5 Ways to Win Your Candidate During the Offer

5 Ways to Win Your Candidate During the Offer

You’ve conducted the initial executive search and several rounds of interviews; now you’ve found THE candidate who will bring that edge you’ve been looking for to your organization. Your work is over, right? Not quite.


Hiring managers often make the mistake of thinking the work is finished after they have made the offer, but maintaining focus and staying engaged in the final moments of the recruiting process are critical to securing a candidate.


You may be tempted to assume candidates are interested because they remained in the recruiting process. After narrowing the pool down to one choice, though, the decision to accept now lies in the hands of the candidate. With the finish line in sight, your organization must see the recruiting process through to receive a “Yes” from the other side of the table.


Today on The Water Cooler, we discuss 5 ways to ensure that you come out on the winning end when making an offer to a candidate.


Ask the Right Questions


To win your candidate, you must first master your phrasing. Instead of asking if a candidate wants the offer, ask if they want the job.


Every candidate wants an offer; receiving it makes them feel wanted and like they “won” the recruiting process. What hiring managers do not want, though, is to extend an offer that will be rejected.


Asking the candidate if they want the job can help you avoid delivering an offer that will be turned down. You may learn that, while the candidate is interested, they still have questions about the opportunity. Allowing them the chance to complete their own vetting process leads to more informed decision making and a higher likelihood that they will accept. Moreover, once the candidate has finished their own evaluation process and communicated that they want the position, you can decide how to craft the offer.


Find Out What Matters


From vacation time and healthcare to equity and retirement plans, candidates place different priorities on different offer components. Understanding what matters most to the candidate is critical in making a successful offer.


For example, when relocating candidates, covering or subsidizing one-time moving costs speaks volumes to them and their families. Spouses/significant others, children and other family members will be equally impacted by relocation, and their opinions may influence a candidate’s final decision. Making the gesture to assist with the move can garner buy-in from everyone involved, including the candidate, and lead to an accepted offer.


Get Creative


Creativity with compensation, benefits and other offer components can play a crucial role in ensuring a “Yes” from your candidate. Unable to raise the base salary for the position? Try including a signing bonus or adding additional vacation time to increase compensation. Providing equity, long-term incentive plans (LTIPs) or accelerated vesting can also help sweeten the deal for a candidate.


Outside of competitive compensation, companies may also offer car allowances, monthly parking, flexible work hours or the opportunity to work remotely in order to attract candidates. No matter what benefits you choose to provide, make sure that you continue to think about what matters most to your candidate.


Make It Personal


No one likes the generic “Dear Candidate…” email. Both your organization and the candidate invest time and resources into the process, so see the effort through by making your offer over the phone or in person.


Verbally extending an offer also doubles as a safeguard to rejection. Directly talking with candidates provides them the opportunity to ask any final questions they may have about the role, as well as presents the opportunity for them to accept before you initiate the necessary paperwork.


You should also allow a candidate adequate time to think over and respond to an offer. Delivering an offer on a Friday is advantageous. Your organization won’t lose any working days while the candidate considers the offer, and the candidate has a chance to unplug, process and discuss with other potential decision influencers before accepting.


Put Your Best Foot Forward


With a solid understanding of your candidate’s needs and goals, you can craft an offer letter that will be accepted outright, rather than entering into a negotiation.


Putting your best offer forward indicates that there is less to negotiate and signals how the candidate will be treated in the future at your organization – like their needs are being met versus being “nickel and dimed” each year with raises and bonuses.


Recruiting firms provide a major advantage in this final step; as third party providers, we are able to prompt candidates to disclose their true financial/benefits figures to understand what the best offer should look like and ultimately bring both sides of the table together.


Making an offer is a big step for both your company and the candidate. Completing the entire recruiting process is key to not only winning the candidate but also setting your organization up for success to retain top talent.


Want more insight? Check out our latest article Philosophy, Data and Structure; A Simple Guide to Executive Compensation or contact us to discuss your hiring needs for your next critical role.


