"Today's candidates expect ongoing communication from companies during the application process, and when companies fail to meet this expectation, it can be bad for business," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer of CareerBuilder. "Candidates remember when companies don't respond to them, fail to update them on the status of their application or don't follow up after an interview. Not only do these experiences make candidates less likely to apply to the company again, but they also make them less likely to purchase from the company as customers."

Here, then, are six tips for improving the hiring process, based upon input from more than 5,000 employees and more than 2,000 hiring executives.

Step 1: Accept that a bad experience during the hiring process hurts your brand.

What employers think: "82 percent of employers [in the study] think there's little to no negative impact on the company when a candidate has a bad experience during the hiring process."

Reality check: 58 percent of employees "are less likely to buy from a company to which they've applied if they don't get a response to their application; 69 percent are less likely if they have a bad experience in the interview; and the same is true of 65 percent if they didn't hear back after an interview."

More: 69 percent of candidates are inclined to support a company "if they're treated with respect throughout the application process, and 67 percent are likely to do the same if they receive consistent updates throughout the recruitment process."

Step 2: Refine your recruiting efforts by tracking candidate sources

What employers think: How a candidate found out about an opening doesn't matter. Nearly six in 10 don't bother to find out how candidates found them, although tracking and coding technology exists to do just that.

Reality check: "Job seekers … consult up to 18 resources throughout their job search – including job boards, social networking sites, search engines and online referrals."

More: "Without any data on where their candidates are coming from, employers may be missing opportunities to connect with candidates where they are actually searching."

Step 3: Understand candidate expectations

What employers think: They don't have to respond to all job inquiries. "More than half of employers (52 percent) respond to less than half of the candidates who apply."

Reality check: People expect a response and don't like it when they don't get one. Most expect at least an automated reply, but 84 percent expect a personal email acknowledging their inquiry, and 52 percent think they should get a phone call.

More: "Even when the news isn't what they hope to receive, candidates expect a response: 1 in 4 candidates (25 percent) expect to hear if the employer will not be bringing them in for an interview."

Step 4: Keep in touch, early and often, with candidates during the process.

What employers think: Communications during the hiring process can be infrequent, i.e., they don't matter. "Only 26 percent of employers proactively communicate with candidates what stage of the hiring process they're in."

Reality check: Candidates want and expect to know where things stand. "Thirty-six percent of candidates expect to be updated throughout the application process, and 41 percent expect to be notified if they weren't chosen after they interviewed with the company."

More: "Nearly three in four (73 percent) candidates who interviewed with companies said they were never given an explanation for why they didn't get the job."

READ: Why aren't companies addressing employee engagement?

Step 5: Take the frustration out of the process.

What employers think: The process is the process, it's been tested a thousand times and doesn't need a tune-up. We hired someone, didn't we? Oh, they only last a month? Hmmm…

Reality check: The process is broke and does need to be fixed. And it's getting worse, employees say. "Forty percent of candidates feel the application process has become more difficult in the last five years. Of those, 57 percent complain the process is too automated and lacks personalization, 51 percent are frustrated they have no idea where they are in the process, and 50 percent say the process has so many more steps than it used to have." Sixty percent of applicants said they didn't even finish the application process because it got soooooo long.

More: "Employers can reduce these frustrations by taking the time to respond to candidates, by keeping the lines of communication going and by minimizing the number of steps candidates must go through during the application process."

Step 6: Treat them well during the hiring process and you'll be lavishly rewarded!

What employers think: Offer them more dough and better benefits and a gym membership and they'll take the job.

Reality check: Employees will accept less in compensation if they feel good about the company's hiring process. "More than 3 in 4 candidates (77 percent) are willing to accept a salary that is 5 percent lower than their expected offer if the employer created a great impression through the hiring process; even more (83 percent) would do the same if the company had a reputation as a great employer."

More: Media coverage matters: "Candidates would also accept a lower salary if the company had a lot of positive press recently (69 percent) and had great online reviews (73 percent)."