Minimizing the Risks from Notice Period during Hiring

Problem

In other countries or culture, candidates have to go through a notice period of 1 to 3 months from the time of accepting the offer to the first day of employment. During this time, the candidate may look for other jobs or receive other offers, hence may not actually join the company.

Actions taken

I recommend to do two things to increase the chances that the hired candidate will proceed with their employment in your company. First step is to keep the candidate warm by having multiple touchpoints from offer up to onboarding. Have an extended onboarding plan that scopes in the notice period, and assign a buddy who will consistently communicate with the new hire and make sure the onboarding program is executed accordingly. The second step is to have a buffer when making the offer particularly for hard to fill positions like engineering and IT where the market for talents is very competitive. A good ratio to follow is to make an offer to two candidates to get one hire. It can happen that all candidates offered will join and you will end up with extra headcount than originally required. This strategy definitely needs a change of mindset and sign-off by the management.

Lessons learned

Hiring from diverse cultures and background is now common and hiring managers should keep in mind that there are transition requirements to be observed and notice period is one of them. An extended onboarding and buddy program will greatly help to keep the candidate connected and interested with the job. Keeping a buffer when doing job offer is a good strategy to make sure you have backup in case your chosen candidate eventually decides not to join your company.