AI-Shaped Employer Brand: Why Candidate Experience Now Defines Reputation

An organization’s image as an employer is shaped long before a candidate gets an offer. Every step in the hiring process can affect how people view the company and what they say to others about it.

In the session “The Hiring Paradox: Why More AI Isn’t Always Better Hiring,” Aarti Srivastava, CHRO, Capgemini, makes an important point that employer brand is not built with just communication and recruitment campaigns. It is also built on what candidates experience during their hiring journey.

Candidates want more than a good job description. They gage how the organization keeps them informed in a timely manner, explains the process, and treats them with respect. When these expectations are not met, candidates’ frustration turns into words of criticism that begin to build the public reputation of the company. A slow response or vague hiring process may seem like a minor issue, but it can impact whether candidates will consider applying in the future.

Artificial intelligence can speed up and simplify recruitment, but it should never be at the expense of candidate experience. The most effective employer brands will be those that embrace technology and still provide transparency, communication and the human touch.

Every contact a candidate has with you is an opportunity to build (or destroy) your employer brand.