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“What should the onboarding experience be for new customers?” “If we release this in the product and they click “here”, are we solving the customer problem and is it a seamless experience?” “What employee and candidate experience do we have that makes people want to work and stay here? No matter if you sell products directly to consumers via an online experience or if you’re selling services or software to a business to integrate into their operations, thinking about these different “experiences” and users is crucial for success, and at its very core, is centered around people. As someone who has been involved in a week or sometimes month long workshops, multiple hour jam sessions, focus groups, and more, the level of dedication and thoughtfulness spent to create these experiences are meticulously thought out with every detail. It was very common to get caught up in the level of technical detail, but when we took a step back, whatever we created and improved, reminding ourselves that"customers are people", made for better experiences. But what about employee and candidate experiences? The amount of time and resources most businesses put behind improving customer and user experiences that ultimately directly impact the top line, the question some would ask is, “Why not spend that same amount of time and detail on your employee and candidate experience?” Just like “customers” and “users”, employees and candidates are people. People are the core of what makes businesses operate and thrive and at the end of the day, have a heavy influence on your brand. With the increase of viral videos of horrible layoff calls or interview nightmares, your brand reputation can make an unfortunate turn overnight. Creating an experience that keeps your employees and candidates in mind is not only good for business, but can directly impact your brand health. Let’s break down some of these experiences and why the importance of how people & brand experiences impact businesses today. Customer experience (CX) To put it simply, the customer experience is everything organizations set up, from systems to personnel to documentation (we hope!), so that they can continue delivering exceptional experiences, value, and growth for their customers. If we think about customers not being a “business”, but at the end of the day, people interacting with people, even with all the documentation in the world won’t solve your customer experience. With the many different review sites like G2 or even the rise of Reddit, this experience is crucial in not only how it helps with retention or word of mouth, but inherently says something about your brand as well. User experience (UX) The user experience takes that customer experience a step further and now focuses on those that use your product and how those users interact with and experience your product, systems or service. Given the heavy focus on individual experiences, and more of a 1:1 nature, ease of use and efficiency are at the core of a great user experience. Similar to the customer experience, with the many social media outlets and ways users have access to communities of other users, this experience is crucial. As a product marketer, and very much user focused working with product managers and product designers, coming back to the core epicenter that it’s “people” using the tool and solving problems that made their jobs easier, was crucial to our success. This thought isn’t just good for businesses, but good for the users aka people! Employee and Candidate Experience (EX and CX) Now unrelated to the workflow journey of a customer’s first interaction with the support team being able to quickly troubleshoot or an onboarding email that helps a customer set up their first integration, is the bigger picture as it relates to the teams of people who make businesses thrive and customers happy… the people experience as it relates to employees and candidates.  For internal teams, since many wear multiple hats, it’s common that the primary focus is on improving employee experience. While wanting to equally be able to balance that same amount of focus on the candidate experience and recruiting, it’s often challenging given lack of resources or even other fighting priorities. While ensuring internal employee satisfaction is crucial to keep businesses humming along, a bad candidate experience in your recruiting processes can in turn reflect negatively to your employer brand and potentially even deter top candidates as well. When you create a positive employee and candidate experience, doing or getting a job becomes more than that. Any great interactions with your organization, help attract top talent, create happier and healthier work cultures and people will more commonly become advocates of your brand and its products. “If you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business.” - Simon Sinek At the end of the day, any experiences involving people interacting with people are so essential and impactful to your business. At the core, the outcome will reflect in how others think about your brand, which can have major impacts to the business. Here at Nimble Technology Partners, a Chicagoland based staffing and recruiting firm, we are truly people centric in creating the best candidate experience. As partners to our clients, we believe in aligning values that enable us to be a true extension of their teams. Looking for a partner to help you with your staffing and recruiting needs that truly put the candidate experience at the core? Contact our team today to see how we can help!

It’s sometimes hard to believe there was a time where entering into the workforce meant that getting the"full-time job" was a sense of stability and room to grow into your career at one company, if you desired. What used to be the feeling of having control where you worked and having the ultimate choice to hold on to that role as long as you needed to, seemed like remained your decision. Whether it was because you were ready to start your new challenge, escaping a bad manager (we hate when that’s the case!) or wanting to stay until you retire, the ball was most of the time in your court. With what seems like almost annual, cyclical layoffs, and even some happening more than once a year, professionals are more than ever are looking at ways to consider other ways to not be fully dependent on one full-time role. While a lot of benefits are easier to evaluate for contract positions from a business standpoint, the increase in professionals shifting from “employee” to “consultant” is increasing as more and more professionals are more open to these types of opportunities. Here are the top benefits of contract work: (and we know it’s not ideal for everyone, but just some items to consider!) Higher pay rates As a consultant, being able to set your own pay rate can be a huge advantage and upside of choosing to go this route. With the idea that these types of professionals have a very specific set of skills that are niche, most companies are willing to pay a higher price tag for said expertise. This is not only beneficial for the company, given it being a cost efficient solution to ensure certain projects and work get done in a desired timeline, but hugely beneficial for you as a consultant. While sometimes the downside is that most of the time, these types of contract positions do not offer benefits, having that higher pay rate can sometimes help offset that, and then some. Clearer job scopes While there is still a large level of accountability on job responsibilities, the majority of the time you are being brought on for a specific set of services or projects. Frustrations that most employees face is the lack of clarity on what their roles & responsibilities actually are, causing frustration, decreased employee satisfaction and sometimes even high turnover. Having a clear understanding of a job scope ensures clarity on both ends and less ambiguity, making outcomes clearer. A lot of “new” “New” challenges, “new” people, “new” ways of working and “new” work environments. While tenure at a company shows your commitment and is very admirable, sometimes only having exposure to a limited way of how things can be done can be limiting. With the number of successful businesses out there, not every one of those are following the same recipe. Being able to expose yourself to new challenges, projects, industries, and ways of working can not only add to your tool box, but you're able to bring that expertise to your next project. More independence & autonomy Having more control over specific projects you take on and when your schedule allows puts the ultimate keys in your hand. Also, with what seems like cyclical events of annual layoffs and the unfortunate unpredictability of job security, you can have the ultimate control over the career path you want to create. As businesses continue to navigate through the ever changing technology landscape and competitive market, the need for professionals with specific skills to meet business objectives is more crucial than ever. We know that while these benefits are great, contract work still might not be realistic for some, which is totally okay! If you are considering making that shift into consulting, as a professional, your specific skills can be what companies are looking for, so capitalize on it! Here at Nimble Technology Partners, whether you’re looking to explore into the world of contract work or you’re a seasoned veteran, we’re here to help match you to the businesses looking for what you have to offer! Join our consultant network and bring your expertise to the table!