I hear about recruiting survey fatigue all the time. Usually it comes in the form of “I’d love to gather feedback from my candidates as often as possible, but won’t they get tired of so many surveys and simply ignore them? Especially if we send them frequently?”
The answer is an emphatic, unqualified “of course not!” Recruiting survey fatigue is a myth.
I say that with one caveat. If you send them multiple, twenty question surveys asking them information you should already know about them, then that could get annoying. Candidates should only get five to seven questions at each stage of the process. And each question should be focused on their feedback, not on who they are, what job they applied to, etc. When done properly, gathering feedback at each stage of the hiring process will provide higher response rates and can transform your recruiting function.
Three Reasons Why Recruiting Survey Fatigue is a Myth
Reason One – Candidates appreciate being asked for feedback. New Survale clients see an average 25% jump in candidate satisfaction during the first year after implementation. Anecdotally, candidate feedback indicates they appreciate being asked how it’s going and what can be done better. And, as changes are made based on that feedback, satisfaction increases even more.
Reason Two – Candidates want to interact with potential employers. Does anyone seriously think that an active candidate would sniff at the opportunity to provide helpful information to a potential employer? On the contrary, they are more than willing to provide feedback as long as they are still being considered.
Reason Three – Very few candidates get a lot of surveys, and the ones that do are your best candidates. Think about it. If you are surveying candidates at each stage of the hiring process (application, phone screen, interview, and offer), most don’t get more than ONE survey because they are screened out at the application stage. In fact Survale research shows that only about 7% of candidates receive two surveys. And only about 1% receive three or more. So the candidates bearing the burden of responding to multiple surveys are the ones being hired or declining an offer. They are your best candidates. They are future employees or silver medalists and you’ve done the smartest thing you can do: Engage with them more than the others. And remember reason one: Candidates appreciate being asked for feedback
You’ve created a funnel of increasing engagement with your best candidates, you’ve reinforced a strong employer brand at each stage and you’ve demonstrated your desire to make the hiring as easy and respectful as possible for them. This is not recruiting survey fatigue. It is a recipe for higher offer acceptance rates.
And in the end the numbers don’t lie. The response rates to pulse surveys for Survale clients reliably go up with each hiring stage. They range from around 2% of all job seekers visiting the career site to up to 50% at the interview and offer stage.
So much for recruiting survey fatigue.
