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 GuideWell. GuideWell, formally GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation (holding company for Florida Blue), is a mutual insurance holding company primarily focused on health insurance in Florida. It was created in 2013 by a reorganization initiated by Florida Blue, a member company of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
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.)
To improve the application process and reduce candidate frustration, GuideWell has implemented the following initiatives:
- Applicant Journey – Developed a clear process map that outlines expectations and timelines for each stage of the hiring process. This is shared with applicants at various stages, helping to avoid confusion and set clear expectations.
- Enhanced Candidate Communications – Updated our communication strategy to ensure that candidates receive the right information at the right time, keeping them informed and engaged throughout the entire process.
- Automated Email Campaigns – Created an email campaign that allows recruiters to send mass updates to candidates when the hiring process timeline changes, keeping them informed and up to date.
- Interview Preparation – When inviting candidates to interview, recruiters now provide valuable resources and tips to help them prepare, including guidance on dressing professionally, technical considerations for video interviews, and more.
- Post-Interview Feedback – Implemented a process to provide feedback to candidates on the most common reasons for not being selected after an interview, reducing the feeling of uncertainty and lack of feedback.
These initiatives were driven by feedback and data from our CandE benchmarking efforts and aim to improve the overall candidate experience and reduce feelings of “ghosting” and frustration.
- 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.)
GuideWell built support and commitment within our team and the broader organization by demonstrating compassion through communications, promoting brand reputation through our GuideWell family of companies, motivating candidates who did not receive offers to apply again in the future, and encouraging employee referrals. By providing a great candidate experience, candidates will likely apply again and recommend our company to other job seekers.
- 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.)
GuideWell implemented Chatbot monitoring on our Careers site, which has significantly improved the candidate experience. Our Chatbot Management Team has done a great job monitoring our chatbot, responding to unanswered questions and concerns, and reducing waiting times for responses. The chatbot has provided a more personalized experience, streamlined the application process, and ensured equal access to job opportunities for candidates with disabilities.
The chatbot has also provided clear and concise information about the application process, company culture, and job roles, and it has given us valuable insights into candidate behavior. This has helped our team identify areas for improvement and optimize our recruitment strategies. Overall, implementing chatbot monitoring has created a more efficient, effective, and engaging candidate experience, leading to better recruitment outcomes.
In addition to chatbot monitoring, we’ve also leveraged AI-powered tools to enhance our recruitment process. AI has helped us search for candidates across multiple job boards, social media, and professional networks, reducing manual sourcing time. AI has also supported personalized candidate communications, improved engagement, and reduced candidate drop-off rates. By automating tasks and streamlining the recruitment process, AI has helped us reduce time-to-hire, costs, and improve scalability.
This year, we have implemented the Oracle Recruiting Cloud platform, which is a comprehensive and innovative solution that streamlines the recruitment process, providing a seamless experience for both candidates and hiring managers. With its user-friendly interface, advanced analytics, and real-time insights, the platform enables us to make data-driven decisions, improve candidate satisfaction, and reduce time-to-hire. Overall, the Oracle Recruiting platform is a powerful tool that helps our organization attract, engage, and hire top talent, while also driving business growth and success.
The GuideWell Talent Acquisition team has consistently demonstrated a commitment to implementing these changes and enhancing the overall candidate experience. Based on direct candidate feedback from automated touchpoints and survey results, GuideWell recognizes the positive impact of these implementations. Previous CandE results indicated the need for quicker applicant response times, clearer communication regarding the application and interview process, and a stronger desire for real-time feedback throughout the process.
- 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.)
GuideWell is eager to showcase this achievement in our employer branding and recruitment marketing efforts. Here’s how we plan to publicly use the CandE Award and what it represents:
- Social Media: We’ll share the news on our social media channels, including LinkedIn and Instagram, to reach our followers and the wider talent community. We’ll use the CandE Award logo and create engaging content that highlights our commitment to providing an exceptional candidate experience.
- Employer Branding: The CandE Award will be featured in an article in our internal employee communication platform, GuideWell Insider.
- Email Signature: We’ll incorporate the CandE Award logo into our company email signatures, demonstrating our excellence in candidate experience to everyone who interacts with us.
- Press Releases and Media: Issue a press release announcing our achievement and collaboration with media outlets and industry publications to promote the Award as part of our employer branding.
- Company Blog: Write a blog post or series about the steps that led to earning the CandE Award, offering insights into how we improve the candidate experience and value feedback.
- Employee Referral Program: Mention the Award in communications around our employee referral program to show that our company is recognized for its candidate experience, encouraging employees to refer their network confidently.
- 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.)
At GuideWell, we prioritize candidate experience and track its impact through key performance indicators (KPIs) such as job offer acceptance rate, time to fill and start, attrition rate, candidate sources, career site conversion rate, and candidate feedback. These metrics help us understand the effectiveness of our recruitment processes and identify areas for improvement.
We regularly report on our recruiting progress, KPIs, and financial impact to our customers and leadership through our HR scorecard results and frequent touchpoints with hiring managers and client groups. This ensures that we are transparent and accountable for our recruitment efforts.
To drive continuous improvement in the candidate experience, we analyze benchmark data, create an annual action plan to address gaps and needed improvements, and assign team members specific projects to enhance the candidate experience. By regularly measuring and improving candidate experience, we can ensure that our recruitment processes are effective, efficient, and aligned with our organization’s goals.