Welcome to the 2024 CandE Winner Case Study series.
Each year, the CandE Benchmark Research Program collects case studies from CandE Winners – the employers with above-average candidate experience ratings in our research. These CandE Winners answer the following questions:
- What recruiting and candidate experience improvements have you made?
- How did you build support and commitment to make these improvements?
- Which improvements were the most innovative?
- How will you use your CandE Award in your employer branding?
- Do you use any of your CandE data to quantify business impact?
These are the employers from our 2024 CandE Program that invested in improving their recruiting, hiring, and candidate experience, reaping the ultimate benefits of a positive business impact – candidates more likely to apply again, to refer others, to be a brand advocate, and to be a customer for consumer-based businesses.
This case study was from Schneider Electric. Schneider Electric SE is a European multinational corporation based in France that specializes in digital automation and energy management.
If you’re interested in participating in the 2025 CandE Benchmark Research Program, you can learn more about it here.
- What recruiting processes and candidate experience key improvements have you identified and completed in the past 6-12 months? What data or evidence prompted you to make these changes? (Be as specific as possible with examples for each.)
Schneider Electric has made significant enhancements to our recruiting processes and candidate experience over the past 6-12 months, driven by a commitment to a candidate-centric approach and a best-in-class process embodying our company culture and commitment to nurturing relationships and human connection. In today’s competitive market we must be proactive in shaping a best-in-class process that embodies our company culture from the first interaction.
In 2023, we began using SURVALE, a continuous listening platform, to gather feedback on the candidate experience at all stages of their journey. We also collect feedback from hiring managers and our talent acquisition team, allowing us to have a full 360 degree view of feedback from all stakeholders involved in the recruitment process.
At the beginning of January 2024, we did a retrospective of the 2023 candidate experience data and feedback to identify our strengths and weaknesses as an organization. This analysis was carried out at several levels (by recruitment stage, country, and business unit, internal vs. external) to provide a granular view and a real understanding of the current situation. We used AI to analyze the comments shared by the candidates and to find points of convergence and recurrence. More than 3,000 comments were analyzed in addition to the data from the surveys (satisfaction, number of surveys sent out, number of responses, etc.).
Three main areas for improvement emerged from the analysis: internal candidate experience, business partnership to impact the candidate experience, and fostering a culture of feedback and transparency during the recruitment process.
To address these areas, a North America (NAM) champion was appointed to lead the annual strategy, with a dedicated task force meeting monthly to review progress and discuss action plans. Each month, the NAM champion reported score progress to the leadership team and identified the top five positive comments and the top five comments to be considered for improvement. A quarterly review was established with TA leaders for a more detailed overview and to make sure that effort is deployed in the right areas. The candidate experience champion coordinated monthly with the global talent acquisition team to report technology issues as well as cascade some technology or process improvements deployed at global level. Additionally, a Microsoft Teams channel was created to share information and educational resources with the talent acquisition community, promoting continuous learning and improvement.
One specific improvement involved enhancing the video hiring experience based on candidate feedback. Schneider Electric is a long-time customer of Hirevue, a platform that enables video-based interviews. Upon reviewing SURVALE feedback, we noted some negative responses including: “I did not interview with a recruiter, rather I interviewed using HireVue. It was overall a positive experience aside from some software challenges. I personally find a great aspect of interviews is building a connection with the recruiter, and that aspect of the experience was missed. Overall, I had a positive first interview and would recommend Schneider.”
This led to a pilot program that began in Q2 2024 where all recruiters recorded personalized videos to introduce themselves. This will allow the candidate to meet the recruiter, see who will be personally reviewing their video, and show that our recruiters are human and not always perfect on video either! During the pilot, one recruiter’s NPS score increased +7 points post video launch (from 68.4 to 75.4). While this change cannot solely be attributed to the video, it is still a key change that we put into place leveraging technology to improve the candidate experience. We are proud of this adjustment, as we do know it was a factor to improving our hiring and business metrics.
When comparing results from January 1 to September 30, 2023, the SURVALE platform scores for NAM showed notable improvement:
- Overall NPS score improved: 2023: 55.7 / 2024: 63.2 (+7.5)
- External NPS score improved: 2023: 56.1 / 2024: 63 (+6.9)
- Internal NPS score improved: 2023: 41. 1 / 2024: 66.9 (+25.8) – greatest improvement aligned with the strategy defined in January 2024 by the TA leadership team and the dedicated task force.
