The Rise of Text Recruiting

Introduction

With more jobs to fill and fewer recruiters to fill them, companies need to reevaluate how to effectively attract and hire talent. According to Aptitude Research, 68% of companies are rethinking their approach to candidate communication this year. Traditional forms of communication including email can negatively impact the employer brand, provide a poor candidate experience, and prevent recruiters from reaching their hiring goals. As companies look to improve communication, Text Recruiting is a strategic priority. Forty percent (40%) of companies have increased their use of text in talent acquisition this year.

Text Recruiting humanizes and personalizes the candidate experience while lifting the administrative burden placed on recruiting teams. Unlike other areas of talent acquisition, Text Recruiting provides an immediate ROI – impacting every aspect of the candidate journey. It offers a significant, measurable impact in a short period of time.

Although text is widely adopted in other areas of business, talent acquisition has been slow to respond. Email is still the preferred method of communication, and 58% of candidates receive no response at all when they are screened out of the process. Text Recruiting can provide improvements to conversion rates, efficiency, and engagement. According to this study, companies using text see the following results:

• Four times more likely to see candidates respond in the first two minutes
  
  
• Two times more likely to fill positions in the first two weeks
  
  
• Forty-eight percent (48%) improvement in the candidate experience
  
  

As the demand for text increases, companies must consider a platform that can help track and manage all communication in a consistent and meaningful way. This report, based on data collected in 2022 from both the candidate and employer perspective, will explore the impact of Text Recruiting and answer the following questions:

• What are the top challenges with communication today?
  
  
• Why is email not an effective form of communication?
  
  
• What are the benefits of text?
  
  
• What is the difference between informal text and text recruiting platforms?
  
  
• How are companies using text to support both talent acquisition and employee experience?
  
  
• What is the business impact of Text Recruiting?

Methodology

Top Findings

1. Email Is Not Enough:

Most companies rely on email as their primary form of communication in talent acquisition. Yet, mobile usage has increased over the past year and 43% of candidates do not always open their emails. Email limits how a company can engage with talent, slowing down time to fill, and providing a negative experience for both recruiters and candidates. Text improves response times and overall efficiency.

2. Text Is Important Across Areas of TA:

Many companies look at text to support the apply process or recruitment marketing efforts. Text can also play a role in everything from employer branding to onboarding. When asked what areas companies would use text, 1:1 communication and scheduling were top priorities. Text can help lift the administrative burden placed on recruiters in these areas and provide consistent communication when used throughout the process.

3. Text Recruiting Platforms Deliver ROI:

Companies using text see significant improvements and an immediate ROI in efficiency, experience, and effectiveness. Aptitude Research found that companies using text over email were two times more likely to fill positions in two weeks, and more likely to improve time to fill, candidate experience, and quality of hire. Companies increasing their use of text in talent acquisition see improvements in open rates, clickthrough rates, and response times.

4. Text Improves the Recruiter Experience:

The recruiter experience is greatly impacted by using text. Recruiters save time in communicating with candidates, improving efficiency and better identifying quality of hire. Text allows recruiters to spend time on more strategic areas of talent acquisition while providing personalization to each candidate.

5. Candidates Have a Mobile-Only Mindset:

Candidate behavior has changed since the pandemic. More people are working remotely, and candidates rely on their mobile device to research jobs, connect with brands, and apply for a job. According to this study, 62% of candidates are using their mobile device more this year than last. Candidates want to be able to use one device to communicate with a potential employer, and text meets the needs of the mobile-only mindset by providing faster response and personalized engagement in real-time.

6. Two-Way Communication at Scale Is a Reality Through Text:

In a tight labor market where most recruiting teams are under-resourced, many candidates are not receiving consistent communication from recruiters. Companies must consider solutions that will provide more personalization and two-way communication at scale. Text recruiting platforms give every candidate an opportunity to engage in a bidirectional conversation, from applying for a job to scheduling an interview to onboarding. Sixty-six percent (66%) of candidates surveyed would respond back to a recruiter over text.

7. Not All Text Is the Same:

This study found that 86% of recruiters are using text in some way to support talent acquisition. Most of these recruiters are using informal, random text messages from their personal devices. This type of texting jeopardizes a company’s compliance, integration, and measurement strategy. It also puts companies at risk for introducing bias into the talent acquisition process. Text recruiting platforms help companies track and manage all text communications to stay compliant, integrate with existing systems, and measure the ROI of those engagements.

