Constructing the Offer

When putting together the offer, it's important to have done your homework in advance, otherwise you are at a distinct disadvantage that may cost you either the candidate or thousands of dollars in unnecessary compensation.

Your offer should take into consideration market data so that you know what your competitors are paying. Other factors include the pay scale for your comparable employees, experience level for the position, unique skills and specialty, and what the candidate is currently making—base salary as well as bonuses. Finally, determine the top limit of your offer and whether you're willing to negotiate.

An IT staffing partner can help tremendously with this delicate part of the process. If you are engaging a contract consultant rather than hiring a permanent employee for the position, many staffing firms serve as the employer of the consultant, so you can skip this step entirely. However, it's important to remember whenever your organization hires an individual and/or asks that they sign a non-compete or letter of agreement, you should have your attorney review or develop these materials to avoid possible legal conflicts down the road, and both your organization and the employee should sign the documents.

Beyond Compensation

Whereas compensation used to be enough to woo candidates, many of today's IT professionals are indicating that compensation isn't the only thing they're looking for. Forward thinking organizations focused on hiring and retention are offering perks beyond compensation.

A Caring Culture: Giving employees the sense that they are known and cared for, and are not just a number or another warm body, is one step every organization can make toward attracting and retaining candidates. Non-compensation perks like flex time and allowing for telecommuting and staggered work hours are some options that appeal to candidates. Remember that today's IT industry professional is placing more value on personal time and time away from the office than ever before.

Flexibility: Job sharing is another benefit gaining momentum in the marketplace. Many organizations are claiming productivity gains through these programs, which are viewed as progressive and seen as a real benefit by many employees. Sabbaticals are also becoming a popular perk for employees who remain with the organization for a number of years. Sabbaticals not only offer long-standing employees time for personal or professional enrichment, but they bring employees back to the workplace renewed, motivated, and more loyal than before. Offering these types of perks demonstrate a commitment on the part of the organization becoming increasingly appealing.

Enrichment: Opportunities for learning and growing are an important part of what you can offer to candidates. More than in any other industry, IT professionals value training and career and skills enrichment. Organizations that think they can skirt the training issue will likely find themselves losing some strong candidates.

Linking more qualitative offerings, like training, profit sharing, job sharing, or stock options, to performance is a good way to ensure that the organization benefits too.

The Offer Letter

When writing the offer letter, it is important to detail everything in writing, including a summary of what was said verbally. You should not make promises regarding duration of employment or compensation unless you intend to be contractually bound.

Of course the letter should state the agreed upon compensation and benefits. Be sure the letter also includes a copy of the job description, the work hours, start date, length of probationary period if any, and an orientation schedule if available, so that the candidate knows what to expect from day one. It should also include position title, the report structure and vacation. Last, state the employment "at will" clause, if applicable in your state.

SAMPLE OFFER LETTER
Date
Candidate Name
Address
City, State, ZIP

Dear Candidate Name,

Thank you for spending time with company name recently to discuss career opportunities. We were very impressed with your background and believe that you will make an outstanding contribution to our team. It is a pleasure to formally extend an offer for the position of position title in the department/division name of company name. Your starting salary will be annual or hourly amount, and will be prorated for any partial months.

Your benefits include a 401(k) plan (available immediately) and insurance, which includes hospitalization, major medical, dental, vision, prescriptions and $50,000 of life insurance. In addition, we will provide you with short-term and long-term disability coverage up to 60% of your gross annual wages. These insurance benefits will be in effect the first day of the month following the prescribed 30-day minimum waiting period.

The first 90 days of your employment with us will be a particularly important period of understanding the expectations and requirements of this position, as well as your ability to meet them. During this period we will provide regular feedback to assist both you and us in evaluating your performance. We will also conclude this period with a clear and comprehensive review.

If you have any questions regarding this offer or company name, please do not hesitate to call include specifics here. Unless otherwise noted, we will consider your start date with company name to be include start date. Please sign this letter confirming your acceptance and return to include specifics here as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Hiring Manager / Date

Candidate Signature / Date