- How did you build support and commitment within your team and the broader organization to make these improvements? How did you demonstrate and report on the importance of a quality candidate experience with your leadership team? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
To foster support and commitment within our team and the broader organization, Schneider Electric has emphasized communication, training, and coaching. We’ve prioritized continuous education to address evolving challenges, focusing on topics like increasing diversity in talent pools and enhancing candidate experience impact. Weekly or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings, targeted coaching sessions, and leadership workshops are instrumental in shaping our strategy and roadmap.
In demonstrating the significance of candidate experience, we’ve ingrained its importance into our talent acquisition culture and communicated it extensively across the organization. Every candidate is considered our customer, and we empower our teams to deliver exceptional experiences, treating each candidate interaction as if they were the owner of their own business.
To uphold accountability and keep candidate experience top of mind, several initiatives have been implemented:
- Communication at all organizational levels, providing regular updates and sharing progress, challenges, and best practices within the talent acquisition community.
- Specific examples: We send out weekly data reporting on the candidate experience: dispositioning, candidate advancement in the process, number of surveys sent out to the candidates etc. We also created our internal award and recognition about candidate experience progress. Each month, 5 recruiters (out of 57) are recognized for championing an area of the candidate experience.
- Integration of candidate experience into core performance objectives, performance reviews, and coaching sessions, ensuring it’s a focal point in our team’s development.
- Specific example: We send out a weekly snapshot of where we are standing in term of dispositioning and candidate advancement in the process linked to the survey sent for candidate experience assessment at every stage of the recruitment process.
- Establishment of a candidate experience taskforce to drive improvement, identify operational bottlenecks, and coach teammates, nurturing a culture of acknowledgment and continuous enhancement. We recognize candidate experience champions monthly, highlighting one person from each of our business unit squads. By celebrating these champions, we are cultivating a culture of recognition and highlighting our employees for their efforts.
Our proactive approach is backed by a comprehensive roadmap and action plan, reflecting measurable improvements in candidate experience scores and team behavior. By listening to candidate feedback and making data-driven adjustments, we continue to elevate the level of care and attention each candidate receives.
Internally, we are dedicated to enhancing communication and training, fostering a culture of open dialogue and collaboration, and ensuring that all our talent acquisition employees are equipped to deliver exceptional experiences.
- Which of these improvements do you think are the most unique and innovative and why? How do you know that your changes are making a difference? What data or evidence validates the innovative improvements you made? (Be as specific as possible with examples for each based on your people, your processes, and your technologies, and include any candidate quotes that validate the improvements made.)
The most impressive improvement was the transformation of the internal candidate experience. For the same period, the NPS score went from 41.1 to 66.9 (+ 25.8 points). It was one of the most strategic important and critical improvements for us as an organization.
The internal candidate experience has an impact beyond the talent acquisition function, impacting the retention, engagement, and development of our employees. We focused on a deep and strong change management within the organization to drive more awareness and ownership for this specific talent pool. The following examples showcase the innovative changes made in people, processes, and technologies:
- Technology Improvement: We collaborated with the global talent acquisition team to connect two Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which resulted in a smoother application process for candidates and an enhanced candidate management experience for recruiters and hiring managers. This technological enhancement facilitated the shaping of a new internal candidate management process, aligning roles and responsibilities among different stakeholders (TA, hiring manager, candidate and HRBP). By integrating the external candidate management process with the internal one, equal opportunities were ensured, and internal talents were considered in the CRM/pipeline.
- Change Management and People Coaching: A deep and strong change management initiative was undertaken to drive awareness and ownership for the internal candidate pool. This involved empathetic leadership coaching to emphasize the importance and impact of internal candidates, focusing on retention and career growth.
- Candidate-Centric Approach: The strategy emphasized a candidate-centric approach, acknowledging the current market trends that place candidates in the driver’s seat. The commitment to respond to no more than 25% of candidates waiting to hear back highlights the organization’s respect for candidate time and interest.
