New industry data has revealed that healthcare firms could be missing out on top talent due to complicated application processes.

The Access Group’s Recruitment and Resourcing Index has revealed a significant gap between candidate experiences when applying for new jobs across the major sectors – which could be preventing them from completing the process. 

Julia Harvie-Liddel, head of recruitment at The Access Group, said: “In today’s competitive jobs market, organisations cannot afford to risk losing candidates at the final stage because of poor experiences with their website and arduous application forms. 

“The good news is that with a few improvements, employers could see a vast improvement in the number of people who complete their application form. Make sure your careers pages or microsite is performing well from a technical perspective. Like customers, candidates will be put off by sites that are slow to load or don’t display properly on a mobile, so ask your digital team to check its Core Web Vitals (CWV). Just as important is updating your website with the latest roles and engaging content – everything from rewards and benefits to company life.”

She added that in-house recruitment software can also play a valuable role in achieving this.

“This technology enables firms to create a professional branded website that attracts candidates, engages them at every stage of the journey – keeping them updated on the status of their application and completing checks as efficiently as possible,” said Harvie-Liddel.

The index was compiled using different metrics – including user-experience of careers pages, the number of questions on an application form, and whether candidates can apply via LinkedIn or need to send a covering letter.

The Access Group, a business management software specialist, analysed 20 industries including manufacturing, legal, healthcare and logistics to find out which ones offer the best candidate experiences, and where there is room for improvement. The lower the index score, the worse the experience. 

The ten industries potentially missing out the most on industry talent

The findings come as the British Chambers of Commerce latest Quarterly Recruitment Outlook (QRO) found that 80% of UK businesses have reported difficulties in recruiting – down just 2% from the ‘highest level of recruitment difficulties on record’ last year.

To view the full Recruitment and Resourcing index, visit: https://www.theaccessgroup.com/en-gb/blog/the-industries-winning-the-recruitment-race/