Oh no...

What a start to a Thursday, your top performer just gave notice and now you have to regroup and consider what to do. You can counter them, and hope they stay, or you can let them go and find someone new.

If you do offer a counteroffer to them, will they look to leave again, with a higher salary?

Most likely, and you cannot let them get one over on you. So, you decide to accept the notice and you let HR know to post the job.

“We have to find the replacement fast; we do not want this position empty for long. If you have to reach out to a recruiter, then do so.” You tell HR.

Deep inside you know that it will take at least 4 weeks, and they only gave 2 and you know they may not give all they have those two weeks, but you have to hope it will all work out.

The job posting goes up, internally (I hope) and externally and HR called on their top recruiting firm (Snelling Hospitality I hope!) to get the ball rolling, the company is covering all avenues.

In the first few days, 19 externals apply and 3 internal candidates. The recruiter also sends over 2, so you have some sorting to do.

HR starts with the externals, and while there are few quality candidates, they do not stand out.. they move on to the recruiters’ candidates and they like one, so they set up an interview.

The internals can wait, we need to make this work fast and they have work to do.

A week has gone by, the recruiter sends a few more, a few more interviews and the external candidates keep coming… the flood is upon the team, as they start interviewing.

All the while, the 3 internal candidates are now on the back burner and growing frustrated.

Success!

You have identified the candidate the team likes and started the offer process.

It only took 4 weeks and training will be a few more, so you didn’t really lose much time.

The following Monday after the new hire starts, you get a knock on the door, and the assistant of the employee left asks to speak with you, they were an internal candidate who had applied.

They just gave notice too, and now you have to start the process over again…

Oh no.

Here is the thing, if you have internal candidates who are looking to move up, this should always be step one in any process. If you are a company that has multiple locations, start there and see if they want to relocate, don’t just assume they do not.

This process of hiring is never-ending as it is, and if you are not taking care of your internal candidates, it can seem like it will stay that way forever.

Here is why those rejected or pushed aside internal candidates start to leave.

They have been in the organization, working their way through the company daily, and they know all the processes and procedures.

They know the culture, they know the other employees, and if they are doing the right things, they know the clients or customers.

According to a Harvard Business weekly article in July of 2021, rejected employees are nearly two times as likely to leave than ones who didn’t apply internally. That does not even count for the discontent and lost productivity if they felt they were not good enough and didn’t even see the light of day in the interview process.

There are ways to prevent this, and keep employees, at least longer if not forever.

• ?If they get an interview, with the hiring manager, HR, or someone else who has a say so, they are more likely to feel they are still part of the process and part of the company. This will keep them bought in and it gives them a chance to let someone know they want to move up.
• It gives the company a chance to get a development plan in place for that candidate. They may not be ready now, but in the future, they could be. It is now on the company and the employee to take it into their own hands and start the process to be ready when the time comes, whether it is at this location or another.
• If the company does hire internally, and they are still rejected, they at least see that the company offers growth. Most employees want a culture that shows growth and their ability to move up. While it may not be now, they will see that someday, hopefully soon, they will be ready to take that step.

From a recruiter who gets paid to share the top external candidates, I highly suggest that every company starts internally. As a matter of fact, that is a general question I like to ask if there are any internals ready to step up.

This allows me to know they are a growth company. Sometimes there is not, or maybe someone just isn’t ready yet, but at least they started there and, in the future, will have a rock star who is bought into the culture.