Few annoyances will compare to counter-offers in the recruitment process.
From our own experience, we’ve found that 1 in 3 candidates usually accept a counter-offer when they’re thinking of leaving.
At a time when finding the best hospitality talent is so difficult (and often time-consuming), this can come as a costly surprise.
You might be left wondering whether you should nudge the candidate with a small financial incentive, or which kind of approach is best.
So, how can your hospitality business prevent counter-offers?
Things to keep in mind
Before we get into the specifics, it’s worth first reiterating how important it is to be flexible with your approach once a counter-offer occurs.
Counter-offers, after all, are hardly an uncommon part of the recruitment process.
In the same way that so many of our clients need great talent urgently, other businesses are equally in need – if demand is outstripping supply, you need to be careful in your approach.
Firstly, keep the following in mind:
- A candidate may find their current employer to be the more comfortable option when a counter-offer is given because it’s familiar
- A candidate may have been seeking a pay-rise prior to your offer, meaning that once their employer puts forth their counter-offer, this is the more desirable option
- It’s not all about monetary compensation
The third point is particularly important, as many hospitality businesses will run the risk of assuming that increasing the financial incentive is enough to prevent counter-offers, yet this isn’t the case.
Preventing counter-offers requires a more thorough, thought-out approach.
Flexibility
If you assume that low-balling is going to work and remain unmoved on this opinion, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever prevent a counter-offer.
Now more than ever, candidates know their worth and they also have greater expectations for a role than salary alone (this is where your EVP comes in).
Flexibility means recognising that if salary is the only benefit to offer a passive candidate, then a counter-offer with a better salary will quickly derail your ability to secure the candidate and potentially embroil you in a long-winded back-and-forth.
Similarly, nothing will give a candidate a faster negative impression than a lowball salary offer.
You want to show that you’re flexible to their needs and goals, without assuming that a candidate should simply be grateful to be offered a role or an above industry-standard salary.
Craft a strong Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
How do you reward employees for working for your business?
An EVP is all about the benefits that employees are given for the skills, experience and loyalty they bring to the role and the business.
These include:
- Workplace culture
- Career growth opportunities
- Diversity and inclusion commitments
- Health and wellbeing policies
- Flexible working
- Work-life balance
Over half of all UK workers now want flexible working arrangements, and 1 in 3 hospitality workers think that the opportunity to choose shift patterns would have a significantly positive impact on how valued they feel in the workplace.
Additionally, 50% of hospitality workers in an OpsBase study said they’ve regularly felt stressed or anxious at work.
Focusing on addressing these areas is the key to a strong EVP – what do hospitality employees value most, and how can you provide this and convey it in the recruitment process?
For example, are candidates told:
- What their career progression opportunities are? (Is there a clearly defined pathway for progression?)
- Whether there is flexibility with their working hours?
- What kind of mental health and wellbeing support your business offers?
- Your approach to diversity and inclusion (in employment and in the recruitment process)?
Passive candidates will require significant motivation to leave their current job role when faced with a counter-offer, so you need to consider which elements of your business set you apart in how you reward employees for their hard work.
Efficient communication
No candidate wants to be left waiting.
Whether they’re being left in the dark during their application process or unsure what the next steps are, it’s your job to inform them and make sure that they know they are a priority.
Given that one of the reasons that a candidate may have considered leaving their current workplace might be poor communication, it’s important to set a high standard for collaboration and communication early on.
Are you ensuring that you:
- Regularly contact/call the candidate to keep them informed of the period between a job offer and potential start date?
- Support the candidate through their resignation process?
- Explain the work they’ll be doing and/or projects they’ll be taking part in for the role?
- Clearly communicate steps such as offer letters and contracts?
Sell the company culture
Positive company culture can truly make the difference when you’re contending against a counter-offer.
What are your cultural strengths as a business?
These strengths can often overlap with your EVP: strong leadership, rapid career progression, flexible working opportunities, mental health support.
The primary concern should be knowing these strengths and conveying them to candidates during the recruitment process.
Your employer branding will also play into how you sell your company culture, as this is the foundation upon which your reputation is formed as a business.
Do you actively use social media for your business as a way to promote your company culture (e.g., any charity work, initiatives, or employee experience content)?
Do you utilise your website to showcase the team and your approach to working in hospitality?
These factors all tie into how your company culture will be viewed by candidates and whether they feel as though it aligns with them and their values.
Get in touch
Counter-offers may seem like a barrier in the recruitment process that can be difficult to overcome, yet with the right preventative efforts, counter-offers can be avoided or resolved quickly and smoothly.
Once you’ve got a strong EVP and workplace culture to offer candidates, it’s merely a case of being highly communicative and flexible during the recruitment process, rather than waiting nervously for a counter-offer to appear.
If you’re looking for an expert hospitality recruitment partner, Talent Hive can help.
Our team has in-depth knowledge of the ins and outs of hospitality, and we’re extremely passionate about helping hospitality businesses secure the best talent.
Get in touch today to find out more.