With the difficulty of finding strong talent becoming a bigger and bigger challenge, it is very important that you secure the talent once you’ve identified a strong candidate for your team. However, more and more companies are now facing situations where candidates are turning down job offers and not accepting positions.
To ensure that your team secures the best available talent in the market, you must first identify the reasons why candidates are turning down your job offers and how to avoid it from happening. Below are the top commons reasons why candidates would decline a job offer and what you can do to avoid each:
1) The offer is below asking with some discrepancies
In most cases, it comes down to what is being offer compared to what was discussed. It is safe to assume that candidates take note and remember all the things discussed during the interview processes, especially when it has to do with the pay, benefits, and offerings from a company. It is important that you keep track of everything discussed and ensure that there are no discrepancies in what you end up offering. If you offer a salary, job title, benefits, bonuses, vacation, and other perks that is below their asking (or market rate), or different from what was discussed during your meetings, don’t be surprised if there is some pushback from the candidate or they even decline your offer.
2) No growth opportunities or paths can be seen
When people are looking for new jobs, they are actually looking for career opportunities. Candidates would like to see that there are growth opportunities available and with clear advancement paths and steps to get to the next level. Top talent will not be satisfied with staying in a position forever and companies must show that there are advancement opportunities within the organization that are attainable with effort and hard work.
3) Poor interview experience
The interview is the first glimpse that candidates have into your company and they can quickly decide whether they will be interested to join your team or not. Not being flexible on interviews times to accommodate candidates, or cancelling interviews, or changing interview times after they have been confirmed, or running late to appointments can all lead to negative first impressions. Candidates like to be respected and want to feel that it is just as much an interview of the company for them as it is an interview of the candidate for you.
4) Not liking the hiring manager and future boss
Hiring Managers are usually one of the interviewers that a candidates meets with in an interview and the being the HR representative. In most cases, they are the only people from the company that candidates meet with, and how they present themselves will be a reflection of the company for the candidates. In multiple surveys done over the years, having a bad boss ranks among the top reasons why people leave their jobs and don’t want to accept a new job. That is why it is important that hiring managers prepare for the interviews to show the best side of themselves and the company because most people do not interview on a regular basis.
5) There is no flexibility in any way
People are looking for more and more flexibility in their work away from the rigid approaches that companies followed in the past. Whether it is flexible work hours or the ability to work remotely from home, or the autonomy for employees to choose how to get their work done, people are looking to join companies where they can make decisions that best fit their situation without compromising performance and their contribution.
6) Signs of poor company culture and work environment
People spend half of their waking hours at work with their colleagues and would like to be in an environment that they’ll be happy with. There must be proper policies in place that promotes a vibrant work environment and chemistry between co-workers. Candidates look for company cultures and work environments that is inclusive and not divisive, stimulating / innovative and not stagnant, exciting / fun and not boring, safe and not dangerous, friendly and not toxic, with work-life balance and not long hours / overtime, and finally, to be respected and not just another number.
7) Bad Reputation and Warning Signs
Companies who have been in the news, or is constantly in the news, for negative headlines and overall has a bad reputation contributes heavily on a candidate’s decision to join the organization. Candidates may also try to get as much inside scoop about your company as they can from whoever they can in their social networks including your past employees, business partners, and customers. Things like having a high turnover rate is just one example of having a bad reputation which they will hear and be warned about.
Of course, there will always be other reasons candidates reject your job offers in which you cannot control. Things like having a long commute is not going to change for someone and they should have considered this before pursuing the opportunity. Another reason is when candidates receive better offers / counter offers. You cannot worry about things that are out of your control and try to focus on improving and paying attention to the points listed above that you can control.
Contact us today to speak with one of our Recruitment Specialists and let us help you build your team with talent today!