#AskDesiree: Ecommerce recruitment dilemmas answered!

Hello…remember me? I’m back with my #AskDesiree series after a well deserved holiday! It has been a busy start to the year for my fellow pandas at cranberry towers…ecommerce recruitment is a non-stop rollercoaster.

It seems it’s not just the pandas who have tackled a lot in the first quarter of 2019 – I’ve had an influx of ecommerce hiring dilemmas come through from management teams who need my advice. For this reason, I will not be focusing on one, but three of the questions I have been asked. There’s a lot to get through…let’s get started, shall we?  

The candidate we want on our team has been counter offered – now what?

This dilemma isn’t exclusive to hiring in ecommerce, but the nature of the industry means the counter offer isn’t a rare occurrence. Hiring ecommerce talent is a competitive battle and finding that right fit isn’t easy to do. The industry is of course susceptible to extremely busy periods (Christmas, Black Friday, Valentine’s…we could go on!) The last thing an ecommerce team wants is to have a gap at these times.

So, what happens if the candidate you have offered a vacancy to gets a counter off from their current company? Ultimately, the world of work and recruitment is all about the team…the right people are what makes for success and a great environment. The key word here is people. My recommendation therefore is to speak to their motivations.

What motivates this candidate? Is it the salary, the opportunity, the responsibilities or the brand? There could be plenty of motivators but knowing them will help you appeal to the person, not the candidate. With this information, craft a response to the counter offer highlighting how you aim to help them with their motivations and goals.

It’s a big topic, so I’m sure I’ll be writing more on this soon… 

The candidate needs more time to decide on the offer – is something wrong?

You’ve found the dream ecommerce employee and have offered them the role – happy days! As with any recruitment process, the chosen candidate should be given some time to consider everything. I do feel that unless they jump at the chance straight away, you should give the person up to two days.

So, it has been two days…so the decision will be in today then? Then suddenly, the phone rings. It’s the candidate or the recruiter who is representing them and they tell you they need a bit more time before they decide. Are alarm bells suddenly ringing for you? Perhaps you think they’re not interested in the offer.

I would say that there is no need to panic. This is a huge decision for anyone to make and that must be taken into account. If you do feel that an acceptance needs to be given, speak to the candidate or their recruitment representative. It’s OK to ask them if there is anything in particular delaying their decision, so that you can then answer any concerns.

The candidate has rejected the offer – where do we go from here?

As an ecommerce recruitment process draws to a close, I can imagine you are itching to get the best candidate on board. So, you extend the offer and they respond with a…no. They are going to accept another offer and that is final. What happens now? Is it back to the drawing board or have you planned ahead for this potential outcome?

First of all, I would still recommend you speak to the candidate about anything you could do to get them on board. What is it about the other offer that outshines yours? Finding this information out let’s you potentially counter the offer or will help with future candidates if the reason is about the role itself.

Of course, it could be that nothing can be done, and the decision is final. The most important thing to do is to assess those who were unsuccessful. What was it that made you go with another candidate over them? If a candidate reaches the final stage of a job process, then it’s clear that they are capable of doing great things in the role. If there’s a particular skill they are not as strong on, are you able to accommodate some training on this? If it’s to do with culture fit, is it something you can work on with the candidate?

Now, I’m not saying you should extend an offer to the ‘2^nd place’ candidate at all – you have to go with your gut. If it means starting the process again, then this is what you should do. If the role is time sensitive and this has caused delays, then you can also think about a freelance or contract professional in the meantime!

Ask Desiree – here for your ecommerce career questions!

I am your ecommerce career mentor, so don't be shy...send your questions over to me: desiree@cranberrypanda.co.uk! From job search anxieties to hiring calamities, I am here to help. Look forward to hearing from you, ecommerce friends!

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