In Time for the Holidays: Secret Shop Your Hiring Process

Have you examined your recruiting process from the perspective of a candidate? Has it been a while since you’ve conducted an in-depth review of what a new hire will see, from the first impression through the final offer?

Perhaps you’ve heard about undercover shoppers employed by retail companies to conduct incognito evaluations of the real customer experience in each of their stores. Were the clothes neatly displayed, the changing rooms decluttered, and the service spot-on?

There’s an opportunity to take some timely inspiration from this concept to conduct a mini-audit of your talent acquisition operations before the New Year. Here’s how such a secret shopping review might go.

Employer Brand

First impressions are important, but do you know what candidates are learning about your company from sources beyond your job postings?

It’s easy to find out. Do a Google search and see what comes back. What do those Glassdoor reviews actually say?

Skim your website and note whether the careers section and other pages accurately describe the opportunities and the environment in a compelling manner.

Get on social media. Does the company have a recognizable personality on Instagram or are the feeds pretty bland? How would the posts attract (or repel) candidates seeking certain types of positions?

The Application

If candidates like what they find out, they’ll be eager to apply. But with some employers, this means hitting a brick wall.

Check out whether your application process is acting as a deterrent. If you click “Apply Now,” where do you wind up and what is expected of you?

Depending on the job, a lengthy application form—especially one that doesn’t work well on mobile—can drastically reduce your candidate pool. If your test reveals a cumbersome process to make first contact, ask how you can streamline to get more prospects in the hiring funnel and then garner other essential details about them later.

Another consideration is how applicants find answers to their questions. You don’t have to invite candidates to call the HR department, but an FAQ, a “Help” page for technical issues with application submissions, and other support can reduce the number of candidates dropping out, simply due to lack of information. Similarly, an overview of the screening process, received immediately after submitting their résumé or application, will set expectations appropriately for the days to follow.

Interviews and Background Screening

It may be difficult to “secret shop” the entire screening process—after all, how do you interview yourself?—but go as far as you can. You might assess whether there are too many steps listed in that post-application email about the screening process, for instance.

You should also look at the pre-employment background check. Does it require another round of forms? How long does it take to get the relief of an “all clear”? (If this is a bottleneck in your process, you might want to reach out to us—we have some solutions!)

And yes, consider the interview, too. Are you asking candidates to participate in too many sessions that cover the same content? Would recording them to review as a team with the team offer a better alternative? What about the questions? Do they garner insight into the candidate’s capabilities and character or are they “rubber stamp” inquiries that aren’t really homing in on the best talent?

Re-evaluate for COVID-19 and Beyond

Many employers had strong hiring strategies in place, only to take a hit during COVID-19. An impressive front lobby paired with friendly, funky interviewers might have made a great impression last January, but the stuttering Zoom interviews now pale in comparison. Social media feeds once replete with candid snaps from fun on-site activities may have gone dark or boring while most employees work from home.

Whatever issues you uncover, it’s time to act. Companies seeking to position themselves ahead of the competition in 2021 will need to adjust their talent acquisition approaches for effectiveness through the pandemic and beyond. Doing so will require some steering and adjustment over the coming months, but hopefully a “secret shopping” experiment will have you well on your way to increased success!