Employees in today’s candidate drought are savvy. They know they have options and they know what they’re worth.
If you reach out to employees about a potential position, they will research the latest salary trends, find out what a competitive job offer is for that role, and know exactly what it takes for them to accept a new job, all before responding to your outreach.
With that in mind, employers need to be equally as sharp throughout the hiring process and offer stage. Everything from how long it takes you to respond to your candidates’ questions to how you present the offer, can make a difference in whether or not they ultimately accept your position.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can help positively influence your candidates’ decision to accept your job offer, starting from the very first conversation you have with them until the final job offer is presented.
Below, we describe how you can craft a winning job offer that candidates will accept by asking good questions, delivering a job offer in line with expectations, relying on trusted experts, and always treating candidates professionally throughout the process.
ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS
During the hiring process, you must act like a sales rep and uncover all the no’s. In sales, that means finding out all the reasons why someone wouldn’t buy from you and then ease their concerns. In recruiting, that means asking questions to figure out why your candidate might decline your job offer and then working to alleviate their worries.
YOUR INITIAL CONVERSATIONS
You can start figuring out your candidates’ concerns during the first five minutes of your conversation. Ask them questions about whether they’re interested in new opportunities or what it would take to get them to make a move. Finding out this information early in the process will save both you and your candidates a lot of time down the road.
Another good conversation to have with a candidate early on is why they want to leave their current company. Once you understand what is motivating them to leave, you can reinforce this with them throughout the hiring process. Remind them why they want to leave and why you’re the better fit for their long-term objectives.
ADDRESS YOUR CANDIDATES’ CONCERNS
You should also address any concerns you’re hearing from the candidate throughout the process. For example, you can say ‘I’m hearing that you’re nervous about xyz, what can I share with you about our company to help ease your concerns?’ Oftentimes, candidates will want to know about your company’s financial standings, your projected plans, and job specifics.
And remember, most candidates are doing well and business is good overall. In sales especially, candidates view starting a new job as a risk in starting over in their compensation and commission structure. Make sure you can overcome their objections and think about how to compensate them while they ramp up to make it worthwhile for them to join your team.
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS TO ASK
- Are you open to new opportunities?
- What would entice you to make a move?
- What would keep you at your current employer?
- How will you be evaluating the job offer?
- What are you looking for in an offer/opportunity?
- What concerns or questions do you have about your business and the specific role/opportunity?
DELIVERING A JOB OFFER IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS AND THE MARKET
There’s a major disconnect happening today between employers and candidates during the offer stage of the hiring process.
Employers are still trying to hire candidates for as cheap as possible. On the other hand, candidates are looking to accept positions from companies who offer a competitive salary.
If you want to hire truly great candidates, you need to make sure your job offer is enticing and matches what your candidates are worth.
DON’T INTENTIONALLY LOW BALL CANDIDATES
Unfortunately, a tactic we see all too often is when employers try to intentionally low ball candidates. They want to force candidates to negotiate up from there but ultimately settle for less than what they wanted.
If candidates have been open about their desires and needs, then them seriously. Oftentimes this tactic backfires for employers and the candidates will end up accepting positions with other companies. And if it does end up working, your candidates are left with a bad taste in their mouths for the rest of their employment at your company.
If you’ve found your perfect candidates, is it worth losing out on them just to save a few dollars?
MAKE IT COMPETITIVE
The world of work is changing quickly and what was once considered a competitive salary a few years ago, might not be competitive today. So how do you know if your job offer is competitive?
You should start by doing your research. Look up current salary trends in the market and even in your industry. Use salary guides or reach out to a compensation specialist to help you determine the right amount to offer for your role.
In the past, you could learn how much a candidate was currently making by asking them during the interview. However, you can no longer ask candidates how much they earn in many states.
You have to do your research in advance. Once you know what the standard salary is for your position and location, you can then make some adjustments.
If you want to make sure your candidates will accept your job offer, then consider a 15 to 20 percent increase on the base salary and an opportunity to exceed their overall compensation package, at the minimum. There are other perks and benefits you can add based on the specific candidate, but a 15 to 20 percent increase is a great place to start.
RETAIN TOP TALENT
Similarly, in order to retain the talent you already have, you will also need to research competitive salary ranges. While your employees may not be actively looking for a new position, they may still be tempted to leave if offered a position with more money.
According to a Gallup Poll, a pay bump of 20 percent or less is all it would take for employees to consider taking a job with a different company.
The best thing you can do is make sure your current employees are being compensated competitively so they have less of an incentive to leave.
Even if you think your employees are well compensated, you should double check. What was competitive even six months ago, depending on your industry, may be outdated today.
