Challenge

A leading US-based construction engineering company wanted to provide a less frustrating online experience for potential hires. They’d seen high rates of candidate dropoff, duplicate accounts, and poor data quality with their current solution, the Taleo Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This out-of-the-box software simply wasn’t meeting the needs of either candidates or recruiters.

For example, the system’s built-in resume parsing overrode the standardized picklist options, and returning applicants often created multiple accounts because the password reset process was clunky and unintuitive. The overall lack of consistency when it came to candidate data made it difficult for recruiters to efficiently source candidates, meaning the company was losing out on quality talent. 

To remedy this pressing situation, the construction company reached out to the experts at Skuid. 

Solution

After assessing the client’s needs and obstacles, the Skuid team offered a solution that helped candidates complete their job applications correctly the first time – no redos or duplicate accounts required. As an applicant filled out key information, in-line field validation told them if the information they entered was correct before submitting, minimizing the chances of triggering an error message before advancing to the next step. The solution implemented type-ahead functionality as well, which auto-completed a given field using a set of standardized options.

The team also updated the mobile experience to ensure users can select the appropriate choices easily, regardless of their device type. They also deferred ATS registration, meaning candidates only had to set up one account in order to apply for a role. 

All of these enhancements saved candidates time and minimized frustrations while providing cleaner, more useable data. To further elevate the candidate experience, the new solution leveraged the company’s branding to develop a seamless experience from the career site all the way through the application process – all while meeting WCAG 2.0 AA standards for web accessibility.

Results

The new solution drove impressive results for the company, including a 5x increase in their candidate conversion rate. “Our customer has seen vastly improved data standardization and accuracy and a 5x increase in candidate conversion rate since implementing Skuid” said Chris Gasparro, Director of Professional Services at Skuid.  “These results are driving positive business outcomes by enabling them to capture more applications from highly qualified candidates and making it easier for recruiters to source candidates.” 

Both recruiters and candidates were far more satisfied with the Skuid solution than with the old apply flow. A frictionless, user-friendly, and mobile-optimized application process allowed candidates to enter data quickly and accurately, resulting in more completed applications. And with standardization on all key fields, recruiters can better leverage available information and source candidates more efficiently. 

Overall, the higher data quality made the candidate database increasingly valuable for the firm’s recruiters, with Taleo becoming better aligned with the needs of the organization.

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