“So,” you say, “what’s so remarkable about that? Isn’t that obvious, the way every hire should go?”
Yes, absolutely. That’s the way every hire should go, but often they don’t. Too frequently employers can’t resist the temptation to save a few thousand bucks by offering just below what the candidate expects. Sometimes this is done in anticipation of a negotiation. Other times it’s simply to save some money. Sometimes the employer gives more during a negotiation; often the candidate simply accepts the low offer without negotiating. Not all candidates realize they are free to negotiate, and some simply find it distasteful.
As a search consultant, I find it sad to hear a candidate say, “I’ll take the offer, but I wish…” In my opinion, this is an opportunity missed by the employer. Healthcare IT is challenging enough, especially lately, and nothing seems easy. Yet, this is an easy one, a “no brainer,” as they say.
Offering candidates what’s expected and desired has a magical effect. It tells candidates that they’re valued and respected. It creates immediate goodwill, loyalty, and eagerness, making them excited about joining the team and contributing. Low-ball offers have the opposite effect.
We have one particularly insightful client that likes to surprise candidates by offering slightly more than what’s expected. To me, this guy gets it.
Handled well, the courting of a candidate is a series of steps, with momentum leading up to a climax: the job offer. How the offer is handled determines whether it is indeed climactic … or anti-climactic.
The health care I.T. labor market has quickly shifted from an employers’ market to a candidates’ market. As employees realize they’re in greater and greater demand, loyalty and goodwill will go a long way toward keeping a staff both stable and engaged. Cultivating these feelings right from the beginning of the relationship is smart business … and it’s easy.
Jim Gibson has been in health care for over 25 years. In 2002 he founded Gibson Consultants after several years in healthcare IT and group health insurance. Gibson Consultants is a national search firm specializing in healthcare IT companies.
By coincidence/serependipity, my next job was unionized so that salaries were predefined and known to everybody; even though mine wasn't a union position, the same model held. Despite griping, the management actually kind of liked the system, as it took all the adversariness out of starting and annual salary negotiations.
"But that just means that a superior individual such as myself wouldn't be paid any more than some low-grade person with the same job title! Socialism can't work! Ayn Rand! Collectivism stifles individual excellence and protects shirkers! Stalin murdered millions!"
"Uh, I refer you to reread the first paragraph, please."
The most damaging lie I was ever fed in my education was "Your work will speak for itself and be recognized." Our culture is all about salesmanship and marketing, and quality of product is far far less important, if at all; that goes as much for people as for goods and services.