Everyone has heard the line, “people are our greatest asset”

It shows up on websites, in investor decks, and in speeches from senior leaders. It sounds right. It signals culture and care. But for many professionals trying to get hired, the experience tells a different story.
At Blackwater, we speak with candidates and employers every day. The gap between what companies say and how they act has never been bigger.

The Candidate Hiring Experience Crisis

Let’s be honest, the candidate journey has become painfully frustrating for many professionals:

• Interviews take weeks (or months) to arrange, often with little communication in between.
• Chaos reigns when scheduling interviews, last-minute changes, conflicting invites, or worse, no confirmation at all.
• Feedback is a rarity, leaving candidates hanging indefinitely after investing time, energy, and often emotional effort.
• And when the process drags on for months, candidates move on, often taking a poor impression of the firm with them.

For candidates, it feels disrespectful and for employers, it’s self-sabotage.

The Employer’s Blind Spot

HR teams and hiring managers often underestimate how much damage a poor hiring process can do. The recruitment process is, in effect, a company’s first customer experience, only the customer here is potential talent.

A sloppy, slow, or uncommunicative process doesn’t just lose candidates, it sends a loud message to the market:

“We’re disorganised.”
“We don’t value your time.”
“We don’t truly mean it when we say people matter.”

For firms that pride themselves on professionalism and high standards, this is a glaring contradiction. Candidates talk, privately, on LinkedIn, and to recruiters. Reputation spreads fast, and top talent remembers how you made them feel.

A Simple Test for Employers

Ask yourself this:

If you were applying for a role at your own firm, would you want to go through the experience you currently offer?

Would you tolerate weeks of silence after interviews? Disjointed scheduling? Generic rejection emails?

If not, then something needs to change.

What Great Hiring Looks Like

Improving the hiring experience does not take a massive project. It takes intent and follow-through.

The best firms treat hiring as the start of a relationship, not a transaction. They build trust from the first contact and maintain it through every step.

They focus on a few key practices:

• Respond quickly. Even a short update shows respect. Silence signals indifference.
• Simplify the process. Cut unnecessary stages and keep timelines tight.
• Give feedback. It shows professionalism and helps candidates grow.
• Train hiring managers. Empower them to make timely decisions.
• Set clear expectations. Tell candidates what to expect and when.

These actions create consistency. They make candidates feel valued. They also lead to faster hires and stronger acceptance rates.

Research supports this. A 2023 CareerBuilder survey found that 78% of professionals see the hiring experience as a reflection of how a company treats employees. Talent Board data shows that firms with strong candidate experiences have 50% higher offer acceptance rates.

The ROI of Respect

A respectful process is not about being nice, it’s good business.

Poor hiring costs money. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, replacing a skilled employee can cost up to twice their annual salary. Losing strong candidates because of slow or unclear hiring adds unnecessary expense.

A clear and respectful process sends a signal of competence. When candidates feel valued, they share that story. It builds your reputation and attracts more qualified people over time.

Companies that ignore this lose ground fast:

• They lose top candidates to quicker competitors.
• They spend more on recruitment later.
• They weaken morale among current employees who see poor behavior.

Respect in hiring is not a soft skill, it’s actually a performance metric.

Leadership’s Responsibility

Leaders shape the standard. If executives say “people are our most precious asset,” they must show it through action, not slogans.

Ask your HR and hiring teams:

• How quickly do we respond to applicants?
• How many interviews do we run before a decision?
• How much feedback do we give?
• How often do we miss our own timelines?

Track those answers and fix the weak spots because small improvements make a big difference. A 24-hour response window, a short feedback message, or a clear update after an interview all send a signal that you respect people’s time.

The Cost of Ignoring the Problem

A poor candidate experience leaves a mark, as bad reviews on Glassdoor and social media drive away strong applicants. Recruiters lose leverage and teams fall behind as key roles remain open.

The best firms act early and they treat candidates like future colleagues. They move fast and communicate clearly, they build trust before day one.

Firms that get this right gain a lasting advantage. They attract better talent, spend less on recruitment, and strengthen their brand in the process.

The Bottom Line

Every recruiter, hiring manager, and HR leader will one day be a candidate again. Think about how you want to be treated.

You would want clear communication. You would want honest feedback. You would want respect for your time.

Give others the same.

If people truly are your greatest asset, every interaction should prove it, from the first email to the final offer. Candidates remember how you made them feel. And those memories decide whether they say yes, or walk away.

Respect costs nothing. Disrespect costs talent.

Ready to See Where You Stand?

Check out the latest key findings from our 2025 Global ETF Salary Survey to benchmark your worth and power up your next negotiation. The trends are clear. And the opportunity? It’s yours, if you ask.