Sending out an offer letter is the final step in the interview process, but can often take longer than expected. Hiring mangers deliberate for days over offer details. To prevent losing great candidates to other opportunities, it’s a best practice to send out an offer letter immediately after the decision to hire is made.
Here are some reasons why this is a key part of a successful hiring strategy.
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It helps move your process along
Without any sense of urgency to get an offer letter out quickly, some hiring managers can take days to finalize offer details and generate the document. This can cost your company a great deal of time without an employee you need on board, which can be expensive – if you’re hiring for a sales role, each day the process unnecessarily drags on is a day you’re potentially missing out on deals and closed-won revenue.
Meanwhile, your prospective employee is still out there interviewing elsewhere in case your offer letter never comes. Not sending it out immediately after making the decision to hire doesn’t just waste company time. It also can lessen conviction in both parties.
Learn what hiring delays can cost you, and how to accelerate the process, in our guide.
It prevents you from losing great candidates
In today’s job market, candidates are on job boards all the time. They might be interviewing with multiple companies at once. Regardless of whether or not your company may be a candidate’s first choice, if a prospective employee receives an offer letter from a different company while they’re waiting for yours to come through, they may take that offer, even if they’d rather work for you. It’s a real you-snooze-you-lose situation.
Don’t lose out on the perfect candidate for your company because you didn’t reach out in a timely manner. Recognizing that the job market is competitive for positions and candidates is integral to executing a successful hiring strategy.
A quick offer letter gets you a quick answer
Sending out an offer letter doesn’t guarantee acceptance. By not sending your offer letter quickly, you could slow your process down if your potential employee rejects your offer. Not only do you lose time that could be spent interviewing other candidates, you also dramatically extend how long your company will be without this new position.
Also, make sure your offer letter includes a deadline for acceptance. In the same sense that a job seeker wants to hear from your company soon, you need to hear back from them promptly once they’ve received your offer. In general, having a 48-hour to 72-hour deadline is best practice for a company. Sending out your letter immediately, and with a deadline, means getting an answer sooner and furthering your next steps.
It’s a great way to demonstrate your company culture
Lastly, your follow-up procedure with candidates mirrors your company culture. If you make a verbal offer and receive a verbal acceptance, but don’t immediately follow up with the written offer, candidates can question whether or not you’re true to your word. It also makes your company look disorganized and unprofessional, which is the last message you want to send.
Additionally, if you procrastinate due to other obligations, it can show candidates that the position they’re applying for is not a high priority for your company. Make sure you value your potential employee’s time as much as you want them to value yours.
Just like any other part of your hiring strategy, there are certain best practices pertaining to offer letters. Don’t drop the ball and miss out on a chance to grow your team with the perfect candidate. Be prompt, and follow these tips.