One of the most overlooked aspects of hiring top talent in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession is that of onboarding. However, successful onboarding is a critical step for employers hoping to hire the best candidates in the marketplace.
Just because a candidate accepts your offer of employment is not always a guarantee that the candidate will start work with your organization. We are currently in a candidates’ market, which means that the top candidates have plenty of options available to them. In fact, they may have been interviewing with other organizations while they were interviewing with you. As a result, one of those organizations could also make an offer to them, including shortly after the candidate has accepted your offer.
Just as likely is the possibility that the candidate’s current employer will make a counter-offer once the candidate submits their resignation. In today’s market, such a scenario is nearly a foregone conclusion within the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession.
Some employers don’t realize that the onboarding process actually begins the moment that the candidate accepts their offer of employment. During this two-week period, the candidate must be reassured that they’ve made the correct decision. This is made more difficult by the fact that the candidate is not yet physically at the company.
As a result, company officials should reach out multiple times to the candidate through phone calls and emails to welcome them and also to share their excitement about the hire. Take them to lunch if they are in the local area. Send them a welcome basket welcoming them to the organization. Organizations need to go above and beyond to make a candidate feel wanted, and that most definitely includes during the onboarding process.
If they don’t, then those candidates may decide to go where they DO feel wanted.