company websites that have been subject to scrutiny and investment in order to make them more efficient, I feel as though there’s less focus on the actual online experience  than candidates would come to expect.

Indeed, according to PwC’s Future of Work report, there remains a gap between what candidates want and what is on offer. According to the data, 65% of people around the world want to work for an organisation with a powerful social conscience. Yet just 36% of HR professionals build talent strategies around this.

Rather than simply suggesting that there needs to be an improvement to candidate experiences, particularly online, I want to help you visualise it. If we look at retailers, it’s fair to say that they have gone to extreme lengths to satisfy their customers as the rise of online shopping has continued. Firms have done their utmost to ensure that people can make purchases easily and receive a tailored experience that leaves them with a high level of brand satisfaction.

This has been achieved through a number of relatively simple initiatives. Suggested purchases, ‘one-click’ shopping, live chat options to seek immediate help and even free next day delivery – or same day delivery in major cities – have all been implemented in order to make it much easier for individuals to buy. And it is by and large working.

If we consider any potential talent as our customers (which I would say we should all be doing already), we have to ask ourselves if their experience of company careers sites and the hiring process matches that which they would expect from a retailer. Do they have access to a ‘one-click’ application? Is there an interactive Q&A area? Can they read ‘reviews’ from other employees? Can they access the site and ‘buy’ (or apply) on their mobile?

Is there an interactive Q&A area? Can they read ‘reviews’ from other employees?

These are just a few questions that we need to be asking ourselves when looking at evolving the online candidate experience and I’m quite comfortable in suggesting that the number of professionals able to answer all of the above in a positive way will be limited.

So how can we ensure candidates have a customer experience?

There are a number of steps that need to be taken and in order to give each one the attention it deserves I will aim to cover one off in each of my coming blogs. But the initial action that needs to be taken is what I refer to as the concept of ‘laneing’.

In essence, this approach sees the careers website separated into ‘lanes’ that are tailored to the wants and needs of individual users. ‘Fast lane’ candidates, for example, already know about your company and have identified it as their ideal place to work, so they just want to be able to apply straight away.

‘Fast lane’ candidates, for example, already know about your company and have identified it as their ideal place to work

In comparison, those in the slow lane want to know more about your company, its values and why they should want to work there. A static website will not meet the needs of both of these audiences, so one, or potentially both, will be left with a relatively negative experience that doesn’t appeal to their need for speed (or not in the case of the slow lane individuals).

In the age of big data and artificial intelligence, this concept isn’t as tricky as it sounds and I would urge all professionals not to fear the potential of technology. Make the most of such tools to create a tailored candidate experience that focuses on ease of use.

By treating our candidates as well as retailers do consumers, we can not only improve their experience overall, but also increase employer brand awareness, positive word of mouth and, in the longer term, retention numbers. HR teams are great at learning from each other in order to improve people processes, so what’s stopping you from looking beyond the practice for inspiration?