Insights

The job offer can be won (or lost) at the start of the process. Alignment on the role suitability, cultural fit and salary expectations should be established very early, to avoid any surprises when it comes to making an offer.  

Senior candidates expect a structured, efficient process. Along with the interviews, the offer process gives the candidate an insight into how the business operates. Moving decisively but thoughtfully sets the right tone, impression and intent of the business. Speed must be balanced with professionalism to avoid a chaotic experience. Make sure all internal approvals etc. can be covered prior to the final decision to move to offer. We consistently see that offers that are made swiftly have a higher acceptance rate.

Last year, a former client of ours verbally communicated that an offer was incoming for our candidate, only for the official offer to be presented nearly three weeks later. Positive momentum had then dissipated, and another competing company accelerated their process to offer stage, resulting in the candidate joining that business. Timing is critical. 

Making the offer should be personal and high-touch. This should come either verbally by the hiring manager or the search partner. This should then be followed up promptly with all of the details in writing. Some of our clients have really excelled at this, creating personalised decks for the offer, referencing why the candidate was chosen, what they can achieve in the role and looping back to the candidate’s aspirations and motivations. They’re also packed with content on the business culture which helps candidates create a stronger emotional connection to the business and gets them excited to join the mission. We’ve seen first-hand that these offer presentations rarely get turned down.   

The financial package needs to reflect both the seniority of the role and the market reality. Full clarity should be given on any variable elements and long-term incentives, e.g., equity. Your search partner should always advise on the candidate’s expectations when the candidate is shortlisted. Candidates are often well aware of the market benchmarks for compensation, particularly in highly competitive and high-growth areas like energy storage. A below market offer can risk eroding the candidate’s excitement and leave them demotivated even if they accept and can lead to offers being rejected despite strong interest in the role. 

Some level of negotiation should be expected at senior level. Being open and transparent about constraints is important, as is the willingness to flex where it’s possible. Avoid rigid “take it or leave it” approaches unless absolutely necessary. 

A key part of our role as a search partner is to anticipate and manage counteroffers. Businesses hate losing good people and when faced with a key employee resigning, many extend a counteroffer as an easy fix to avoid business disruption. However, counteroffers rarely address the main reasons the candidate was open to exploring new opportunities in the first instance. Your search partner should always prepare candidates for this eventuality during the resignation process and help candidates navigate through this. Top talent always has options, and your search partner should have visibility on the candidate’s situation and be able to advise on risk management to ensure your offer is accepted. The right advice at the right time aligned to the candidate’s main motivations can make all the difference.   

Engagement levels should be high during this time. We would encourage additional conversations with the hiring team so that the candidate can ask any additional questions and cover all of the details they need in order to make their decision. This is also an opportunity to reinforce the positive feeling and the impact they can have in the role. Keeping momentum is vitally important.   

Once an offer is accepted, you should quickly transition to pre-onboarding engagement, keeping up good contact levels until the candidate starts. If there are a few months before the candidate can start, try and meet informally, invite them to socials, introduce them to some of their future colleagues etc. Even just arranging a coffee meet can be a great way to keep engaged.  

 What separates successful offers from missed hires? It consistently comes down to five things: