Why Total Rewards Leaders Should Pay More Attention to Candidates & Offers (Not Just Employees & Comp Planning)

Total Rewards leaders in 2022 have a blindspot… 

It’s a big, debilitating, too-big-to-ignore blindspot. We’re talking about offers. The front door to your company. The sole determining factor to whether a candidate joins your team, or moves on in search of greener pastures.

Bottom-line: offers matter. 

But many Total Rewards leaders devote very little time to supporting job offers. Instead, the lion’s share of their time and resources is dedicated to current employees. And while that’s a big part of the job, it often comes at the expense of a well-thought out, rigorous, intentional focus on new candidates and data-driven offers.

So here’s why focusing on making amazing offers to attract outstanding candidates should get just as much time (or more) than your existing employees.

Why Offers Are the Cause of and Solution to All Pay Problems

1. COMPETITIVENESS: Getting the offer right is essential to attracting (and retaining) talent. In the aftermath of “The Great Resignation” and a tight labor market, it’s a candidate’s market and competition is fierce. So it’s now more important than ever to move fast and win more.
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2. FAIRNESS: Offers are upstream of every subsequent pay decision. Because every promotion, pay increase, or bonus, is derivative to the offer the candidate accepts. Which is why you need to make sure you get it right the first time (and pay equity problems are very painful to fix later).
   
   
3. EXPERIENCE: Your offer is the first employee experience - the moment when you don’t just say I love you, you show it. This shouldn’t be a “used car sales” negotiation. It should be a moment to put your values on display, welcome the candidate with open arms, and show them they’re valued.
   
   
4. COST: Offers are expensive. Look at this way: if you hire 2,000 people with an average salary of $150k, that’s a $300M spend each year. Are you equipped to do this accurately? Fairly? Quickly? Yes, overpaying is costly - but underpaying is just as damaging (if you could only count the times you’ve seen an ideal candidate sign on with your competitor).
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5. INTELLIGENCE: You can learn a lot from what your recruiters see in the marketplace. What do other companies pay? What do candidates expect in 2022? What leading indicators tell you that the market is moving?

As you can see, a calculated focus on the front door to your company, leads to a smooth, fair, and even delightful experience for the candidate, your recruiting team, and of course - you. 

Get this right… and it’s smooth sailing for everyone.