Recruiters are always in search of better ways to communicate with candidates to make the hiring process easier for everyone. Text messaging for recruiting helps companies get, and stay, in touch with candidates better.
After a year of unprecedented virtual hires, most professionals agree that this virtual recruiting trend will continue post-Covid-19.
The easiest channel of communication between recruiter and candidate today is as quick and real-time as you need it to be. Hiring strategies that are supported with SMS are adapting to today’s standards of virtual communication and can actually improve the process for all parties involved.
Text messaging for recruiting is a solid industry trend that has staying-power. Here are some reasons why texting your candidates could help you elevate your recruiting process:
Quicker basic screening
For recruiters, a basic first step is the screening call. These aren’t usually long, but they may be a 15 to 20-minute call or Zoom chat to get basic, must-have answers from the candidate that apply to the position in question. This is a part of the hiring process that doesn’t require face-to-face conversation or assess culture fit or even the extent of the candidate’s talent. It’s typically simply a way to make sure the candidate is appropriate for the position and should be considered.
This step is essential when hundreds of applications come through the door for multiple positions. But, when there are hundreds, or even just dozens, of applicants to call, that’s a lot of hours for your recruiting team to cover. Text messaging can cut the time spent on basic screening down significantly. Think about it: Instead of calling all 50 of the candidates on your short list, and taking a whole day to do it, you can simply send out a text message to all of them at once. This and subsequent messages can get right to it: Ask the screening questions right in the text. You’ll get answers via text and can sort candidates quickly and easily without ever having to pick up the phone.
For example, moving franchise Two Men & A Truck uses SMS surveys to help with recruiting via text. The company sends candidates a mini-application through SMS, asking them to fill in basic information like their location and available hours. This info helps the company screen all applicants to determine which are serious candidates and should be pushed to the next level of recruitment.
Recruiters can also save time by managing multiple candidates at once when they use SMS. Essentially, you’re increasing the efficiency of your hiring process exponentially.
No more phone tag — no more delays
Traditionally, when an application is submitted online, a recruiter will respond with an email expressing interest in continuing the interview process.
But emails are unreliable, even when they’re about job opportunities. Here’s why: Email has a 20 percent open rate and only a 6 percent reply rate. Compare that to text messages’ open rate (98 percent) and reply rate (45 percent). You’re more likely to be sure that your preferred candidates are seeing your message when you send it via text, and you’re ensuring a better chance that you’ll hear back from them.
Because texts have such a great response rate, it makes this channel ideal for scheduling interviews. Texts can also help make sure interviews actually happen since it’s a great channel for sending appointment reminders. And, if you or the candidate has to reschedule, it can happen over an easy, quick text exchange.
There are also many jobs that require employees to be in the field and not behind a desk. For those positions, using email for recruiting is even more of a problem since these candidates aren’t sitting in front of their computer all day. They’re up and about. A text message could reach them with a speed that email never could.
And with text messaging for recruiting, delays and hiccups become a thing of the past. They’re replaced with fast responses, which are helpful for all kinds of communication, including last-minute changes to interview times or scheduling issues.
You look better to candidates
A company that uses text messages to communicate with their candidates right off the bat is going to look, in some ways, more approachable. The speed and directness of the channel means that you can communicate exactly what you want to say when you want to say it. Texting also shows that you’re focused on making the process convenient for everyone. Someone who has been looking for new employment for a while might find the attention to detail refreshing from your company, and they might have a better recruiting experience, an important but often overlooked branding opportunity.
Texting shows, too, that you’re modern and you’re not afraid of technology. Regardless of who is applying to work for you or what kind of branding you have, adaptation to modern tech is a critical piece of standing out to today’s talent pool.
It’s a two-way conversation
SMS allows companies and candidates to stay in touch in a more convenient way. We’ve already discussed how email isn’t as reliable as text messaging for recruiting, but texting also has the added benefit of allowing an easy back and forth.
If you can send a message to a candidate and expect a quick response, you’re able to have a conversation. Not only is this great for report, it’s also convenient — for you and for the process. The ability to have a conversation that truly flows two ways provides convenience that speeds up the recruiting process.
Today, companies spend an average of $4,000 to hire a new employee over a process that spans roughly 24 days. Speeding up the process by using text messaging for recruiting saves time and money.
Texts are a great complement to phone calls
While some companies use text messaging throughout the recruiting process, from screening to hire, others find it more helpful as a tool to engage candidates that are already past a certain point.
Phone and Zoom calls are still the gold standard for interviews when in-person isn’t an option. For communications beyond that, text messaging can be a great way to ensure your message will be read in a timely manner, and it’s more likely to get a quick response. Unlike phone calls, text messages can be automated, which saves your team time and allows multiple candidates to be reached at once.
Once the relationship has been well-established by phone, and the candidate has had ample time to opt in, your texts can focus on getting fast, convenient responses.
Want to try text messaging for recruiting? We can help.
Send us at quick text at (415) 214-8977 to start the conversation. We’d love to hear from you!
