Application completion rate can be defined as the metric used for calculating the number of persons who have completed the online job application process. This helps the organization to measure the effectiveness of their job application procedures.
In this blog we will understand
What is Application Completion Rate?
Application Completion Rate is used to compute the successful job application process. In this, we measure how many applicants have begun the application process and completed it with all the necessary steps. It evaluates the journey of the applicants’ application from the time they applied till the time they submit the finished application.
The formula to compute the application completion rate is very simple.
Application completion rate = number of submitted applications / Total number of applications
Where, submitted applications are the ones that are submitted by the applicants after finishing the process and the total number of applications are the ones that were started by the applicants.
In case you want to calculate the percentage of application completion rate, the product from the above formula is multiplied by hundred for the same.
Importance of Application Completion Rate
Application completion rate is an important aspect for both, the employee and the organization. It plays a vital role in various ways.
- Application completion rate is important for the organization because it shows how smooth the online recruitment process of the organization is. A low application completion rate leads to a bad impact on the organization’s recruitment process.
- It shows the importance of the job for an applicant when they complete the whole application process.
- Application completion rate helps the organization to know about the loopholes within the recruitment cell.
- Unnecessary drop-offs can become a real game challenge for the recruiters if the whole process is done in an offline manner. Application completion rate helps the recruiters by solving this problem through an online process.
- Application Completion Rate helps to count the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
Reasons for Low Application Completion Rate
When a person sees an application online, they at times skip it or even if they start filling it in, they leave it in between. These kinds of scenarios lead to a lower application rate. There are several reasons for the low application rate-
- Lengthy application: Time is money as we all know. Applications having two to three pages and having long questions can disinterest the applicant to move further.
- Types of questions: The type of questions that the application contains also play a very typical role in the application completion rate. The questions where the applicant is asked to fill the details in, let’s say, short answer type question, they usually skip if those are not compulsory to fill. Whereas objective type questions where the options are given, the applicant serves their interest.
- Poorly structured questions: The structure of the questions is important. When the question is not framed properly, the applicant finds it difficult to continue with the process.
- Technical issues: In case there is some technical issue with the application, the applicant will not continue to stick themselves on the application forever. They will simply jump to another option.
- Difficult UI: User Interface (UI) of the application page helps the applicant to interact with the application. When the application looks simpler and attractive, the applicant becomes interested in continuing the procedure. Else, they will take a lot of time to understand the interface and thus, lose their attention to fill the application.
Features of a Good Application
A good application can help HR to ease their workload in a possible manner.
According to a report by SHRM , 92 percent of the applicants never complete their applications. But why does this happen? It is because the application is not user friendly. But how to make one?
A good application,
- Have relevant questions.
- Does not have glitches.
- Have a user-friendly UI.
- Have the option to complete the application on mobile as well.
- Provide indicators to show the progress of the application.
- Have personalized features such as filling the fields directly from the resume.
An application completion rate is as important for the employee as it is for the employer. It shows the employee’s interest in having the job and the functioning of an organization’s HR department. It is important for the organization to maintain a higher application completion rate.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How to improve application completion rate?
Application completion rate shows the smooth functioning of the online process of applications which ultimately shows the efficiency and effectiveness of the recruiters. To improve the application completion rate the organization,
- Can opt for an easy application procedure where the process is simplified, and the unnecessary parts are skipped.
- Can provide support in case of any technical glitch or queries related to the application.
- Should keep the questions short and crisp so that only relevant information is gathered.
- Can reduce the number of the required fields in case they are not that important.
- Should provide clear instructions to the applicant.
2. What is the ideal recruitment ratio and how can it be achieved?
Recruitment ratio is another important aspect of the application completion rate, which shows the whole recruitment process. When the recruiters take both aspects together, they can find the best for the organization.
The ideal recruitment ratio is based on the organizations’ needs. It can be achieved by maintaining a perfect balance between the quantity and quality of the applicants.
3. What are the common factors that can hinder a high application completion?
Common factors that can hinder a high application completion are,
- Technical issues
- Lingering application processes
- Unclear instructions
- Stringent desktop-based application system
- Poorly organized applications
- Sensitive questions