- Data and Evidence: Gathering applicant feedback through SURVALE scores and tracking candidate advancement at every stage of the recruitment process provided valuable insights. The candidate NPS, which measures if candidates would recommend the process to a friend, is a key performance indicator. Additionally, the impact of specific changes, such as the introduction of videos by a recruiter, on the candidate NPS was assessed and showed a positive increase.
- Whether you’ve won your first CandE Award or multiple CandE Awards, how will you publicly use the CandE Award, and what it represents, in your employer branding and recruitment marketing? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
Winning a CandE Award signifies our unwavering dedication to delivering an exceptional candidate experience, and we are thrilled to celebrate this achievement! In the past, Schneider Electric proudly shared the news both internally and externally on various social media platforms. Moving forward, we have specific plans to leverage the award in our employer branding and recruitment marketing efforts, including:
- Social media: We will create captivating social media posts for our employee advocacy tool, enabling our employees to champion the award win and our commitment to providing a positive experience for all candidates. We will also share the news across our social media channels to reach our followers and the broader talent community.
- Recruitment Marketing: We intend to utilize the award to attract top talent by highlighting our emphasis on candidate satisfaction and our exceptional application process. The award represents an opportunity to strengthen our employer brand as one that values and prioritizes the candidate experience.
- Internal Communications: News of the CandE Award will be shared in our internal employee communication platform, viva engage, through an article that underscores our achievement and its significance.
- Company Blog: Crafting a blog post detailing the steps that led to earning the CandE Award, providing insights into our approach to improving the candidate experience and our commitment to valuing feedback.
- Employee Referral Program: Incorporating mentions of the award in communications related to our employee referral program, demonstrating our exceptional candidate experience, and encouraging employees to confidently refer their network.
By strategically leveraging the CandE Award in these ways, we aim to reinforce our commitment to candidate experience excellence and attract top talent who share our values and aspirations.
- Do you use any of your candidate experience benchmark data to quantify and demonstrate financial, referral, and/or employer branding business impact to your leadership team, your recruiting, and/or hiring managers? If yes, how? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
To quantify and demonstrate the business impact of our candidate experience, we utilize a variety of metrics and feedback mechanisms. Our primary tool for measuring candidate experience is our SURVALE scores, which track the progress of our candidate experience over time. We also gather survey feedback from internal and external candidates, hiring managers, and talent acquisition employees.
While we currently do not measure financial impact or return on investment, we focus on our candidate net promoter score (NPS) to gauge performance. This score looks at if the candidate would recommend the process to a friend. The promoter score is calculated by looking at the number of promoters minus the number of attractors divided by the total number of respondents. Our global NPS score is currently 63, showing a positive increase of nine points compared to 2023, and we are dedicated to further improving this score.
Additionally, we leverage benchmarks from other companies through SURVALE to compare our performance with external competitors and evaluate our standing in the market. This allows us to gauge our progress and identify areas for improvement.
Our YTD NAM 2024 SURVALE results provide valuable insights into the willingness of unsuccessful candidates to reapply. For instance, when asked about the likelihood of applying to future roles at Schneider Electric, 59.6% of respondents expressed being “very likely” and 19.4% indicated “likely.” This metric helps us consider unsuccessful candidates for new roles and assess their interest in staying connected with Schneider Electric.
Furthermore, we survey candidates during the interview stage to measure their willingness to recommend others to apply at Schneider Electric. According to our YTD NAM 2024 SURVALE results, 59.5% of respondents provided the highest recommendation score (10), 17.1% answered with a 9, and 14.3% rated an 8, demonstrating a positive impact on our talent community.
Another key measurement of our candidate experience lies in populating our CRM with talents open to being contacted for future roles, serving as a significant indicator of the ROI of our candidate experience efforts. We also monitor candidates’ assessment of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, as it significantly impacts our employer branding. Notably, our NAM 2024 SURVALE YTD results revealed that 98.4% of surveyed candidates felt valued, respected, and comfortable during their interviews, showcasing our dedication to fostering an inclusive culture.
These metrics and feedback mechanisms provide valuable insights to quantify and demonstrate the impact of our candidate experience to our leadership team, recruiting, and hiring managers, allowing us to continuously enhance our processes and positively influence our employer branding and business impact.