First, I will start off by apologizing for the huge delay in publishing this. As it so happens, life got in the way. But I am now back on track with the promised 3rd Part of "How to recruit and retain employees" and part 4 will follow in 2 weeks (for sure this time ).

Are your offers rejected by prospective employees?

Here's the ingredients needed to make an offer they cannot refuse:

  1. Start and conduct the interview process with the final goal in mind: hiring

This means, that during the process, you will need to understand the person in front of you: what they are looking for, what is important to them, what changes they want to make and what are they looking to gain by changing jobs/ employers.

In part 1 of these series we covered the basics and in part 2 the 1st interview process, to help you streamline your current processes and get you closer to your goal.

Conducting superficial interviews or having superficial or outdated processes, increases the risk of your offer getting rejected exponentially.

So, when you make an offer to a prospective employee, can you answer all these questions?

  • Is the company aligned with the prospect's interests?
  • Did the prospect receive enough information about the business: market segment, strategy, processes, etc. to be able to make an informed decision?
  • Is the role of value to the prospect, based on what they want to achieve with the job move?
  • Is the role and expectations clear to the prospect: are they comfortable with the tasks and the management system?
  • Have they exhausted all possible avenues in their current employment and are committed to leaving?
  • Is the offer competitive to their current position as well as similar positions in the market?
  • Is the person competent to perform the role successfully?

These 7 questions are crucial for two reasons:

  • You know the prospect in front of you reasonably well: you conducted a thorough process, where you both know what you are getting yourselves into
  • You can structure an offer that is of value to the prospect, both professionally, and remuneration wise

  1. Assess the prospect at every stage, especially expectations wise

After the 1st interview, both of you should be clear on the following:

  • That both of you have a fundamental interest in each other
  • That you want to learn more about each other to assess whether this is something that has long term potential
  • Financial expectations: the employer is clear on their budgets and the employee is clear on the expectations, at least at a basic level

Subsequent interviews should always build up on the previous ones, with the purpose of exploring, knowing, and learning more about one another. The absolute key ingredient is to make this a "two-way street" and give your prospective employee enough pertinent information to allow them to make an informed decision.

  1. Before the offer, do this

Have another discussion with your prospective employee to understand whether, at the end of the process, they are comfortable in deciding and moving on from their current employment and discuss the pertinent points of a potential offer, such as package and give them a day to think it over, before making it official, whether verbally or in writing.

This takes the pressure off on both sides, allows room for questions and expectations management and open the door for further discussion on any points that were not addressed during the interview.

  1. Making an offer they cannot refuse

When it then comes to the official offer, keep it simple and straight forward

  • Include in the offer all the points you have agreed on, including any perks, specifics of the role, annual reviews, etc.
  • Keep your word: if you discussed a certain remuneration, do not change it last minute, without discussing it with them first. In the same way, if any remuneration increases were agreed based on KPI's or other conditions, include those in the agreement
  • Send them an email of the offer and allow them at least 24h - 48h to digest it and make yourself available for any questions/ comments they may have
  • Ensure they are comfortable with the timeline to decide and if not, agree on a timeline that works for both
  • Offer them support on how to handle the resignation process, especially if they are finding it particularly hard

Part 4 of "How to recruit and retain employees" will focus on the onboarding process and it will be released in 2 weeks ( for real , not like this part )

Francina (Fran ) Moisa is the Founder and Headhunter | Talent Advisor of FM Search, a boutique headhunting and talent advisory Firm, based in Malta. To find out more about FM Search visit www.fmsearch.eu

Originally published by FM Search Limited

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.