The title term pertains to Recruitment and it is one of the
important metrics measured for the effectiveness of the
recruitment department. A lot of hard work goes into each step from sourcing profiles through various means to the final
step of on-boarding. Hence any offer rejection amounts to a wastage of effort by Recruitment and the concerned Hiring Team. This results in loss of revenue and opportunities. I have been observing the pattern of offer
rejections in India since 2006. The situation was very bad and the industry
average for offer decline was at 50% i.e. if we give ten offer letters, only
five will join. I always created a Candidate Relationship Management Team with a clear charter, and with the
support of this team, we could
improve and maintain offer to joining ratio above 75%. This used to be a hot topic in all our review meetings. Also to be noted is that this trend is
not only for middle level
roles but also for Entry level and Leadership roles. I have not seen any
change in the trend even when there was a slump in
the market.
I am always surprised by
the demand from the Business Team to find candidates who can join quickly. Though
Project Management has matured in the IT Industry over the last decade or so, I have not seen any change in the practice of Customers/Delivery Managers asking the Recruitment Team
to get an "immediate joiner" to complete a project. Is it that the Requirement Gathering and Project Plan processes fail every time?!! Is it due to competition? Is it that the
Customer wants to burn the given budget in a particular
quarter? There could be many reasons. Interestingly in some organisations
there will be employees on the
Bench but the Project
Managers/Sales Team will not
find them suitable for one or
other reason.
I am also surprised to see the 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 run to the Delivery Manager and then both of
them get on to a call with the prospective candidate; selling the opportunity,
company, role, designation, salary, perks, location, training, canteen facility
available, etc.etc. in an
effort to select that
individual! The Sales Guy with Gucci sunglasses and a Tissot watch will be right next to
them saying that we must get this candidate ASAP as it is will open a BIG DOOR with the customer. End of the day, all go home happily thinking that they have zeroed in on a
suitable candidate. The
Recruiter will then be in close contact with
the candidate only to realize on the day of joining that it is an Offer Decline. Disaster!
I have been trying
various creative ideas to
address this but there is no
end to this menace. Let me narrate a classic example ......one of my Delivery
Heads was in touch with a candidate who possessed a
very niche skill. The Delivery Head was very confident that the candidate would
definitely join. He checks the night prior to the
joining day if the candidate is comfortable to take a
morning flight but to his surprise, comes to know
that the candidate has already reached the joining location! The Recruitment Manager is thrilled
seeing the commitment of the candidate and goes for a
dinner party. He again calls the
candidate in the morning and comes to know that he
has boarded the right bus at 7am and is on the way. At around 11 am, the Recruitment Manager gets a call from the Delivery
Head to ascertain the whereabouts of this guy who has reached the joining location the previous night.
Then the chaos began!!! He tried candidate's mobile
number but found it is switched off. He cannot be reached. The Recruitment Manager even checked if there was any major accident en route. He could never reach the candidate after that. We can
solve a murder case after a decade and arrest the culprits but we cannot solve cases of offer decline!!! Mysterious!
Why is this
happening? In my opinion, candidates are pursued by Recruiters
under pressure from Business Teams even if they inform them that they have an offer in hand. End of the day, this
results in confusion and forces them to come up with weird reasons like -
death in the family, sudden accident OR disability,
skin allergy, difference of opinion with wife OR husband, location challenge,
food allergy, traffic jam and pollution, ‘stays in the
South of a city whereas the opportunity is in the North’, ‘wants to work only in a development project’, ‘needs only on site assignment’, ‘current company offering better package’, ‘current Project Manager is so nice’, ‘climate not suitable for the Puppy’, ‘Gym not available’, ‘Water not suitable for Hair’ and any reason you can think of. There are also a section
of candidates who will confirm the joining
date but will have no
reason for not wanting to
move ......... and this intuition comes to them just the day before they have to join a new company!
I have no idea why
candidates waste their precious time in taking interviews and discussions. What
fun they have by keeping the Recruiters in the dark. The IT community is considered to be the most talented class in India, and the supposed
to follow best ethics and integrity. To maintain this tag, I urge that it is
high time candidates change their mindset and be transparent. At the same time,
Business Leaders must think how can they avoid asking every time for candidates
who can join immediately. Many a time, this means the Recruiter has to find candidate who is about to join another
Company and start bidding for their
salary which ultimately
increases overall cost to the Company.
I suggest that Recruiters ensure the following
-
(a) Screen
candidates thoroughly ... try to be very upfront and understand their interest
in the opportunity. Ask all relevant questions and identify the reason for a
change .... this could be the
Reporting Manager, Salary,
Location, Role. If it is Salary, it is better to drop the candidate OR at least
take a confirmation on the budget you have and
then proceed.
(b) Observe the
behavior and response level at each stage. e.g. response to emails, attending
interviews, submitting documents, etc.
(c) Create a Candidate
Relationship Management cell and specially monitor offered candidates - with a
checklist and pattern.
(d) Reject/drop
candidates who behave erratically OR show lukewarm response - dont trust
excuses and reasons.
(e) Insist on emails
regarding resignation
acceptance and relieving confirmation - this is very important as many a time, the project will accept resignation and forward to HR who will insist
on relieving only as per Company norms whereas the candidate will misguide the
Recruiter stating that resignation has been accepted.
(f) Never worry.
Update the Business Team and Customer if you see a renege and go for a backup
candidate.
With all these checks and balances, you may
achieve an 80% Offer to Join. The trend will
change only when Candidates take this seriously and maintain transparency and
Project Managers maintain better planning and avoid surprise ramp up requests!
God Almighty Help!
