Large or small, companies invest heavily in building and protecting their brand. Company values are expressed with strong imagery, invariably portraying success, prestige and connection with their market sector. Why then, do so many companies fail miserably in one of the most critical areas – communication?
We have all had the generic email response that basically says, “thank you for your comments, we will refer this to the appropriate department”. Translation… an auto response that records your email but does nothing with it. You feel vindicated that you have had you say, and most likely, forget about it. But… what happens when you invest time, effort and most importantly, yourself in communicating with a company in the form of a job application?
Job platforms such as Seek have made applying for jobs very easy, often resulting in very high numbers of applications for someone to wade through. A generic acknowledgement and / or rejection email is the only way to effectively be able to handle this load. This may not have been the communication you were hoping for but at least you have something, your CV has not disappeared into the cyber black hole.
The damage to brand comes about when candidates have advanced through the process, sometimes to final interview stage, only to be advised by a generic email that they have missed out. What does this say about the engagement level within that company? Obviously, it shouts “ you invested in us, but as you did not meet our criteria, you are no longer worthy of our time”. For every job offer there will be candidates who miss out, that is just reality. BUT… if a candidate has been worthy enough for a formal interview, surely that candidate is worth an additional 5 minutes for someone to pick up the phone and personally advise that candidate had not been successful. This is never a pleasant task, but one that is critical to that candidate being able to move on and equally, maintain faith in your company brand.
While we do live in a global economy, the reality is an economy that is a series of interlocking circles. Today’s unsuccessful candidate may be tomorrow’s lucrative prospective client. In such a competitive environment, surely taking just that extra step to enhance your brand is worth it.