In a market where it feels like top talent has endless options, hiring is no longer just about filling vacancies, it’s about delivering an experience. On Solving the People Puzzle, Francois de Wet sat down with Vuyo Mxhalisa to unpack what truly sets high-performing talent acquisition teams apart today.
With deep experience across financial services and HR leadership, Vuyo brings both strategic insight and practical clarity to the conversation.
His message is simple, but powerful: candidate experience isn’t an add-on. It’s the strategy.
Read on to learn the key insights from their discussion.
Treat Candidates Like Customers
One of the biggest mindset shifts Vuyo advocates for is this: treat candidates like customers.
When organisations see candidates as people engaging with their brand, not just applicants moving through a system, everything changes. Every email, update, and interview becomes a brand touchpoint.
Brand perception starts long before an offer is signed.
A thoughtful, respectful candidate journey doesn’t just improve hiring outcomes. It builds trust, strengthens reputation, and creates advocacy, even among candidates who don’t get the job.
Where Traditional Hiring Strategies Fall Short
Technology plays a critical role in modern hiring. But according to Vuyo, many traditional HR systems weren’t designed with candidate experience in mind.
They were built for compliance, for reporting and for administration. Not for engagement.
Rigid workflows and limited flexibility often result in processes that prioritise internal efficiency over human connection. Candidates end up feeling processed instead of valued.
The solution isn’t to abandon technology, but to choose what you use intentionally.
That means looking for platforms built around the candidate journey, rather than rigid internal processes. Wamly is an example of a platform designed around the candidate journey and experience, so much so that 9 out of 10 candidates report feeling positive about their journey when Wamly is involved.
Speed and Communication Win Talent
Responsiveness, Vuyo argues, is one of the most underestimated advantages in hiring.
Silence is rarely neutral. More often, it signals disorganisation or disinterest.
Speed matters. Feedback matters. Clarity matters.
When candidates understand where they stand, what the next step is, and how long the process will take, anxiety drops and engagement rises. Momentum builds instead of fading.
Vuyo encourages teams to meet candidates where they already are, even if that means using familiar communication channels like WhatsApp. The aim isn’t to be trendy, it’s to be accessible, consistent, and human.
Because in hiring, momentum is everything.
Hiring Strategy Before Technology
As HR continues to evolve into a strategic business partner, talent acquisition must align with business outcomes, not just hiring targets.
Vuyo makes a clear distinction: technology should support strategy, not define it.
Before investing in new systems, organisations need to answer a harder question: what problem are we actually solving?
Without a clear talent acquisition strategy, even the most advanced platforms simply digitise broken processes. Intentional strategy creates clarity, and clarity allows technology to amplify impact.
EVP Sets the Tone
A powerful theme throughout the conversation was Employer Value Proposition (EVP).
Your EVP is your promise. It defines what work feels like inside your organisation and why someone should choose you.
Technology can help communicate that promise, but it can’t create it.
When EVP and process are aligned, candidate experience feels authentic. When they aren’t, even the most polished systems feel hollow.
The tools are the vehicle. The EVP is the destination.
The Future Is Candidate-Centric
Looking ahead, Vuyo predicts a move away from one-size-fits-all HR systems toward more bespoke, industry-aligned solutions.
The future belongs to platforms that flex around the candidate journey, not the other way around.
Hiring technology should reflect the DNA of the organisation at every touchpoint. It should feel intentional, branded, and human.
Because the real differentiator isn’t automation alone.
It’s experience.
What HR Leaders Should Do Next
The so-called war for talent isn’t won through louder job ads or bigger budgets. It’s won in everyday moments:
The speed of your reply. The clarity of your feedback. The respect shown for someone’s time.
Candidate experience isn’t a soft metric. It’s a business strategy that directly influences brand perception, offer acceptance, and long-term retention.
Vuyo’s message lands with conviction:
“Candidate experience is not a side project. It is the strategy.”
For HR leaders serious about building talent pipelines that last, that insight isn’t just advice. It’s direction. Platforms like Wamly, built around intentional, candidate-first hiring, show what’s possible when experience is treated as a strategic priority.
Why This Episode Is Worth Your Time
If you’re hiring in a competitive market, this conversation is worth a listen. Vuyo Mxhalisa breaks down why candidate experience is no longer a “nice to have”, but a core driver of hiring success, brand perception, and long-term retention.
You’ll walk away with practical insight into:
- Why most hiring processes fail candidates without realising it
- How speed and communication quietly shape your employer brand
- What intentional HR technology should (and shouldn’t) be doing
- How candidate experience becomes a measurable business advantage
If you care about building a hiring process that people actually respect, remember, and talk about, this episode will challenge how you think about talent acquisition.
Listen to the full episode of How Intentional HR Tech is Reshaping Candidate Experience with Vuyo Mxhalisa here.
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