The current job market is nerve-wracking for everyone except candidates. Low unemployment has made for an intensely competitive market, particularly in the technology sector. That means employers need to be increasingly creative in their approach to recruiting and making the offer.
Today, time is of the essence. By the time you’ve made it through the interview process, it’s likely the candidate has received calls from other recruiters. Agility is the number one characteristic found in today’s top talent scouts. That agility translates to a more user-friendly application process, accelerated interviewing and when it’s time to make the offer, flexibility in pay rates in order to land the talent you want.
Flexibility in Today’s Hiring Process
In sales, there’s a phrase, “Get them to the no,” which means the job of the sales rep is to move the prospect through the qualifying process as quickly as possible to improve their chances of closing more deals. Sales reps don’t want a lot of useless prospects cluttering up their sales funnel, so closing the deal or cleaning up older leads by disqualifying or getting them to say “no” is an important part of the process – just as important, in fact, as closing the deal.
In today’s labor market, the goal is to get the right candidates to say “yes” before another company snatches them away. The candidate you’re making an offer to is more likely to have other offers pending in this environment. The old days where employers had all the power in these relationships are over. This makes the job of the hiring team a process of actually selling the candidate on why your workplace is a better fit for the candidate. It’s an interesting change of pace for hiring managers used to having a glut of applicants and not enough roles to fill.
This makes it more important than ever to be flexible when it’s finally time to make the offer. Be prepared to respond to a candidate’s counteroffer. Here are some ways to stay flexible during this process:
- Do you have the kind of employee benefits that could add perks to the offer along with an attractive salary?
- Is your workplace culture an additional benefit that may “sell” the candidate on joining your team?
- Is there a way to offer flexible work arrangements as a perk to offset the salary negotiations? Forbes says this is even more attractive than the salary itself.
- It’s important you understand the high and low ends of the pay range you’re willing to negotiate from the beginning of the process.
- Understanding what the top dollar amount you can offer without offending current team members will allow you to negotiate appropriately during the offer process.
- Can you offer a lower rate but a 90-day performance review with the option for a salary increase in addition to an annual review?
It might be a good idea to retrain your HR hiring team in the artful skill of negotiation. Also, is it time to take a closer look at how you hire and what the application process entails? Consider partnering with a firm like Blackstone Talent Group to double your recruitment efforts and increase the likelihood of success. Contact us and increase your hiring agility today.