Success had a million fathers, but failure is an orphan

John F. Kennedy

 

Companies that complain about how they can’t find the talent they require annoy me. The excuses and lamentations are endless. Here are the first six that come to mind:

  • Good Candidates Are Too Expensive: This might be true, but bad candidates are even more expensive. If you hire a bad candidate, then they take forever to come up to speed and are usually sub-par players. Believe me, you can’t afford the high price to be paid for lesser priced candidates.
  • Candidates Accept Counteroffers: Yes, they do, and they’re more likely to if you don’t understand how to discuss counter offers with the candidate you seek to hire before you actually make the offer. Do you raise their awareness on counteroffers so they are ready to resist? Do you involve them in their job offer before they start? No? So what do you expect? Of course they will accept counteroffers.
  • Candidates Can Choose from Multiple Offers: Multiple offers you say? That is not a bad thing but a good one. It confirms that you are probably attempting to hire a top flight candidate, because others want them as well. Now go out and do what is required to get them on board. Here’s a hint; just sending out an offer letter is only a small part of the next step.
  • Agency Fees Are Expensive: Really now, is that what you think? Tell me, would you take your best employee and sell them to the competition for 25% of their estimated annual salary, so you can get a one-time hit of cash? Of course you wouldn’t, so why would you not invest that same money to hire a GREAT new employee. (Don’t even dream of telling me that the money is not in the budget, just don’t).
  • We Can’t All Agree on Who to Hire: Do you believe that you need a consensus of all involved in the interviewing process to move forward? I hope not because that causes expensive delays. Free advice; get your interviewing team in place, try to have the candidate meet all interviewers on the same day and meet with the team, in person if at all possible, within 24 hours. Let the hiring manager make the decision and move onto other business because making a career out of a go/no go decision is a fool’s errand.
  • Our Offers Are Usually Not Accepted: Candidates don’t accept your offers? Why is that? Are you lowballing on compensation, or are your benefits subpar? Or both? Never, ever, make an offer without discussing the offer with the candidate before it is made. Ask this question: If we were to make you an offer of xxx dollars today, would you accept? Any answer other than yes is a bad answer. The lesson to be learned is that you should never make an offer that the candidate is unwilling to accept.

The bottom line is simple. If you want to get great employees on board, then you need to know a bit about how to hire, some of the tricks of the trade, and what to do that will help your organization win out over the competition. (Yes, I am a former agency recruiter).

If you are looking to grow, then you need to bring on a resource who understands how hiring works, and how candidates think and operate. Team up with them and work together to close the deals required for you to be successful in growing your organization with great employees.

For more information, read our recent report, Recruitment Marketing: Converting Candidates, Winning Talent.