MAKING THE JOB OFFER (PT 1)

So far, we have run through how to structure your recruitment process to ensure that you hire only the best candidates. By following the process you can be sure that you are dealing with the candidates you would like to hire, and you will have ensured that they are very keen on the role and to work with and for you.

The final stage of the process is to make the job offer and do all you can to ensure that they accept and start work with you.

Before Making The Offer:

Once you know who you are going to make the offer to, review all the information you have about the candidate’s current salary, overall remuneration package and their expectations. Next, list the benefits associated with working for your company including:

• Annual holiday entitlement.
• Any guaranteed bonuses and annual bonuses.
• Any other bonuses which, whilst not guaranteed, are regularly granted such as company performance bonuses.
• Any allowances such as:

• Car, or car allowance, mileage and travel expenses.
• Luncheon vouchers.

• Health insurance and death in service benefits.
• The company pension scheme including how it works and pays out and the contributions made by the company and by the employee.
• CPD or training days.
• Flexible working practices.
• And others that you may have. For instance, at Christmas we close for a week and the time off is added to the annual holiday entitlement so 20 days can become 24 days. It is not officially 'guaranteed' but it has been provided every year to date!

There will be a value to these benefits and this should be totalled up and added to the salary to create a total package value. When benefits are added they can provide a substantial improvement to the overall value of an offer.

After you have listed the benefits, list the expectations that come with working for you, including:

• the normal working hours;
• the dress code;
• who they will be reporting to; and also
• their expected progression over the next three-to-five years if this has been discussed in the interview process.

Once you have all this information to hand, you are in a position to make the offer.

Making The Offer:

By retaining control of the process and being on top of the candidate’s position regarding both where they stand on other options and any requirements they might have if they are to take the role, making the offer and receiving an acceptance should be very straightforward.

Assuming that you are not working for a large organisation with its own recruitment process which says you can’t proceed in this way, my recommendation is that you phone the candidate with the offer. If you are working with a recruitment consultant then you will have established how competent they are. If they are competent and you are confident in them then it is often better to let them make the offer as it is less pressurised for you and the middle man can sell the benefits more independently for you. If you are not convinced about the recruiter and all they provided was a good CV, then I would recommend that you make the offer personally.

Assuming you make the call; it should be friendly and welcoming, to reinforce the feeling that they will be making the right decision by coming to work for you. You should emphasise that you enjoyed meeting them, that you are sure that they are the best person for your role and that you would like them to join you so that together you can work towards achieving both the business' targets and meeting their aspirations in the longer term.

After confirming you are making the offer, fully explain the salary, package and benefits of joining your business. Your clear prior understanding of the candidate’s requirements will usually ensure that acceptance should be readily forthcoming.

Making An Offer Below Expectations:

Having to make lower-than-the-candidate-hoped-for offers will arise from time to time and this is fair enough if the candidate is looking for a substantial pay increase -  say, over 10%, although this could be considerably lower in today’s economy; or if the pay required is outside the scales within your organisation. If the expectations are outside what your firm can meet then this should have been covered during the interview when you discussed the opportunity with them. What would be acceptable in the eyes of the candidate would then have been adjusted so that the lower offer will be acceptable.

A situation I regularly see, however, is the interview process being followed and the hirer knowing what the candidate requires to take the role but then offering a lower amount. The effect of the lower offer is to undo a lot of the positive and motivational feelings the candidate has towards you, your company and the role. Sometimes a candidate may still accept but you will have had a negative impact on their efficacy before they start. Just as frequently, the salary offer has to be increased to obtain their acceptance - but the damage has still been done.

Other risks from a lower-than-expected offer include the candidate not accepting the position or accepting but continuing to look at other roles and maybe taking something else during their notice period. It may not be ethical on the part of the candidate but it does happen and ultimately has been self-inflicted by the hirer.

In my view, offering a lower starting salary 'out of the blue' and contrary to the expectations that you have given the candidate hitherto is always counter-productive and never to be recommended.

The Acceptance:

Ordinarily, the candidate should accept the offer and you can then put it in writing. However, the candidate may ask for some time to think about it and make a final decision. This is reasonable but it should only take a couple of days or perhaps a weekend - for instance, to discuss it with their spouse. Requiring a couple of weeks is unreasonable as they have known about the role for some time and it usually means that they have other options and they don't really want to take the post you're offering but they are trying to keep it alive as a fall-back position in case their preferred job doesn't come through. This is disappointing but it happens sometimes. If this is the case, my advice is to move onto other candidates and not wait.

If the candidate doesn't verbally accept immediately, it is important that a deadline is specified for them to accept or decline the offer. So, for instance, if the offer is made on a Thursday or Friday then state clearly that the candidate must contact you by 10.00 am on the following Monday to accept otherwise the offer will be withdrawn. Remember, you need to fill the role and waiting on the off-chance of an acceptance seldom produces the result you want.

If you are asked for time to think about the role, this can be handled gently by you with a statement to the effect of:

“Okay, I can understand that. It is an important decision for both of us and it is important that you and your family are happy with the decision. I am happy to let you have a couple of days to decide but will need a relatively quick decision. You are the person I want to join me but there was another candidate who was very strong and I need to let him/her know shortly whether we are moving this forward or not. I can’t afford to lose you and the other candidate as well, so I need to close this off fairly quickly. So, if it is all right with you, would you be able to confirm 'yes' or 'no' by X day at 10.00 am?”

Presuming that's met in the affirmative, you can then close the conversation by saying something positive, along the lines of:

“Excellent, I will confirm the details of the offer in writing to you now and hopefully you will accept and then we can sort the contract out in the coming days. If you have any questions please call me and I will be happy to discuss them with you. I look forward to hearing from you and to working with you during the coming years.”

The deadline sets clear expectations and should also form part of the written confirmation to the candidate. It also helps ensure that the candidate will not feel pressurised with the decision making process.

Next Time:

We finish making the offer by looking at the written offer, what has to be given to the candidate in the contract, how to help the candidate resign from their current role and avoid a counter-offer, and how to ensure that they stay committed to starting with you throughout their notice period.