TopScore is giving ISE members early-bird access to its latest research to help improve the candidate experience.
This summer at TopScore we embarked on a research project to uncover what the next generation of talent think and feel about employer assessment centres.
We did this to provide our trusted partners and the wider industry with an insight into the minds of incoming cohorts of talent, as well as an understanding of what upcoming candidates will expect from us in the industry.
Next week we’re publishing our first annual Candidate Experience Snapshot – a bitesize but big-hitting report into the current state of play regarding what candidates want, how they feel and how they rate their assessment centres.
We’re providing ISE members and readers with a sneak preview of this research before it is released, and whether you’re an employer, an education provider or a supplier, we hope you find it interesting.
Why an annual Snapshot?
We want to produce a yearly benchmark that allows employers to track their collective progress in improving candidate experience and providing increasingly positive, inclusive and sustainable recruitment events for their candidates.
We know better than most at TopScore the efforts employers go to ensure candidates feel prepared, safe and at ease during assessment centres, and we’re regularly taking employer feedback on board as we develop new features – such as our new candidate resource hub.
This snapshot will be a useful success marker for these efforts and we hope to see the results improve year-on-year.
What did we set out to uncover?
Candidate experience can be driven by emotion, technology, environment and many other factors. As it’s a snapshot, we wanted to keep it short and digestible, but we’ve looked into how candidates feel when they’re invited to an assessment centre and how they rate their experiences at the end.
The snapshot shares data on what resources candidates want to see more of, as well as how likely they are to be influenced by their experiences with assessment centres when it comes to accepting or reneging on job offers.
A changing landscape – what we took away from this year’s snapshot
Given how much assessment centres have changed in recent years with the introduction of new technologies, and the many different formats in which they can now come in, it is understandable that there will be a certain level of uncertainty or apprehension around attending these types of events.
In our research, we uncovered feelings of both concern and hope, with 68% expressing anxiety about the assessment centre process. However, an overwhelming 87% of respondents said more pre-event advice and resources would help them to feel prepared and better navigate this ever-evolving landscape.
We found it encouraging to notice correlations in the Candidate Experience Snapshot data between how students say they feel about assessment centres and the types of support they want to see to help ease those feelings.
The report highlights many opportunities for employers to make small but impactful changes to how they run and prepare candidates for events in the future:
- Provide clear pre-event information, ensuring candidates know exactly what to expect before the assessment centre, as well as what will be expected of them
- Provide candidates with encouraging and helpful resources to alleviate any anxiety and build confidence – perhaps even offer them the chance to ask questions ahead of the event
- Deliver timely and constructive feedback to all candidates, regardless of the outcome
Whether it’s sharing timetables in advance, explaining the technology used in virtual settings, or providing guidance on how to prepare for specific exercises, supporting candidates before and during the assessment centre can significantly improve their perception of employers —and their potential future with them.
Read the full Snapshot for all of the data and insights into this year’s respondents.
Download the 2024 Candidate Experience Snapshot here