Why HR Managers Lack Basic Etiquette?

The year: 1988
Time: 7.30 am
Location: First day in School

Dad: You must say good-morning to the Sister at the gate or she'll think that we haven't taught you good manners.
4 year old me: Ok Dad.
(Scared as hell of the nun in white dress, and trying not to cry like the kid next to me walk up to her)
Sister: Good Morning Dear
Me: (relieved that she is smiling) Good Morning Sister

This is my first memory of being told of how my conduct reflected on my parents. It wasn't the last time though. They did it until it became an habit, something to be done without even thinking. I am not saying that I never goof-up. I do, maybe because I am pre-occupied or maybe because I don't know the rules of conduct. Whatever the reason, my rudeness is rarely deliberate, and non-existent when it comes to business corresspondence.

And this brings me to my major grudge against almost every company.

Why can't companies hire people with basic etiquette?
Oh wait, I know the answer. Because, their HR managers cannot even spell ETIQUETTE.

I have worked with start-ups, and I have worked with big established companies. I have had to handle the hiring quite frequently for my projects, and there is one rule that I have followed - always reply to candidates.

If I have an application, I will reply to it whether or not I want to even interview the candidate. I am not going to write about how rejection emails should be written, because you can come up with hundreds of samples for those. And I agree, that big companies have hundreds of applicants, much more than I have ever handled myself.

But the fact is, they also have HR teams to do this. Sending an email isn't expensive and setting up automated email messages isn't difficult at all. So why is the basic courtesy of even acknowledging the candidate's applications never made?

Not receiving an acknowledgement of our application is something most applicants have become accustomed to. But what I still fail to understand is why are applicants never informed of the status of their candidacy even after interviewing them? Most companies will not tell you even if you ask.

Seriously, why not? Do you think that they can't handle it? Or are you just lazy? Because as an HR manager IT IS YOUR JOB to inform applicants of the status of their candidacy. Let's really ignore the fact here that basic etiquette demands it.

As an applicant I want to know why I was not selected, so I know not to repeat the same mistakes again. Agreed, that can be difficult a lot of times. But at least, you can tell me if I am still in the running or not.

It's not really that difficult, is it?