Hiring During the Great Resignation: 3 Things I Have Learned
I wrote this article a couple of weeks ago. I hesitated to release it, but I feel like it will help others who are going through this.
A moment of transparency.
A job candidate just rejected my job offer. Whew.
To be honest, this stings. It even sucks a little because I have never had this happen before. In the past, I have had people accept job offers on the spot. Before, the close of business I would have a signed agreement with a thank you note attached.
However, not this time.
As I am typing this, I am reminding myself that this isn’t personal, this is business. I am not upset or disappointed because I understand the realities of the current job market. The bottom line is …
People are not desperate anymore. Before the pandemic, I think most people were just happy to get a job offer that gave them an extra grand or two and slightly better benefits. That is not the case anymore. Job candidates, whether employed or not, have options nowadays. These options include not accepting a job offer with a company that might meet one need but not the other five needs you have. I have personally watched my clients reject interviews and job offers because they had other options. People are now comparing job offers including the salary and benefits package side by side with other companies that are providing competitive benefits, work schedules, vacation time, professional development, and salaries. Speaking of salaries…
It’s really where the salary resides. Although the candidate did explicitly say this, but I believe pay was one of the factors as to why they rejected the offer. Pay was a major concern of the last person in the position; and their ability to make ends meet. As the supervisor, I knew offering the listed salary during this market was going to be an issue, but the salary amount was out of my control. I figured that showing southern hospitality, mentioning flex hours, and professional development opportunities would make up for that area. But as I always say, “the light company don’t care anything about how great your job is…”
The War for Talent is REAL. A few weeks ago in a workshop, I talked about how the War for Talent was coming down the pipeline. However, it is here! During this hiring process, some of the best candidates dropped from the process after putting in their applications because of better offers from other companies. To be honest, I was surprised we were able to get our top candidates to stay in the process this long. This experience has shown me that to get the best and brightest talent, you have to be among the best and brightest as a company, unit, and as a supervisor.
My advice for companies who want the best and brightest talent is to put a better foot forward with your job offers. As a company or organization, know what your competitors are offering their employees or job candidates, and match or exceed that; especially if you can. You must show people why they should work at your organization besides giving out a free meal or being overly nice. Those things are important, but most folks are looking for a salary that pays well enough, so they don’t have to work two jobs, or benefits that allow them to have work life balance, take a vacation, and have quality health insurance. It is important to remember that this is an employee job market, and probably will be for the next couple of years, so it is important to plan accordingly for the present and future.
