You’ve recruited and interviewed candidates for a high-level, critical position in your company, and you believe one candidate is your perfect match for the job. The importance of making the right hire every time is not lost on you — we’ve all seen what problems a bad hire can stir up — and you’re convinced you’re hitting it out of the park.
Now’s the time to put together your offer letter. You’ve already gone over salary, benefits, and perks in the interview process, but this is the time to put it all in writing. An offer letter is a legally-binding document, so there’s no pie-in-the-skying this part of the process. You’ll need to deliver on everything you promise in this letter.
That said, in this tight job market, it’s more important than ever to come in with your best shot. Best salary, best benefits, best perks. Your perfect candidate will likely negotiate with you, especially now, and quite frankly your offer needs to look sweeter than Acme Competitor’s.
Seasoned hiring pros know to include clear information about:
- Probationary period
- Salary
- Bonus structure
- Documents like non-compete and confidentiality agreements
- Benefits including insurance and 401(k)
- Perks
That last category, Perks, is where your workplace culture shines through in a cover letter. All job seekers are interested in salary and benefits, but many are more interested in things like work-life balance, flex time, parental leave, and other perks like casual office environments, beer fridges, gym memberships, and more. You have likely already thought about those types of perks but if you haven’t, start thinking outside the box to come up with low or no-cost ways to make your company and its culture stand out to top talent.
For critical executive hires, executive outplacement is a powerful perk to offer. Why? Put yourself in their shoes. You’re a new hire who is over 45, maybe pushing 50. That’s an unsettling place to be. If you lose your job, you know it’s going to be difficult for you to get another one, what with Gen Xers and even millennials who are nowhere near retirement age competing against you.
When you offer executive outplacement, the message you’re sending to the candidate is one of safety and security, and it says everything about your company’s culture, and what’s important to you. Executive hires will typically be older, the 40 and over set, and you’re telling them upfront that you’re doing everything you can to ensure their success — both in the job and in the unlikely event that it doesn’t work out. You’re ensuring them a soft landing, that you have them covered if you end up going separate ways. To an older worker, you have given them not just job security but career security.
Want to learn more? Check out GetFive’s Executive Outplacement Services. If you can de-risk the move in the mind of the candidate, you are going to find it easier to close the deal.
