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Have you ever been so excited to interview a candidate that you changed your entire day to schedule them, only to have them not show up? No-shows are an endemic problem in the restaurant and hospitality industry, which has become particularly acute during the pandemic. In a recent LANDED survey, three out of five restaurant managers and owners said a no-show (ghost) interview was the biggest challenge for their staff.
General managers have millions of tasks to deal with every day, and when time is set aside for an interview and the candidate doesn’t even bother to show it (or let you know), it’s a huge waste of time.
We’ve compiled a list of best practices that our clients implement to reduce your job candidate no-show rate. Read or download the 3-Step Guide to Reducing Interview Ghosting here.
Schedule interviews 24–48 hours after the initial engagement
There are many advantages to scheduling interviews 24–48 hours after your initial engagement with the candidate. When the candidate initiates communication, feelings of excitement, nervousness and fear emerge. Waiting too long for a response can lead to second-guessing or overthinking and assuming reasons why you might not be responding. Keeping up with the schedule will keep your company fresh in the minds of candidates and reduce the chance of them forgetting about you or finding another job in the meantime. It also shows that you are communicative and supportive. The way you show up the first time is the way you show up every time after that. Speed is the name of the game.
Automate candidate reminders
Automation saves time and energy for all parties! Implementing automated reminders across all channels via SMS, email and chat ensures they are seen the day before and on the day of the interview. It’s 2022. Robotic and impersonal messages are being tossed aside and perceived as unprofessional or lazy. Younger generations call on robots and crave personalization and connection. Take it a step further and make your automated reminders less robotic and more personalized. Candidates appreciate the feeling that the message is tailor-made for them. This is a great opportunity to show them your support and care right from the start.
Call particularly strong candidates to remind them about interviews
Call reminders are a good way to contact lead candidates, or all candidates if time permits. A phone call is an instant reminder of what’s to come. The calls are personal and give you the opportunity to speak with the candidate before an interview. This is a quick and effective way to remind and confirm the interview. It also gives you a chance to talk briefly with the candidate before the interview. This can make them feel more comfortable talking to your company once the interview begins.
Make the interview rescheduling process relatively easy
We all know that life happens and sometimes unavoidable situations arise. As well as confirming your interviews, allow candidates to reschedule via SMS, email or chat, etc. Easy rescheduling allows for fewer missed interviews and more open communication from the start. Be understanding by allowing schedule changes.
Pre-judge the candidate’s interest to determine how likely you are to follow up
It may seem counterintuitive, but putting more friction (but not too much) into the earlier parts of the screening process allows candidates to exit the hiring funnel on their own. This means you will get fewer applicants and fewer interviews, but the ones that do make it should be of a higher quality and serious about pursuing the position at your company. When doing this, speed is still very important – make sure you get back to candidates as quickly as possible so you don’t lose them to your competitive business.
By implementing these five practices into your hiring routine, you’ll see a huge drop in interview no-show rates. Give your candidate every option available to avoid seeing you by making it convenient to reschedule. Overall, it’s important to realize that sometimes getting ghosted in interviews is inevitable. Maybe it was a last-minute kid pick-up or a vet emergency. Maybe they got a flat tire or their phone died. Life happens and that’s OK. Show your applicants that this is a safe place to live.
Vivian Wang is the founder and CEO of Landed (gotlanded.com). She and the Landed team are building the fastest way for the 90 million hourly workers in the US to find jobs at major food and retail businesses like Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Grocery Outlet and others with video. After graduating from Princeton University’s Faculty of Public and International Affairs, Vivian worked in roles ranging from advising European central banks on financial markets strategy at BlackRock and launching markets in Asia and EMEA at the real estate technology company properties, Matterport (NASDAQ: MTTR), to lead special projects for the C-suite at Gap, Inc., owner of Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and Intermix.
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