Offer to Joining

The title term pertains to Recruitment area and it is used as one of the important metric to measure the effectiveness of the recruitment. Lot of effort put in each step from sourcing profiles through various means to selection to offer stage hence any offer rejection amounts to wastage of effort by Recruitment and concerned Hiring Team. Some time, it also results in to loss of revenue OR opportunities. I have been observing the pattern of higher offer rejections from 2006. The situation was very bad and the industry average was at 50% i.e. if we give ten offer letters, only five will join. whereas with lot of my initiative and support from my Team, we could always maintain an offer to joining ratio of 70%. This was a hot topic in all our review meetings. The main reason was demand supply gap in the market at that point in time.
However, currently the market is so down and hardly any recruitment happening. My Boss and all Senior Managers think that lot of IT candidates are available in the market. Ironically, today also there is no change in the behaviour pattern of this community and they will not turn up on the day of joining.

Candidates give various reasons like - death in the family, accident OR disability all of a sudden, skin allergy, difference of opinion with wife OR husband, location problem, food problem, high traffic jam, stays in the West part of a city whereas the opportunity is in the East, wants to work only in development project, needs only on site assignment, existing company is offering better package, inability to leave the current Project Manager, climate is not suitable for the Puppy, and any reason you can think of. There are also a section of candidates who accept offer and they will have no major reason but do not want to move and this intuition comes just when they go to bed on the previous day.

I get surprised to see enthusiasm of my Team members when they get to see a matching resume with some good content against a burning business need. The Recruiter will immediately run with the resume to the Delivery Manager and then both of them get on to a call to start selling the opportunity, company, role, designation, salary, perks, location, training, canteen facility available, etc.etc. The sales guy will be singing the same tune besides with Gucci goggle in hand wearing a Tissot that we must get this candidate as it is for opening a BIG DOOR at customer site. End of the day all go happily thinking that they zeroed in a candidate. The Recruiter will then be maintaining close touch with the candidate only to realise on the day of joining it is an Offer Decline.

I have been trying various creative ideas but there is no end to this menace. There was a classic example before two weeks. My Senior Manager was in touch with a candidate who has very niche skill. The Manager was very confident that the candidate will definitely join. He ensured the previous night of joining day that the candidate is comfortable to take a morning flight but came to know that he already reached the location and all set to join. The Manager was so happy and gone for a dinner party with his close friend. He again called the candidate in the morning and came to know he has boarded the right bus at 7am. At around 11am, Manager gets a call from the Delivery Manager to ascertain whereabouts of the GREAT expert. All confusion!!! The Manager started checking whether there is a bomb explosion or any major accident en route. He started calling the mobile found it is switched off. The mobile not switched on after that. We can solve a murder after sixteen years in India and arrest the suspects but can not solve the cases of offer decline candidates.

I have no idea why candidate waste their precious time in taking interviews and discussions. I have no idea what fun they get in emotional cheating. The IT community is considered to be best talented class in India and to maintain this tag, it is high time qualified candidates change their mind set.