Making a job offer
You’ve met everyone and you’re sure the person you want on board is sitting across
the desk from you – but play it cool.
Pause for thought
- It’s nice to feel wanted: But good people who are brimming with
confidence, and who may already have other offers on the table, will want time and
space to consider their options, which might include negotiating your offer upwards
- Holding the trump cards: Making that offer on the spot can tip
acceptable enthusiasm into full-blown desperation, setting up an unspoken (but deafening)
sense of ‘You need me more than I need you’ – or give the impression that, in your
team, sudden impulse may often triumph over reasoned consideration
- You might be wrong: The seemingly perfect candidate may not have
made the same positive impression on other stakeholders in the hiring decision –
line managers who impose unwanted colleagues on existing staff may be running unwise
risks; of course, that doesn’t mean you should slavishly follow the whims of juniors
with irrational or dubious motives – but time out may be needed to make a convince
case or consult your own senior managers
An offer they can’t refuse?
- On the money: Whatever salary banding has been advertised, it may
be the case that your favoured candidate will demand much more – talk to your recruitment
consultant right from the start about what candidates’ expectations are, and don’t
assume that they won’t be offered more elsewhere
- Money talks: The offer you make and the manner in which you make
it can say much about you and your organisation; many an employer has lost out on
a good person, not because the offer was insufficiently tempting but because the
negotiations were long and drawn out, leaving the candidate feeling under-valued
(resisting perfectly reasonable salary requests may indicate further struggles down
the line over resources, budgets, subsequent pay reviews for the recruit and job
offers to those the candidate might want to bring on board themselves)
- Here for you: Your BS Social Care consultant will have long experience
of negotiating the most sensitive and business-critical job offers; he or she will
keep you informed right through the recruitment process, minimising the potential
for nasty surprises when the offer is finally made
- Make it official: Once you’ve made that firm offer (and even if
you’ve had a verbal acceptance), make sending a written offer out your top priority.
A formal letter with an employment contract would be ideal – but isn’t always feasible
if internal procedures have to be followed. However, do fire out an email (your
recruitment consultant can forward this on discreetly), personalising it as much
as possible about how pleased you are to make the offer, seeking confirmation of
acceptance and start date, and even inviting your recruit to come in again in a
few days or the following week, perhaps for after-work drinks or lunch with their
new colleague – crucial insurance against the risk of a counter-offer by their current
employer