Making An Offer That Gets Accepted

Making An Offer That Gets Accepted

Matt Langford, FPC of Huntsville-Nationwide Electronics and Defense Industry Recruiting

It is more than a cliché that we are involved in a war for talent.?An aging population combined with strong growth have put skilled American workers in the driver’s seat.?

Smart companies recognize this and do what it takes to get the right people on board.

Keep the end goal in mind from the beginning.??Ensuring that an offer is accepted begins with the candidate’s first contact with your company.?Resumes should be reviewed quickly and interviews set up as soon as possible.?Candidates are judging your company every step of the way.?Treat them as if they were a potential customer.

Time is the enemy.?Every day that passes is another day that your ideal candidate can pursue another job opportunity.?While you are deciding whether to move to the next step, another company is making an offer.?Delaying an interview to save a few hundred dollars on airfare could cost you thousands in lost productivity due to hiring delays.

Make the person feel like part of team even before the offer is made.?Let the candidate know about projects that they will be working on.?Have other members of the team call to pass on information or just check in to make sure that questions are being answered.

Make the terms of the offer clear.?The salary and any bonus or commission plan should be expressed clearly as well as benefits offered.?If applicable, the relocation package should be explained in detail.

Don’t be cheap.?Some companies make low ball offers on the off chance that they will be accepted.?All this does is insult the person that you want to be a happy, productive member of your team.?Generally, employed people move for increases of 8 to 15%.?Increases in cost of living should also be considered.?For the most part, no one wants to make a move unless it is clear that they will be better off financially by doing so.

Test the offer before putting it in writing. ??Offers should not be made unless they are going to be accepted.?This is not the time for employers or candidates to demonstrate their negotiating skill or attempt to squeeze the other party.?If you are using the services of a recruiter, have the recruiter discuss what kind of compensation would be acceptable.?A savvy recruiter will know how to get the real bottom line from the candidate.?

Line managers should personally extend the offer.?The human resources department is an important part of the recruiting process but this is an emotional time for candidates and should be handled by the person that will be their boss.?You want the candidate to know that their future boss will stand up for them when necessary.

Set firm deadlines.?You should expect an answer within a few days; however, this is not the time to play hardball.?If a candidate has a reasonable explanation of why they need to delay an answer, allow them to do so.?If you are using a recruiter, the recruiter should get the real reason for the delay.?Also, once the offer is accepted, the person should report to work within two weeks.?If relocation is involved, three to four weeks may be acceptable.?Again, have your recruiter probe for the reasons for the delay.?Delays can be an indication that the candidate is stalling for another offer to come through or is having cold feet.

Maintain communications.?The transition period from resignation to start can be treacherous.?Make sure that constant communication is maintained.?It is critical that the team feeling that was fostered early in the process be maintained at this point.?This is a very stressful period for the new employee and their family.?It is important that they have plenty of support.

Getting to the offer stage of the recruiting process is an arduous process.?If everything is done well during the process, the rate of acceptance can increase to greater than 90%.