By Catherine Landgraf December 31, 2024
Senior Vice President of Operations ABOUT THE COMPANY A-dec is the premium leader in the dental equipment industry designing and manufacturing products that span dental chairs, lights, handpieces, furniture, air management, infection control and delivery systems found in dental offices and operatories. With over 1300 employees, and headquartered in Newberg, Oregon, A-dec’s familial culture and values have been attributed to their commitment to the Newberg community and its employees through various investments and programs. ABOUT THE POSITION The Senior Vice President of Operations is responsible for leading A-dec’s Manufacturing, supply chain, and planning functions to create a competitive advantage for the company for both existing and new products. Leading a team of Directors and Managers, this position ensures the continuing advancement of quality performance, cost effectiveness and safety of the manufacturing function while developing new ways to improve the service level for customers and meet the financial objectives of the organization. The Senior Vice President of Operations manages the manufacturing, supply chain and planning functions to ensure continuous improvement, employee engagement and talent development. DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES Participate as an active member of the executive leadership team providing the vision, leadership, and roadmap necessary to achieve the company’s strategic initiatives consistently and predictably. Define and communicate the vision for Manufacturing and visibly champion current and long- range objectives or programs to ensure successful implementation. Develop annual Manufacturing objectives and ensure tactical plans are executed throughout operations along with aligning metrics, employee goals, and visual dashboards to ensure business objectives are met within operational and regulatory boundaries. Define the skill sets and training programs required to produce increasingly complex products and maintain an effective talent base across the manufacturing, supply chain, and planning teams. Define and establish staff planning parameters necessary for effective operation of Manufacturing processes to include shift schedules, staffing levels, overtime limits, temporary employee ratios, etc. Provide direction, leadership and guidance to ensure relentless focus on delivering results and engage and empower team members to create a culture of safety, quality, continuous improvement, and personal development. Lead the development and implementation of the Manufacturing expense and capital expenditure budgets. Oversee the Manufacturing capacity plan and optimize utilization across Manufacturing while ensuring the production plan is achieved and meets the sales forecast in a timely manner. Lead Manufacturing Engineering in the transformation and optimization of Manufacturing areas to maximize quality, safety and operational efficiency. Lead the Supply Chain team on Production Planning and supply chain requirements to meet customer demands. Collaborate with cross-functional development teams to continuously achieve successful implementation of new or improved manufacturing systems and ensure utilization of capable, cost-effective production processes for manufacturing operations. Partner with Product Development and New Product Introduction (NPI) teams to ensure new product and innovation projects are executed as planned implementing manufacturing processes and testing to proactively resolve identified process capability conflicts. Work collaboratively across the broader organization to leverage corporate resources and align Manufacturing with top level initiatives. Mentor and coach talent across the business to ensure the organization is developing a pool of operational leaders. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES Ability to create and communicate vision as well as understand the big picture and translate to application Ability to proactively identify, anticipate and resolve problems and be comfortable relying on instincts to make decisions Ability to work cross functionally with all levels of the organization Ability to motivate and engage the workforce, create effective teams and build peer relationships Ability to create and implement strategies Ability to initiate self-development Comprehensive knowledge of quality management systems/ISO, lean manufacturing, and the product development process Advanced oral and written communication skills with public speaking experience EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE Bachelor’s degree in business or engineering along with relevant work experience required, MBA or M.S. in related field preferred At least 15 years of progressive leadership experience with 5+ years in a senior leadership position managing a similar scope and sized operations and manufacturing team. Experience in strategic planning for organizations of similar size and/or scope as well as managing the vision and purpose of a division and or business segment of an organization Strong project management experience Experience in mergers and acquisitions preferred Experience managing a vertically integrated operation preferred Experience leading corporate-wide projects or initiatives Medical device industry / dental or medical device fields experience preferred Experienced in establishing partnerships with other companies and external organizations preferred Interested in Learning More? 180one is a retained search firm and has been engaged by A-dec to manage this search. If interested in learning more about the opportunity, please contact Tom Haley / 503-334-1350 / tom@180one.com
By Catherine Landgraf December 30, 2024
We are pleased to announce we have recently been recognized as one of Oregon’s Most Admired Companies. The Portland Business Journal sent a survey to some 3000 CEO level executives asking them what companies they most admire in 10 different categories. 180one was selected as a finalist in the Recruiting/Consulting category and invited to attend the awards ceremony, where we stood out with the 9 th place spot. It was a great event to be honored at, and share the moment with our clients who were also recognized in the Top 10 of their respective categories such as A-dec, Hyphn, Salt & Straw, Leatherman, Columbia Sportswear, and R&H Construction.  When we started 180one in 2007, our main mission was to help Portland businesses grow and thrive by providing them the access to the executive-level talent they deserve. And do it in a way that allows us to truly partner with our clients and build relationships with them outside of any of the searches they engage us on – since we work and live in the same community as our clients. 17 years later, to be recognized today as a Most Admired Company by our clients is a testament to our team’s professionalism, how they’ve partnered with our clients, and the work they’ve performed on our clients’ behalf. Thank you to our clients for your support over the past 17 years, and we look forward to being your search partner in the years to come.
By Catherine Landgraf December 18, 2024
180one is pleased to announce our recent partnership with VSG and the resulting placement of their new Vice President of Sales and Business Development! Dover’s Vehicle Service Group is the global leader in designing and manufacturing vehicle service, collision and automotive OEM equipment. It is one of the founding companies of Dover Corporation, an eight billion dollar diversified global manufacturer. VSG consists of fifteen leading vehicle lifting brands (Rotary, Forward, Blitz, Ravaglioli etc.), collision repair (Chief), wheel services, diagnostics (Butler, Rotary, Chief and Ravaglioli) and tier-one automotive brands (WARN Automotive) with operations worldwide, including regional business operation centers and large manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Congratulations to VSG!
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