Dive Brief:
- HR professionals see it happen time and again these days. They make a job offer and, it turns out, the would-be job candidate is only going through the motions, and actually looking to take the offer and use it as leverage for a pay boost or promotion at their current employer.
- It is no surprise that the trend is actually on the rise, with talent competition heating up in today’s job market, SHRM reports. In fact, employment experts told SHRM that HR leaders should not only expect more of the same, but should help their departments try to get ahead of the curve on the trend.
- One expert, Lisa Torres, a former professor of sociology who studied employer-employee relationships, told SHRM that workers were basically mimicking employer market-driven behavior, in this case "exploiting those skills to their economic advantage.”
Dive Insight:
Nate Elgert, sales manager at the Aureus Group, a staffing and recruitment agency based in Omaha, Neb., told SHRM that HR “should expect every employed passive candidate that accepts your offer to get a counteroffer” from his or her current employer.
He said that is a "bad idea," telling SHRM that data from one survey found that 80% those who end up accepting counteroffers leave their existing employer within six months of making that decision.
For HR to prevent candidates from exploiting job offers, it should provide meaningful feedback after each step in the hiring process to let candidates know what to expect, be decisive and "never let things cool off" with highly desirable candidates, Elgert told SHRM. Sell the company as a place that can provide a better situation for candidates.
The HR department can also be tuned in for "clues" that a candidate might try to parlay an offer into more compensation at their current job. One giveaway is if the candidate asks early and often about compensation over other factors. "If they seem more interested or engaged in discussion surrounding compensation rather than the job itself, that could be a red flag," he told SHRM.