Chris Hoyt and Elaine Orler Discuss The Importance Of The Candidate Experience

What importance does your organisation place on the candidate experience? Do you use the feedback from candidates to inform your recruitment strategies so you can give a positive experience to job seekers?  Chris Hoyt(@TheRecruiterGuy), Global Talent Engagement And Marketing Leader for Pepsico, an organiastion who have been previous winners of the North American Candidate Experience Awards, believes gaining a deep understanding as to how your candidates feel about the experience is vital data that should inform your recruitment strategies.
 
Trevor Vas talked with Chris and Elaine Orler, Director of the Talent Board who run the Candidate Experience Awards, and discussed the candidate experience, and why the award is important.
 
You can watch the video of their chat, or read the transcript below.

 
Trevor: Good evening Chris Hoyt and Elaine Orler. How are you both tonight?
Chris: Good
Elaine: Doing very well
Trevor: So Chris, what’s your current title at Pepsico?
Chris: I am the Global Talent Engagement And Marketing Leader at Pepsico. I run all our digital and social and brand campaigns for our global talent aquisition teams.
Trevor: And Elaine what’s your interest at the moment?
Elaine: Right now I’m the Chairman of the Talent Board, the non profit organisation that manages the Candidate Experience Awards.
Trevor: [to Elaine] So these Candidate Experience Awards are rather new to me, what’a all the noise about? What’s on with this stuff?
Elaine: What a great question. Well a ‘candidate experience’ in general for us has been that journey that that job seeker is taking, from the process from the very point where they make an interest in an organisation to the end where they’re either hired, or positioned out. The candidate experience is the opportunity to recognise companies that have done incredibly great things to honour their candidates and give them a great experience, like Pepsico as a matter of fact.
Chris: That’s very nice of you!
Trevor: [to Chris] What’s it been for you guys?
Chris: I have to tell you that in the number of years that we’ve actually done it – we’ve done it in North America and done it in Europe at this point- the real value is getting a better understanding of actually how the candidates feel about that experience. It’s not a guttural instinct or a guess. The best part is about measurable numbers that we can actually make decisions about. We can focus on what we’re doing well and building out in some areas where it’s a bit of a challenge for us. It’s been a good four year journey for us.
Trevor: So Elaine, you’re coming to the ATC, what do you hope to achieve?
Elaine: I hope to achieve a couple different things. First off I appreciate the opportunity to be there. It’s our second trip to Australia and I love it there. The second is that we’re hoping to bring the Candidate Experience awards to Australia. We’re launching the program officially at the ATC conference, and we’re going to bring the whole program and the awards through to the next year.
Trevor: So we’re going to be educated in Australia by Yanks?!
Elaine: Ok, yes…maybe.
Trevor: So why do you guys like Australians anyway?
Elaine: Well I know it’s the wine.
Chris: I’d say it’s the guts. There’s no fear. No fear of candidate engagement; take it on!
Trevor: Guy’s thank you for the interview tonight.
 

 Elaine will be officially launching the Australian Candidate Experience Awards at #ATC2015. If you believe your organisation has best practice candidate care, and want to be involved in the CandE Awards, contact the board here, or join her at the conference here.