Over the years, candidates have complained about being ghosted by employers, when applying for open positions.
Frequently reporting that they suddenly never again hear from a company after a screening call, or an interview, despite being promised that they would. This is obviously a terrible idea if you want candidates to remember their experience with you positively. More recently, in a booming job market, the tables have turned, and companies are themselves experiencing it, learning first-hand how aggravating it is. 📌 With promising candidates suddenly not responding to communications. 📌 Or, even worse, accepting an offer and not showing-up on the first day, or quitting with no warning after a few days. Leading the company to make a mental note to never again interview the candidate who ghosted them, if they ever apply for a job with them in the future. 𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣. Things to keep in mind: ✅ Move fast ✅ Streamline and automate as much as possible – make it easy to apply ✅ Get back to people when you say you will – don’t leave them hanging ✅ Contact all those you interview to let them know the outcome ✅ At the end, email every applicant letting them know the job has closed Remember that in the same way that a candidate ghosting an employer leaves a negative impression, so too does the reverse. And people talk and post about those experiences on review sites such as Glassdoor. And just a few bad reviews from disgruntled candidates, mixed-in with great employee reviews, sends a mixed message. Damaging an organization’s reputation. 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. In fact, it’s imperative to treat candidates well, from the moment they first apply. Keeping them engaged and excited about potentially joining your team. 🚩Which will reduce, if not eliminate, the number of ghosting incidents. Yes, everyone is busy, and it can be difficult to run a tight recruitment ship. But it is possible, and it’s important, so that even when rejected, candidates will still talk positively about your company, even if not hired.
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𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫
It’s no surprise to hear that people resign from their jobs. Yet, remarkably, there are managers who take resignations very personally, and act as if the employee leaving has dealt them a huge, personal blow. But people leave, and not always at a convenient time for the employer. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚. It’s just a normal part of doing business, and every manager will have to deal with it at some point. Decent managers recognize that it is a normal and expected part of managing people, that at some point employees will move on. 🚩 Because employees are not there for love. They are trading their work for a paycheck and are supposed to make decisions based on what makes the best career sense for themselves. This is not to say that losing a key employee is easy, because it’s not. It can, in fact, be very frustrating when someone unexpectedly resigns, particularly when it’s a highly skilled employee. 𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜. And they have to deal with the aftermath and try to find a replacement. Nonetheless, it’s important to react professionally no matter what is really going on inside. The HBR article linked below points out that managers should not only not take it personally, but they should also not belittle the new opportunity, or guilt trip the employee. And it also points out a number of ways to ensure that things go more smoothly. ✅ Take a beat ✅ Notice and manage any in-the-moment reactions ✅ Depersonalize the news ✅ Be curious and show a growth mindset ✅ Show your support ✅ Ask for what you need Excellent tips to keep in mind. But there is one thing to emphasize and keep in mind in today’s difficult job market. While people are quitting in larger numbers than they have in the past, many are finding that the grass is not always greener. As evidenced earlier this year when The Muse surveyed more than 2,500 respondents, who had changed jobs. Only to learn that the position or company was nothing like what was promised. 🚩 Shockingly 72% said they have experienced this. However, this means a high number of former employees might like the opportunity to return to their prior job. And a manager who reacted well to the unexpected resignation, is far more likely to be approached about returning, with an almost zero chance of that happening if the reaction was negative. http://tiny.cc/Response_When_EE_Quits “We’ve tried absolutely everything, but nothing has changed.”
So said a CEO to me recently, as we were discussing employee engagement and culture in his organization. He was frustrated, as they were still experiencing the same issues as before: 💠 High turnover 💠 Inability to attract top talent 💠 Low productivity 💠 High numbers of customer complaints Which are the types of problems seen, when employees are disengaged. However, once I asked what exactly they had tried that hadn’t changed anything, it became clear. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙛𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙨. In other words, they had implemented things like: 🍀Meal delivery for people working from home 🍀 Subsidized workout classes 🍀 Home gym equipment 🍀 Virtual happy hours 🍀 Employee discount programs 🍀 Surprise days off In fact, this is one of the most common mistakes that leaders make when working on improving the organization’s employee engagement levels. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡𝙨. The very definition of employee engagement. Of course, employees are going to like having these things, and, in fact, they should be part of a good workplace. But, by themselves, they won’t solve the costly business problems associated with disengaged employees. ✅ Because they are a surface level response, and not a shift in the fundamental practices that really make a difference. 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. So, best to leave the Band Aid to its job of basic first aid, not to be used in the treatment of more serious issues. When it comes to employee engagement, having the right employee in every single seat is crucial.
Therefore, if someone is not performing, it is critical to ensure that you promptly give them the opportunity to improve. 𝘽𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙. Then, if things do not progress within a reasonable period, it is time for the employee to move on. This is not only the right thing to do for the organization, but also for the remaining employees. 🚩 Since there is nothing more demotivating for your high performers, than to see others not held accountable. If this is happening, realize that everyone is wondering why, and is becoming more disengaged with each day that passes. For leaders, it can be difficult to give honest feedback since these conversations can be uncomfortable. But it is critical that all people managers be trained in how to have these discussions in a kind, straightforward manner. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩. ✅ By choosing your words carefully ✅ By being specific ✅ By explaining why the behavior is a problem ✅ By being clear about what is required going forward. Avoiding these conversations, just because they are sometimes difficult, is no excuse. You owe it to the company and to the employee to provide honest feedback so that: 💠 The required skillset is in place to improve your company’s chance at success. 💠 The employee can leave for a job where they will shine and be appreciated in a role that is a great fit for them. Additionally, it is treating the under-performing employee with the dignity that they deserve. Since no-one enjoys knowing that they're not a good fit for their role. Wondering what each day is going to bring in terms of hearing yet more constructive feedback. Kindness and empathy cost nothing, but they are your most powerful tools in your employee engagement journey. |
AuthorNia is passionate about engaging employees and cultivating compassionate cultures, a win-win for both employers and employees. Archives
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