There’s no doubt that employees are a company’s greatest asset. To get started on hiring the top talents, you’ll find plenty of advice on how to manage the first steps of the recruitment funnel to find and attract these talents. 

But equally important is the last stretch in the hiring process - how do you ensure that the top candidate who passed your interview process picks your company and signs on the dotted line? How do you, as an employer, leave a positive image, connect with these talents, and differentiate your company on the home stretch?

Great, you want to hire a candidate. So, what’s next?

After you’ve been through the whole application process, you talk to the team and agree

on hiring that particular candidate. The only thing left is to simply send out a job offer. Simple? No. This part is crucial, and it is as important as the rest of the process. 

Foster more connection with a phone call

The top talents you want to hire are used to receiving a lot of attention. Instead of an impersonal email, give the successful candidate a call to increase the personal connection while conveying the good news of the job offer. By calling first, you’ll give the talent a great experience with your company culture and show them first-hand what the people they’ll work with will be like.

During the call, make sure to highlight once again the benefits and opportunities of joining the company, whether it’s the people, culture, or specific employee benefits. Once that’s done, you can move onto the more practical aspect of your phone call - the contractual process. 

Inform the candidate that the employment contract with the detailed terms will be sent over in the next 24 hours. Please keep in mind that you need to give the candidate enough time to go through the contract, and of course, provide them with a direct contact number should any questions arise. You should also be clear about the deadline for the candidate to accept the job offer.

Send the offer in writing 

After the call, follow up with a congratulatory email that includes the specifics and formalizes the job offer. In this email, ensure that you include the following hiring information:

• Title
• Salary
• Employee stock option pool (if applicable)
• Start Date
• Vacation Days

Get ready for negotiation (and a positive response)!

After sending the job offer in writing, expect some time to pass before the candidate gets back to you. Most top talents will have two or three job offers to consider, so they need some time to find the right fit for them. Don’t take it personally if the candidate tries to negotiate on some of the terms. This is actually a sign of an intelligent candidate who is carefully considering their options and requirements from their possible future employer. 

Get the people who were in touch with the candidate during their interview process to follow up with a phone call or an email while the candidate is weighing different options and deliberating over the job offer.

Once you have reached an agreement on the terms and get a positive response via email, it’s time to prepare the finalized employment contract.

Prepare and send the employment contract

Based on the terms you have agreed upon with the candidate, prepare and send the finalized employment contract. It goes without saying that you should never remove or modify terms that have been agreed upon by both parties.

A great way to speed up the signing process is the use of applications like DocuSign. This way, the candidate can simply sign the contract without printing and scanning it, thus reducing any lag time.

Once you send over the finalized employment contract, make sure also to set a deadline by which you’d expect the signed contract.

While you wait to receive the signed contract, make yourself available if questions arise and follow up regularly with the candidate. Again, this is another step in the process that you could potentially involve colleagues from other teams. Your job now is to push the hire over the finish (e.g., signing) line.

Receive the signed contract

Only upon receiving the signed contract is your job (at this stage) done. Send a quick email acknowledging that you’ve received the contract, and attached the countersigned contract for their reference. 

Depending on the agreed-upon starting date of the candidate, the next step in the hiring process would be to start the onboarding of your newly signed employee!