We all know that recruitment is currently difficult, and you might have experienced potential candidates declining your job offer. All too often you might be hearing phrases such as ‘I’ve been offered a £X….k salary increase by my current employer’ or ‘I’ve found a different position somewhere else’ or ‘I’ve found somewhere with more benefits’. But why is it happening and what can you if your job offer is declined as an employer?

Your job offer is being declined: what might you need to improve?

At Good Egg Recruitment, we work closely with candidates prior to interview. We want to fully understand their motivations for looking for a new job, what kind of company they want to work in, and their salary expectations. A lot of the things that as employers you want to ask but can’t necessarily. Or might not get the same objectivity as we do as a third-party.

If you have the time to invest in managing your recruitment in-house then we’d recommend you review:

•  Your employer brand and culture. Does it clearly communicate your purpose and the time of person you are looking for?
• Benefits and flexible working. Flexible working is now the norm but you might not necessarily have the same type of arrangements in place. Showcasing the different flexibility options you have on offer and clearly communicating them to potential candidates is important.
• Career progression. There maybe occasions where a candidate is looking for a sideways move or is happy at a level but for others knowing that there are opportunities to progress – with examples – is important.
• Application and interview process. Did you keep candidates waiting too long? Or was it an easy process? Was it a too intensive interview process for the role? With too many steps? How can it be improved or tailored depending on the role?

What else can I do about improving my recruitment?

We’re highlighting the worst-case scenario above that there might be reasons that you, as an employer, aren’t answering correctly for a potential candidate. It might be that there isn’t anything for you to improve in great detail. Sometimes there can just be little nuances that need smoothing rather than a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater!

• Ask for feedback. It might be difficult, and we’d advise not taking it personally, but asking a candidate why is useful for you. While tricky, if you’ve established a good relationship during the process then you can hopefully gain an honest answer on why they have chosen a different route.
• Create a counter-offer. And if you do get that honesty from a former candidate there might be an opportunity to counter-offer. Now, we’re not suggesting you go out of your way to create an offer that is significantly out of your salary brackets or with benefits you don’t provide to the rest of your team, however, it might be an opportunity to introduce something new for your business that could benefit everybody.
• Leave a positive final impression. Finally, don’t burn any bridges. It might be hard but you never know when a potential candidate might reapply for a different opportunity with you. Leaving a positive impression may also enable you to reach back out to them if the right offer becomes available.

A few final thoughts on what to do if your job offer is declined

We do understand that the recruitment process can be tricky, especially in the current climate. And while we will always recommend the advantages of working with someone like us we do understand it might not be right for everyone. However, if you’re finding you’re consistently struggling to fill roles and have candidates rejecting offers it might be worth a review.

Good Egg Recruitment is an investment but part of your ROI is the time and money you are saving. The time that then allows you to focus on the day job of running your business. An investment in someone like Good Egg Recruitment, means you have a recruitment business partner who understands the current market and knows how to attract the best quality candidates for you. We know that candidates are more likely to be more open with us than a potential employer. Because of this, we can then put ‘good eggs’ in front of you that will accept your job offer.

If the time is right to invest in recruitment then get in touch with Nicola at nicola@goodeggrecruitment.com or Annette at annette@goodeggrecruitment.com to find out more.