Offer Strategies – How to avoid losing candidates to counter offers

You are actively hiring and have shortlisted a candidate, offer letter is rolled out & your candidate has accepted the offer!! Excited! Hold on!

A different scenario may occur – A few days later or just prior to date of joining your organization, the candidate calls and informs their current company has given a counteroffer which they could not refuse and inform they would not be joining your company and rejects the offer!

Welcome to the world of recruitment, counteroffer is not new but is a part & parcel of recruitment but can be avoided/ minimized.

Here are a few things you must consider when dealing with Counteroffers:

1. Ask the candidate upfront:

The best way of tackling a counteroffer is to check with candidates the reason they are looking for a new opportunity. It is better to check directly with the candidate if they will accept a counteroffer from their current employer if counteroffered? This is not an easy question to ask but if they are not sure, it’s better we continue our search and maintain a pipeline of candidates.

2. Post offer follow-up:

It is always good to keep the candidate engaged after offer rollout. You are excited that you have a new team member and the candidate is equally excited that they are joining a new company. The excitement should be ongoing till the candidate joins & its good practice to keep in touch till they onboard to know of any changes in their plan and how did their previous company take their resignation.

3. Check the Reasons for leaving:

If the reason for changing jobs is solely for monetary or promotion which can be addressed by their current employer by increasing their remuneration with counteroffer or giving them a better role. It is not a good practice going in a bidding war to onboard the candidate.

4. Handle situation professionally:

It is definitely stressful if your candidate has been counteroffered as you have spent lot of time and resource in the hiring process. Handle the communication professionally, congratulate them and get to know their situation better. Talk to them and get them interested in your offer again but reiterating the benefits, future growth prospects and how they would be a valuable asset to the company.

5. Counter the counteroffer:

If the candidate is inclined to accept a counteroffer and you are desperate and really need the candidate, be prepared to counter the counteroffer by bettering what was offered earlier.

If these strategies are applied, then this valuable information can help improve a hiring process and optimize future candidate experiences. There are so many ways for companies to differentiate themselves as an employer of choice, however the top challenge will always be staying ahead of competition and ensuring that jobseekers find your organization better than others.

This Blog is part of a series which aims to answer commonly faced challenges in recruitment.

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