Welcome to the 2024 CandE Winner Case Study series.
Each year, the CandE Benchmark Research Program collects case studies from CandE Winners – the employers with above-average candidate experience ratings in our research. These CandE Winners answer the following questions:
- What recruiting and candidate experience improvements have you made?
- How did you build support and commitment to make these improvements?
- Which improvements were the most innovative?
- How will you use your CandE Award in your employer branding?
- Do you use any of your CandE data to quantify business impact?
These are the employers from our 2024 CandE Program that invested in improving their recruiting, hiring, and candidate experience, reaping the ultimate benefits of a positive business impact – candidates more likely to apply again, to refer others, to be a brand advocate, and to be a customer for consumer-based businesses.
This case study was from Syneos Health. Syneos Health is a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization built to accelerate customer success.
If you’re interested in participating in the 2025 CandE Benchmark Research Program, you can learn more about it here.
1. What recruiting processes and candidate experience key improvements have you identified and completed in the past 6-12 months? What data or evidence prompted you to make these changes? (Be as specific as possible with examples for each.)
Over the past 12 months, we have implemented several key improvements in our recruiting processes and candidate experience, driven by data and feedback. Here are some of the main initiatives:
Back to Basics Training for Recruiters (Candidate Care)
We introduced “back to basics” training for our recruiters to re-emphasize the importance of candidate care. This initiative was sparked by feedback from our post-interview surveys, which showed that candidates felt disconnected during the recruitment process. The training focused on improving communication, empathy, and timely updates. Since implementing this, we’ve seen an increase in CandE candidate satisfaction scores, with more positive comments about the professionalism and attentiveness of our team.
Out-of-the-Box Talent Attraction Strategies (Social Media Sourcing)
We adopted innovative talent attraction strategies, particularly focusing on social media sourcing. By leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and niche communities, we’ve been able to target passive candidates.
New and Streamlined Referral Process and Technology
A new referral system was introduced with automated tracking and easier submission methods for current employees. This was prompted by internal data indicating that our previous referral process was cumbersome and underutilized, despite referrals consistently leading to higher quality hires.
Closer Collaboration with Hiring Managers
We’ve built a stronger relationship with hiring managers to better align on hiring needs and reduce time to fill. Weekly check-ins with hiring managers have helped clarify the qualities and competencies they are looking for. This change came about after we analyzed time-to-fill metrics and identified discrepancies between job postings and actual needs. As a result, we’ve reduced our time to fill by ensuring we attract the right candidates from the start.
Accountability for Results with Hiring Manager Surveys
To foster accountability, we implemented a survey for hiring managers to provide feedback on recruiter performance after each hire. This survey helps us identify areas where recruiters can improve and promote continuous learning. Data from these surveys have led to targeted recruiter coaching, contributing to our overall hiring success rate.
Proactive Collaboration with Business Development Teams
By forming a close relationship with the business development teams, we can anticipate future hiring needs. This has allowed us to give candidates deeper insight into the roles they’re applying for and prepare more effectively for surges in hiring demand. These efforts have led to better-prepared candidates and reduced the number of drop-offs after initial screening.
These improvements have been key to enhancing both our internal recruiting efficiency and the overall candidate experience, resulting in a more streamlined and responsive process.
2. How did you build support and commitment within your team and the broader organization to make these improvements? How did you demonstrate and report on the importance of a quality candidate experience with your leadership team? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
To build support and commitment within our team and the broader organization, we focused on several strategic actions to ensure that candidate experience remained a priority:
Leveraging CandE Survey Participation
We are long-standing participants in the Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards Survey. Each year, we conduct a thorough review of the survey results with leadership and the business development (BD) team. These results offer an objective, data-driven view of our candidate experience, and the benchmarking helps us see where we stand compared to the industry. By sharing this data and showing how candidate experience impacts our ability to attract talent, we’ve garnered full support for initiatives aimed at improving our processes. For example, when the survey revealed that candidates were dropping out during extended interview processes, leadership immediately approved resources to streamline this phase.
Team Buy-In Through Revenue Impact
Our team has consistently bought into improving candidate experience because we’ve made a clear connection between candidate care and the company’s bottom line. We’ve shown that providing a high-quality experience significantly impacts our ability to recruit top talent, which, in turn, drives revenue. Additionally, candidates who enjoyed the hiring process referred more people, directly contributing to our pipeline growth.
Data-Driven Reporting and Leadership Alignment
We regularly report on the importance of candidate experience to the leadership team by tying it to key metrics such as time to fill, candidate satisfaction scores, and offer acceptance rates. Our team emphasizes that improving candidate experience isn’t just about being nice—it’s a competitive advantage.
Building a Collaborative Culture with BD
By working closely with business development (BD), we’ve been able to tie candidate experience directly to upcoming business needs. This has helped us anticipate hiring demands and ensure a better experience for candidates, who now receive more detailed insights about roles. As a result, BD has become a champion of improving candidate experience, as it helps them secure talent in critical areas for revenue growth.
This approach, rooted in transparency, data, and clear communication, has allowed us to build strong organizational commitment to continuously improving our candidate experience.
3. Which of these improvements do you think are the most unique and innovative and why? How do you know that your changes are making a difference? What data or evidence validates the innovative improvements you made? (Be as specific as possible with examples for each based on your people, your processes, and your technologies, and include any candidate quotes that validate the improvements made.)
Closer collaboration with hiring managers has significantly enhanced our understanding of the roles. This improved understanding allows us to provide candidates with more comprehensive information about the positions and the recruitment process, ensuring they remain well-informed. It also enables us to better match candidates to roles that align with their skills and needs, which candidates appreciate. In some cases, this leads to long-term relationships as we wait for the right opportunity to arise for them
Please find below some candidate quotes for the quarterly surveys:
‘the recruitment process was the best that I have ever experienced’
‘the recruiter was professional and helpful. The process was seamless.’
‘the recruiter was very positive and knowledgeable and kept me informed throughout every step of the recruitment process’
We have seen the increases below in our new hire surveys compared to 2023:
How satisfied were you with the overall recruitment process + 1%
How well did the TAS keep you informed of the recruitment process +1.4%
Time To Fill has also reduced by 4 days to 21 days for 2024 compared to 25 days in 2023.
4. Whether you’ve won your first CandE Award or multiple CandE Awards, how will you publicly use the CandE Award, and what it represents, in your employer branding and recruitment marketing? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
We showcase the award badge in all of our pitch decks, our careers sites, and across social media.
5. Do you use any of your candidate experience benchmark data to quantify and demonstrate financial, referral, and/or employer branding business impact to your leadership team, your recruiting, and/or hiring managers? If yes, how? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
We have been long-time participants in the Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards Survey, which we review annually with recruiters, leadership and the business development (BD) team. The survey provides an objective, data-driven analysis of our candidate experience, offering valuable benchmarks against industry standards. Sharing this data with leadership has helped demonstrate the direct impact of candidate experience on our ability to attract talent, securing strong support for process improvements. For instance, when the survey revealed high candidate drop-off rates during lengthy interview stages, leadership quickly approved resources and training to streamline and shorten that part of the process.
