Last updated on Jun 5, 2024

How do you solicit and act on feedback from your candidates and clients?

As a full life cycle recruiter, you are responsible for finding, attracting, screening, interviewing, and hiring the best talent for your clients. But how do you know if you are doing a good job and meeting the expectations of both your candidates and your clients? The answer is feedback. Feedback is essential for improving your recruiting skills, building trust and rapport, and ensuring a positive experience for everyone involved. In this article, we will discuss how to solicit and act on feedback from your candidates and clients throughout the recruiting process.

1 Why feedback matters

Feedback is not only a way to measure your performance, but also a way to learn and grow as a recruiter. By asking for and listening to feedback, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, discover areas for improvement, and adjust your strategies accordingly. Feedback can also help you build stronger relationships with your candidates and clients, as it shows that you care about their opinions, needs, and satisfaction. Moreover, feedback can help you prevent misunderstandings, resolve issues, and avoid losing candidates or clients to your competitors.

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Karen Hartshorn, CSAM, CPC

Connecting Excellence With Purpose
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I have found this approach helpful in soliciting and acting on feedback from candidates and clients. Request Feedback: After each interaction or hiring process, I ask for honest feedback through direct conversations. Hearing their feedback directly allows me to pick up on nuances and hesitations in their voice, providing deeper insight into their true feelings and concerns. Active Listening: I listen attentively to feedback to show I value their opinions. Analyze and Reflect: I analyze feedback to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Take Action: Implement changes based on feedback to improve recruitment strategies. Follow-Up: I inform candidates and clients of changes made based on their feedback.

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Daryna Kravchenko

Senior International Recruitment Consultant | Growth Mindset + Recruiting Insider
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What are the benefits of getting candidate feedback? One word: candidate experience. OK, two words. Knowing why candidates drop out is the only way to improve the process and keep them engaged. What else? For you to become better.

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2 How to solicit feedback from candidates

Soliciting feedback from candidates is a key part of creating a positive candidate experience and enhancing your employer brand. You can reach out to them at different stages of the recruiting process, such as after sourcing, screening, interviewing, or rejecting them. You can do this by sending them a survey via email or text, using tools like SurveyMonkey or Typeform. Additionally, you can call them personally and ask open-ended questions about their experience. Furthermore, you can follow up with them regularly and invite them to share their feedback, concerns, or questions. This is also an opportunity to update them on the status of their application and keep them engaged.

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Daryna Kravchenko

Senior International Recruitment Consultant | Growth Mindset + Recruiting Insider
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How can you get feedback from candidates? Surveys are a super-easy way of automating feedback. My approach is a bit more complicated: I love to call my candidates and ask them in person. What else? Taking a data-driven approach to candidate engagement will help you measure your progress over time, look for recurring patterns and compare responses between roles.

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3 How to solicit feedback from clients

Soliciting feedback from clients is essential to ensure their satisfaction and loyalty, as well as to demonstrate your value and professionalism. You can solicit feedback at different stages of the recruiting process, such as after presenting candidates, making hires, or closing the project. Some of the ways to solicit feedback from clients include sending a survey via email or text, calling them personally and asking open-ended questions, and following up regularly and inviting them to share their feedback. Additionally, you can ask for referrals or testimonials, update them on the status of the project, and offer your continued support.

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Lisa Dean

We'll develop your leadership skills and confidence to strategize reaching the next steps in your career 🔹Your next promotion🔹EA Advocate🔹C-Suite Leader turned Founder🔹Executive Recruiter hiring your executives
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I believe the hurdle in this is ensuring the feedback you’re receiving is the full picture. Many people, of course, aren’t comfortable providing negative feedback; they may only tell you the parts that satisfied them. For feedback to be helpful, it needs to be honest. That means the relationship must be built on a foundation of trust, and a safe space for honesty cultivated. It’s important to provide options of delivery methods for the feedback. Some people will prefer to provide it in writing, or even anonymous through Survey Monkey or something similar. Finally, to collect the information that will help you most, ask a combination of intentional narrow questions as well as open-ended.

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4 How to act on feedback

Soliciting feedback is only half of the equation. The other half is acting on it. Acting on feedback means acknowledging it, thanking the giver, analyzing it, and implementing it. To do this effectively, you should acknowledge the feedback promptly and politely, whether it is positive or negative. Additionally, you should analyze the feedback objectively and constructively, without taking it personally or defensively. After identifying relevant points, themes, or patterns, you should implement the feedback strategically and realistically by making a plan of action and setting goals. Finally, communicate the feedback and your actions to stakeholders, explaining how you have used their feedback to improve your service, performance, or results. Ask for their feedback on your actions too!

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5 How to overcome challenges

Soliciting and acting on feedback can be challenging due to lack of time, resources, tools, or motivation; however, these obstacles can be overcome with some planning and preparation. To do this, make feedback a regular and consistent part of your recruiting process by setting a schedule, using templates, and automating tasks. Additionally, create a two-way and collaborative feedback process by giving feedback as well as receiving it and involving candidates, clients, managers, and colleagues in the loop. Finally, focus on the benefits, opportunities, and outcomes of feedback rather than the drawbacks to make the process positive and rewarding. Feedback is a powerful tool for full life cycle recruiters as it can help improve skills, service, and results. By taking this approach to soliciting and acting on feedback from your candidates and clients you can create a positive experience for everyone involved while enhancing your reputation and success as a recruiter.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you solicit and act on feedback from your candidates and clients?

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1 Why feedback matters

2 How to solicit feedback from candidates

3 How to solicit feedback from clients

4 How to act on feedback

5 How to overcome challenges

6 Here’s what else to consider

Full-life Cycle Recruiting

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