EVERY JOB OFFER IS UNIQUE
Another way employers get burned in the offer stage is by treating every position and candidate the same way.
Different candidates want different things. For example, maybe flexible work hours are extremely attractive to one candidate but another candidate would need a sign on bonus to accept your job offer. You have to be flexible and look at what is important to your candidates when crafting their job offer.
Also, if your options are limited when it comes to what you can offer, think of ways you can counteract and emphasize other things. For example, maybe you can’t offer a huge salary upfront, but you can make up for it with a sign on bonus or opportunities to earn a high commission throughout the year.
However, if you find out early that expectations are higher than you can meet, don’t waste your time or candidates’ time.
RELYING ON TRUSTED EXPERTS
Another great way to make sure your candidate accepts your offer is to partner with a recruiting firm.
Recruiters have a pulse on the current market pay rates. They speak with candidates about their expectations and help negotiate and craft offers every day. A recruiter will help you dial in on the exact amount you should be offering candidates in your industry and by role.
Another advantage of using a recruiting firm is that they can act as a buffer to feel out what the candidate is thinking and test the water as you’re debating a job offer. Sometimes a candidate might be nervous to reveal what they really want to an employer but will trust a recruiter to talk about what is really important to them in a job offer. The recruiter can then work with the employer to craft an offer that is specific to the candidate’s needs and make sure it’s a job offer they will accept.
Also, a recruiter doesn’t have to read between the lines about what a candidate is thinking. For example, if the recruiter knows there will be an issue on a requirement, then they can work with the candidate to see if a sign on bonus would be a good trade-off.
The recruiter can also be a consultant when it comes to crafting the job offer. They can advise you on the best practices related to full offer packages and compensation.
TREATING CANDIDATES PROFESSIONALLY
In today’s candidate drought, top-performing professionals are often happy with their current positions and are being well compensated. It’s going to take a lot of inertia to get them to change companies and a bump in salary is not always enough.
You have to sell the vision of your company, be open an honest with them, and communicate with them through the process if you want them to accept your job offer.
SELL THE VISION
One way you can get your top candidates to work at your company is to convey your overall company vision and how they will be contributing to that mission.
Go into detail about how exactly they can make a difference at your company. For example, discuss what the position could be and how it ties into the company’s plans for the future. Top employees thrive on vision so make sure they know how they will be a key player in your company’s growth. Really work with your candidate to make a personal connection and reinforce your vision for them with communication and clarity.
The employers who do this best are the ones who paint a picture for top talent and help them visualize exactly what it’s like to work at the company. They will go over everything from what it feels like to walk into the office to interact with their peers and bosses. Creating this kind of imagery really helps ease a candidate’s mind and will stay with them when considering your job offer.
DON’T BAIT AND SWITCH
Throughout the hiring process, candidates are paying attention to everything. They watch how long it takes for you to respond to an email, how professional you are on the phone, and they especially pay attention to what you say to them about the specifics of the position and the job offer.
If you say something to a candidate about the job, then you better make sure it’s true. If you try to backtrack on something you said or make a promise you can’t keep, then your candidate is not going to be very happy.
We have seen many examples of employers pulling this type of bait and switch on candidates. For example, we’ve seen an employer tell a candidate that their new salary will be more than their current opportunity. However, when they receive the job offer, it’s 5k under their original salary with an opportunity to earn 10k on the bonus at the end of the year.
Candidates are not going to stand for a shady maneuver like the example above. Instead, communicate clearly with your candidates and be honest about the offer that is coming and when it’s going to happen.
TIMING AND COMMUNICATION ARE KEY
Every company is different when it comes to how long they take to present candidates job offers. Some companies can take weeks and others may only wait days. And while there’s not an exact number of days you should wait, the important thing is that you don’t wait too long. The longer you wait, the more time the candidate has to consider potential offers from other companies.
Momentum is key when moving through the hiring process and this becomes even more essential when you get to the offer stage. You need to keep a steady cadence of communication to keep the candidate engaged. If you lose momentum, the candidate will start viewing that as a reflection of how your company does business, how you communicate internally, and what your company culture is like.
And most importantly, make sure you communicate with your candidate how long it will take for them to hear about a job offer and then deliver on what you say. Don’t tell them it will take a week when you know it will take longer. It’s better to be upfront and then continue to communicate with them while the offer is being crafted.
In Review
In today’s candidate drought, employees know they have options and it’s going to take an irresistible job offer to get them to leave their current position. If employers really want to hire a star candidate, they need to take the steps above to craft an enticing job offer and ease any concerns the candidate might have throughout the process.
What steps have you taken to make sure a candidate accepts your job offer?
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