Want to decrease your post-offer dropouts? Start with this
This is a guest post by Aditya Rao, the founder of Kaapi.
You spent 3 months closing an important position. You screened 100s of candidates, did dozens of interviews and finally closed it. The whole team is excited about the new candidate joining. And two days before the d-date, the hammer drops. The candidate has sent an email stating they can not accept the position anymore.
Ugh. Such instances seem to be more prevalent in Asian culture. But I am sure every recruiter has experienced this personally! I know this can be frustrating, but here are some tips that might help you.
Also, check How to Develop a Data-Driven Recruiting Strategy?
#1 – Employee onboarding should start right after offer acceptance
Most hiring teams wait too long to start engaging with incoming candidates. This is wrong. That candidate will change their entire life and join a bunch of strangers. it can be daunting! The least you can do is help them from Day 0.
Build day by day pre-boarding checklist that includes things like:
- Day 1 – Send candidate links to company vision and values
- Day 2 – Send an HR doc on vacation policies, employee benefits, and other formalities
- Day 4 – Introduce candidates to their future team and peers
- Day 7 – Ensure the hiring manager calls the candidate to check in on them
- ……
- …….
- Day 21 – Invite the candidate to the upcoming team dinner
Note – Make sure you personalize your onboarding! You need different tactics to onboard engineers vs salespeople.
#2 – Encourage candidates to update their social media
Social validation is a bigger force than you think. Candidates who have already updated their Linkedin titles are more likely to not drop out. Treat their social media update as a way to welcome them publicly. Be proud of showing off your talent to the world!
Also check, 9 Tips for Sourcing and Attracting Candidates Through Social Media
#3 – Introduce them to their team
People join other people, not employer brands. You must make sure that you build a good rapport between incoming hires and their team. Here are some fun ways to kickstart this new relationship:
- Introduce everyone over an email thread
- Add the candidate to the team’s Slack channel
- Put everyone together into a Whatsapp group
- Invite the candidate to a team-building dinner
- Have a fun Friday session with Icebreaker questions for work
#4 – Show them the future
New employees are nervous about their future in the team, and rightly so! Navigating their way around a new bunch of people can be daunting. You can help! This is your chance to excite them about the future. Start giving them some idea about their first three months of work and projects too.
Also, check The Magic Of Recruitment CRM In A World Of Virtual Work
Successful hiring managers do their first one-on-meeting even before their joining date. Use this meeting to show the candidate their future career growth in the company. Inspire them by showing them the new skills they will learn.
Bonus tip – start with empathy
Because of Covid-19, the entire world is going through rough times. If you can be one thing, be nice. That starts with having empathy for the people around you. Put yourself in their shoes. Maybe they are feeling overwhelmed and need a vacation before they join? Or maybe you can talk to the hiring manager to reduce their first few weeks’ workloads?
Hope these tips end up being useful to you in decreasing offer dropouts.
This article was written by:
Aditya Rao, founder at Kaapi. An all-in-one toolkit for remote managers with employee surveys, fun Icebreakers, one on one meeting templates, and more.
