This article over at RecruitingDaily hit on one of the reasons why focusing discussions on candidate experience always feels like a lot more promise than outcomes. They argument is that when most people talk candidate experience, they are thinking about "macro events," the big set pieces that occur in every (if not all) interview/hiring process. But when you over-index on macro experiences, you miss the power of the macro experiences and their ability to create an emotional connection with candidates.

I'm really surprised I haven't heard more chatter about this essay at HBR. They suggest that one strategy to encouraging retention is to focus on hiring women. They also bring up data suggesting employees (even millennials) want to be loyal. As someone who is marries to a career coach, I can affirm that NO ONE likes or wants to look for a job unless they absolutely have to, so maybe companies don't really have to bend over backwards to increase retention.

If you are being forced to re-think your candidate experience (because you can't just have them show up to the office at the moment), here are some suggestions on leveraging human-centered design to re-invent the entire experience.

I love talking about rejection letters (sorry... disposition messaging ...rolls eyes...) because they are deeply impactful messaging opportunities we tend to phone in. Which is why I loved this article about how Intel re-designed its rejection experience (and it is an "experience," is it not?).

Covid hasn't just flipped the table on recruiting and employer branding these last few months. It is really making talent management functions re-think things from a clean sheet of paper (which is very much a good thing). As TM starts thinking about what the nature of what a job is, how skills can be installed and developed in near-real-time, how most staff is probably only using 50-80% of their abilities at work, there's an opportunity for you to step up and partner, connecting the "why" of work with the shifting "what" and "how."

Is now the perfect time to form a company book club? Well, I'm a huge fan of getting book clubs together (and I've seen instances of the CEO just mentioning that he/she is reading a certain book lead to informal but impactful culture change), so yes. Do it. Do it now. The trick, as ever, is to pick a good book.

A (brief) primer on setting up employee resource groups at your company.

I have mixed feeling about this article on why every company should make professional development a core element of their brand promise. One, yes, many many many candidates and employees want development, but even when they want it, they don't want/value it the same way. Some want classrooms and certifications. Some want mentoring and coaching. Some want the freedom to experiment and fail. And yes, there are some great talents who don't look to their employer as a source for development. Over at the day job, we have lots of data that lots of people want development, but it is by no means universal. Development is popular among some talent, but to say that every brand should define their brand around it is a little myopic. That said, it's an area where many companies ignore to their detriment.

We have to face it: all "employee experience" conversations HAVE to start with a conversation around "are we doing enough to make our people feel safe?" That's why I thought this article was better than most of the "we need to make people feel valued and appreciated" conversations you get here (Maslow was right with that hierarchy stuff).

What you reward is who your company is. But how do you reward people in a remote work situation? Stories Incorporated has some ideas on the subject.

Here’s some good thinking on how to think as deeply around your employee experience as one might for their consumer experience.

According to Gallup's most recent data, employee engagement is at an all-time high. Huh?

As Autumn passes very quickly here is some good content pieces you should not skip if working strategically with your employer brand. EBnavi team never sleeps looking for the best practices, experts and content worldwide! Enjoy 10 best pieces from last month in different ares of EB! 1.