A Communication Crisis

When asked to select the top three priorities for 2022, companies identified improving efficiency, finding candidates faster, and finding more candidates. Speed is the currency for success in talent acquisition. Companies that move quickly are better able to attract, recruit, and hire talent. And strong candidate communication gives companies a competitive advantage, allowing them to make connections and build more meaningful relationships in an efficient way.

Candidate communication has become the most critical job of today’s modern TA professional and too often, the most overlooked. Communication is what differentiates brands and experiences while creating greater loyalty with candidates. Unfortunately, in today’s labor market, recruiting teams are overwhelmed with new responsibilities that prevent consistent communication with candidates. When asked about day-to-day activities in Aptitude Research’s Talent Acquisition Technology and the Modern Recruiter study, recruiters are spending most of their time reviewing applicants, finding candidates in the ATS, and scheduling interviews. These time-consuming tactical activities take away from more strategic priorities.

Communication often takes a back seat to these administrative activities and responsibilities. The result is that candidates are ignored:

• Four times more likely to see Fifty-six percent (56%) of applicants that are screened out never receive a response
  
  
• Seventy-four percent (74%) of companies are not effectively engaging candidates in a remote environment
  
  
• Sixty-two percent (62%) of hourly workers never receive a response
  
  

As companies look to the future of talent acquisition, they must reevaluate communication techniques. Candidate expectations have changed, and companies must adjust content and delivery accordingly. Before COVID, companies had made small improvements by providing a point of contact and status on the application. Yet, many of these companies have experienced a setback over the past year. Only 44% of companies make company information available now compared to 54% in 2020, and only 41% provide a single point of contact compared to 50% in 2020. With one in three recruiters looking for new opportunities and 30% feeling more burned out this year than last year, candidate communication has suffered.

The Challenge with Email

Email is the primary form of communication for most companies in talent acquisition (see Figure 4). Recruiters send candidates email reminders to apply, schedule interviews, take an assessment, and sign an offer letter. Many ATS systems are designed to support only email. Unfortunately, email is not always the most effective way to reach candidates and for many high-volume industries, candidates do not have access to email. Although 96% of companies recognize that stronger communication drives results, most candidate communication is ineffective and inconsistent. In fact, only 43% of candidates read their email messages from recruiters.

The pandemic has changed candidate behavior and expectations around communication. Today’s companies have better options for communicating, including:

These forms of communication are more effective ways to engage with talent, saving recruiters’ time and enabling a better candidate experience. According to this study, 62% of candidates are using their mobile device more this year than last. Text is how candidates communicate in their personal lives. Travel, shopping, events, and delivery are all enabled through text. When comparing the usage of email to text, 2.2 trillion texts were sent each day in 2020 compared to 306 billion emails, according to Statista. Email has long been a source of frustration for candidates and recruiters. ATS systems provide email templates and libraries to help save time, but these templates lack personalization and engagement. Recruiters may spend up to an hour drafting an email to send to a candidate, while a text can be drafted in a few seconds. The figure below highlights some of the differences between email and text.

For talent acquisition professionals to compete for talent, they must meet candidates where they “live.” This study found that 40% of companies using text in talent acquisition plan to increase their investment this year.

What is driving this increased investment?

The Role of TA and HR has Changed:

With shifts in demographics, a more dispersed workforce, and remote work, the workforce has become more complex and so has the role of the modern TA and HR professional. Today’s leaders must juggle multiple hats to be successful. No longer focused solely on administrative tasks, the modern HR function requires a new set of skills and competencies. They must become more proactive and less reactionary in the way they communicate and engage with candidates and employees. Instead of simply pointing candidates and employees in the right direction, they must empower them with all the information, tools, and resources to be successful.

The Need for Greater Transparency:

Transparency is a reality for today’s workforce. Companies are expected to be transparent about their employer brand, perks and incentives, financial performance, and engagement levels. Companies are expected to be transparent about the employee experience, career development, and company culture. While this level of transparency is positive, it requires more frequent, personalized communication.

Existing Technology Is Not Enough:

Traditional TA and HR systems were designed to be tactical and not focused on the experience of candidates or employees. These systems are not fully integrated and do not consider the preferences and needs of today’s candidates or employees. Only 39% of companies are satisfied with their provider and would recommend them. There is a new set of technology needed that focuses on what the experience is and how it can drive stronger engagement, productivity, and performance.

Communication is the primary differentiator of a positive candidate experience and can also serve as the thread to employee experience. Companies need better tools to communicate with candidates early in the process when they are researching the organization, provide a progress indicator during the apply process, and convey next steps post-application. The following pages of this report will explore how text is impacting talent acquisition efforts and employee experience.