 Mark Kunaseelan | CUSTOMER TAKEOVER: A BIG thank you to Mark, Head of Resourcing at UAL, for putting this tip together! |
WHAT IS THE TIP?
💡 Never stop asking yourself: “What else?”
Keep asking: What else can be improved by adding, refining or just simplifying? What else would make this journey better for our candidates, hiring managers and teams?
Running regular user experience reviews
💡 Running regular user experience reviews is essential. Don’t rely solely on assumptions - test it yourself. Create a test account and walk through the full application process from a candidate’s perspective.
Ask yourself:
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Did the job advert provide all the necessary information?
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Was the application form quick and intuitive to complete?
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Does the branding on the job board reflect your current employer brand?
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Are the automated emails helpful, clear and appropriately personalised?
Internal feedback loops
💡 Internal feedback loops are equally valuable. Engage your recruiters, hiring managers and even recent hires. Their insights can reveal friction points and opportunities for enhancement that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Continuous improvement doesn’t always mean big overhauls, it’s about consistently seeking out marginal gains.
What changes have we made?
💡 Streamlined application process
We simplified the application form to reduce candidate drop-off. By removing duplicate questions and applying smarter field logic. We cut the average completion time by nearly 40% resulting in a clear uplift in submission rates.
🔧 For example: if a hiring manager requests a CV, there’s no need to also ask for employment, education and training history. Instead, we use visibility rules to hide entire sections of the form while still capturing essential data where needed.
💡 Refreshed job board branding
Working with Oleeo, we overhauled our job board branding to align with our current employer brand. This included:
- a shift to a darker colour scheme.
- updated font styles and sizes.
- links to relevant pages on our careers site in the header.
The result is a visually consistent and engaging candidate experience. We’ve already seen a positive impact through improved feedback in candidate surveys, increased engagement and a small but noticeable reduction in the high volume of candidate queries.
💡 Enhanced email communications
We revamped our automated email templates to be clearer and more helpful.
All emails now reference reasonable adjustments and include the appropriate contact details for the team managing the vacancy, vital given our multiple teams and inboxes.
- We achieved this using “translated_to.4.value” datapaths to dynamically assign contact details.
- We also introduced automated alerts: one when a vacancy goes live (including posting links) and another when a vacancy reaches a high number of applications. These alerts help teams act faster and with the addition of a top tip added to these emails, provides extra value.
Here is the example of the datapaths used in the above email editor (advanced editor):
[editable=id1][placeholder=LOGO_UAL][/placeholder]
Dear [path]application.user.formdata.98276:1:1.value[/path],
We are pleased to inform you that you have been shortlisted for the position of [path]application.opportunity.title[/path] and would like to invite you to attend an interview.
To confirm your interview please login to your [ifexpr=Extapp][then][placeholder=Ext_appcentre][/placeholder][/then][else][placeholder=Int_appcentre][/placeholder][/else][/ifexpr] as soon as possible to book a slot.
As a reminder, if you require any reasonable adjustments at any part of the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to let us know via [u][path]application.opportunity.formdata.408:1:1.translated_to.1.value[/path][/u].
We wish you all the best in your interview!
Kind regards,
[placeholder=UAL_Signature][/placeholder][/editable]
[u][path]application.opportunity.formdata.408:1:1.translated_to.1.value[/path][/u]
💡 Improved dashboards and reporting
We’ve significantly enhanced dashboards for both Resourcing Teams and Hiring Managers.
Resourcing Teams now see a high-level ReportHub summary at the top of their dashboard, showing key vacancy and application volumes across different stages, supported by saved searches for deeper insight.
Quick links to other ReportHub dashboards, including organisation-wide views, provide one-click access to further data.
Hiring Managers benefit from clear visibility of their vacancies and application progress, allowing them to monitor performance at a glance and take timely action.
using the ReportHub widget
💭Final thoughts…
Upon reflection, improvement isn’t a destination, it’s an ongoing journey. Whether the change is a sweeping redesign or a background tweak, every improvement contributes to a better experience and that’s what matters even if it’s not picked up or noticed by everyone.
😊 What examples do you have where you have sought improvements and seen the rewards? Share them with your community!
Would you like to be our next customer takeover? Reach out to your CSM to put yourselves forward!
