Offer letter: an important touchpoint of employee experience

Employee experience is one of the most important weapons we have in the battle for top talent. Most companies I have worked with in the past 20 years, seem to have realized it or at least understand it (once you put it on the table). What seems to be less apparent is that employee experience starts way before we even have a vacancy. Actually, it starts even before someone becomes a candidate. For example, a potential employee may have a good or a bad experience with our brand over drinks talking to a friend we interviewed. Or may read an article about us. Or see one of our posts on Instagram.

If you are also aiming for that top 3% talent, your employee experience journey needs to be seamless. Does this mean that you need a huge budget allocated for exclusive perks? Well, you do want to be competitive but perks alone are not enough to keep you on top of the game. While you want to pay your talent well above the market average, you can also create opportunities to make a difference in ways that require zero budget.

Going through all the touchpoints where a potential employee has an experience with your brand, such opportunities are almost countless. What is the tone of voice in your job ads? Is the way you describe the role clear and exciting? How is the interview experience? Do they feel challenged but also appreciated? Or is it just another boring interview? How do you welcome them in your offices? It is important to provide a memorable experience even to candidates you realize within the first 2 minutes that are not a fit for the particular role. Maybe this candidate is a perfect fit for a future opening. Or maybe they can refer us to a friend that could be the perfect fit. Or maybe they will become our customers.

In other words, during the recruitment process, it is not only you who evaluates the candidates. The candidates evaluate the company as well. And the ultimate moment of truth is when you find the one that you believe is a better fit for the role and your culture. How do you get the desired acceptance to your offer? It’s all about the salary and benefits at this point, right? OK, sure, but not only.

The touchpoint of extending the offer is one more great opportunity to create a memorable candidate experience. This is why at REBORRN we decided to make it something way more than just a letter stating a competitive compensation package. Our offer is design focused, personalized guide to what our candidate would experience if they accepted our offer.

While staying true to your culture and tone of voice, we believe that the following questions should be answered in the offer “letter” :

• Why did you choose this candidate over the many others. The intention is not to boost their confidence, but to let them know how they fit your culture and the specific role. So, this is a direct feedback from your interactions with them.
• What will their responsibilities be. You need to be as clear as possible on what they are signing up for.
• How it feels to work at your company. What do you value as a team? This is particularly important so as the candidate assesses whether they align and feel comfortable with these values.
• What is your way of working. Anything from how you communicate as a team, how you work together, how your offices support your culture, how you share knowledge and how you measure impact. Clearly no one wants any surprises in these areas.
• Who is the team they would join. You could introduce yourselves and also share your company video (if you have one). If you are a big company, you can introduce the direct team rather than hundreds of employees.
• How will their first days look like. Onboarding is one of the most critical employee experience touchpoints and you have the opportunity to immediately start making a positive impact.
• What is going to be their compensation package. Well, of course you should include this too :)
• Finally, a call to action to accept the offer!

Have a look at the offer letter we created at REBORRN!

An important note is to describe the real situation and not beautify anything. This will definitely backfire resulting later in disappointed and disengaged employees and, finally, to an unnecessary and costly turnover. Joining a new company is a big decision so what I suggest is that you make it easier for the candidate by providing all the factors they should weigh in.

Will this approach ensure the candidate will accept your offer? No. Will it create a memorable candidate experience that may lead to attracting more talented candidates in the future? That’s very possible. But even more importantly, you will significantly increase your chances that the right candidate accepts. The one that reading through your offer letter can really associate with your team and your brand.