Changeworknow - the online resourcing experts

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Why even bad news can be good news!!

I received a letter earlier this week; from a travel company with whom I had entered a competition.

I’d been invited to take part in a survey earlier this year, on the subject of cycling holidays. Cycling and Holidays! Two things I love to do, and with the added incentive of being entered into a prize draw to win a holiday I was hooked.

Usual type of questionnaire, didn’t take too long. I hit ‘finished’ and thought if I win I’ll hear from them, if I don’t then I will resign myself to being marketed to unashamedly.

So imagine my surprise when the letter opened with: “I am writing to thank you for taking the time to fill out our recent cycling survey. I am sorry to say that you did not win the prize draw, however I would like to share some good news which may help get your holiday planning off to a good start for 2011

The letter then proceeded to share the results of the feedback they had received, and what they were offering next year in response to this. Closing the loop.

Yes, it was a standard letter, but it was addressed to me! I suddenly felt strangely touched by the fact that they had bothered to tell me the news rather than leave me guessing. I suddenly felt that this company cared enough about their customer experience to continue to have a dialogue with me and demonstrate that my input had been of value.

I might not be ready to book a holiday with them now, but you never know I might be ready at some point in the future. And they clearly understand that.

Usually with competitions ‘if you don’t hear, you haven’t been successful’!

Now, where have I heard that phrase before? I couldn’t help thinking about the parallels with online recruitment.

All too often candidates who apply for a job are given the same message. Online recruitment technology makes it SO easy today to give candidates feedback on whether their application has been successful or not, so why wouldn’t you do it?
  • It shows you care about the individual’s experience with your company and your brand
  • It respects their time and effort
  • It demonstrates a human touch, especially if you care enough to think about the content
  • It keeps the door open for further interaction both as a candidate and a potential customer
And you never know a candidate might not be ready for a job with you now, but they might be at some point in the future.

Come and take a look at our website and see for yourselves the kind of organisations that we work with who care enough about their candidates to give them a positive and engaging experience. http://www.changeworknow.co.uk/

Lesley Nash, Managing Director

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