Efficient Selection and Hiring Process Also Includes an Efficient Offer and Acceptance Process

December 13th, 2013

A successful talent acquisition and selection process can’t exist without an efficient offer and acceptance process.

Money changes the rules of the game – always has and always will.  When an offer is extended, decision-making gets emotional unless managed.  Money brings emotion.  When a hiring manager makes a hiring decision or when a candidate contemplates a new position, all focus (on any/all decisions) must be on keeping everything logical, and emotions at bay.

Most companies’ hiring processes prioritize screening, interviewing, and selecting the “right” candidate, even if ineffective.  In other words, focus is centered on “going through the list” and determining the best fit, the best candidate, the closest match, or the “one” that interviewed the best.

The process participants may calibrate judgment, but once a “yes” decision focuses on a particular candidate, a flurry of movement to formulate a salary offer is initiated, approved, finalized, and ultimately the result presented to the candidate.

Most of the people involved with this process flow simply bog down the process.  The offer – in many cases – is made by someone who has never met or even talked to the candidate before, but wants to control the decision.  Issues like 401K matches, at-risk bonuses, PTO days, etc. have never been covered.  Only a simple salary offer is made. One client stated that it was against Corporate Policy to discuss benefits before the offer was accepted. Does that sound sane?

However, compensation is so much more than simple “grocery money” salary.

As posted out in my last blog, one last meeting needs to be added to the process- before the formal offer is made.  This meeting, while used to judge the candidate’s fit and motivation, can also be used to pin down one of the most important pieces of the process, a fair and equitable compensation package in the eyes of the candidate.

Money and the offer package is intrinsically tied to value – the value that a candidate feels the company places on them.  A low-ball offer tells the candidate that there is no value placed on them and can completely deflate any excitement that the person may have for the opportunity.

Use the last meeting to ask some questions …with sensitivity…to get a feel for the candidate’s fit.  Can the candidate do the job and succeed?  Are you providing a challenging enough opportunity where the candidate can make a positive impact?  Assumptions and “blue-sky” or “too skinny” salary offers can derail the entire process.  The hiring manager, must have a grasp of the person’s needs and motivations. If not, a prize candidate may be lost to miscommunication and a misunderstood value proposition.

As mentioned before, a level of sensitivity needs to be brought to the candidate side of the equation, starting with sincere communication about an offer that will work, prior an internal process kicking off and making offers that are all driven by company needs and standards. Knowing where the candidate is coming from and what is in everyone’s best interest delivers value. That information will produce offers that will “work”, instead of numbers out of the air and a hope that the candidate thinks it is as good for them as it is for the company.

At Honer and Associates, we know how to quickly progress through the offer and acceptance process.  We have helped companies – of all shapes and sizes – hire the most motivated, talented people in the IT industry.  Contact us today!