Notifying Unsuccessful Candidates & the Importance of Providing Feedback

Providing Applicant Feedback

Once applications have been shortlisted and the selected candidates have been invited to interview the next step is to inform unsuccessful candidates that their applications will not be progressed.

Unsuccessful applicants can challenge the basis for their applications being rejected. Only objective criteria should be used to assess the applications using job related criterion which clearly demonstrates why certain individuals were not shortlisted.

It is good practice to provide feedback to candidates and there are benefits to doing so, however there is no legal obligation to tell an applicant why they have been rejected for a role. It is good practice to provide honest and constructive feedback to candidates. Any information may be sought informally or retrieved via the questionnaire procedure provided for under the Equality Act 2010.

 

The Importance of Providing Feedback

It is important for businesses to evaluate their recruitment process, both for the successful and unsuccessful candidates. Candidates may go ‘the extra mile’ to participate in the process, such as taking annual leave to attend an interview and also incurring travel costs, but ultimately end up being unsuccessful. A professional and courteous approach can enhance the reputation as an employer. In many cases providing valuable feedback will be seen as a return on the time invested by the candidate. There are clear business advantages to provide feedback, it is not only a good PR opportunity but also objectively justifying a decision to not appoint someone reduces the risk that decisions will be challenged.

The value in the feedback comes from the individual’s own ideas about how they are perceived and how they are actually perceived in an interview and closing the gap between the two. One of the key aspects of the feedback is providing a detailed assessment of the candidates performance, drawing on any notes and records from the selection process.

Feedback should be provided as soon as reasonably possible while the process is still fresh in everyone’s mind, keeping candidates waiting should be avoided.

Content

The feedback itself should be constructive, objective and balanced. Praise is just as important as constructive criticism as it enforces good behaviours. It is important to establish what quantifies as helpful feedback and what doesn’t, for example ‘when people were talking to you, you interrupted several times, which gave the impression that you weren’t listening’, is constructive feedback, whilst on the other hand ‘ you were rude and did not listen to others’ does not explain things adequately.

In some cases, the applicant may have met all of the essential criteria for the role and could have been appointed, but another applicant had more relevant strengths or experience. In these circumstances it is suitable to explain that ‘although you did meet the essential criteria for the post, on this occasion another applicant demonstrated a higher level of skills/knowledge/experience than was required’. In these situations it is best to be open and transparent and detail the reasons why they were not offered the role.

Following the feedback, always finish by thanking an applicant for their interest in the role and that being unsuccessful on this occasion should not deter them from applying for other suitable positions that may arise.

Feedback should:

·       Be related directly to the selection criteria, and in what aspects the candidate did not match it.

·       Include supporting information – if the candidate has provided statements without any supporting evidence to back this up then you may want to highlight this to them.

·       Be specific rather than general –provide examples – only use evidence gathered during the selection process (application form/interviews answers)

·       Be focused on the behaviours which the applicant can actively improve on.

·       Be focussed and clear about the main reasons for non selection

·       Ensure the applicant understands the feedback by asking questions.

·       Be sensitively delivered – pick out strengths and areas for development, alternating between points so you are not focusing on delivering just negative news for too long.

·       Be backed up by the selection records such as the sifting matrix and interview records.

How to contact

It's never easy breaking the news to a candidate that they haven’t been successful but the aim is to make the process as constructive as possible. Wherever possible, direct feedback over the phone should be provided. This reinforces the personable nature of the business and that all candidates are treated equally. Other methods can be email, or post. The application stage is the most appropriate for notifying candidates via email as you may have a high volume of interested candidates and individually replying to all of them is time consuming and inefficient.

However, those that have attended interviews should receive more detailed feedback wherever possible, and notifying via a mass email can be seen as being impersonal and discourteous. Sometimes you may need to use email or a letter to notify candidates that have not reached the interview stage in the interest of efficiency. At the very least be sure to reference the person by their name and it is also good practice to offer a contact number so they are able to contact you to obtain feedback

Candidates tend to prefer to be notified or given feedback through a phone call as this will give them the opportunity to ask questions and it will feel much more personal and helpful from the candidate’s point of view.