Factors hindering sending out job offers during lockdown

Kristine Da Silva | Recruitment Specialist | HR Company Solutions | mail me | 

Due to coronavirus affecting South Africa as well as the rest of the world in such a deadly and disastrous way, businesses have been significantly impacted during this lockdown period, with many of them putting everything on hold that is not essential service related.

Before the lockdown period began, companies had been recruiting and making job offers to candidates that they felt fit to join their organisations for various needs.

However, some candidates were unlucky and didn’t receive their job offers before the lockdown period had begun.

There some factors that may hamper not sending a job offer during the time of lockdown.

Keeping a candidate that got the job in the unknown zone

As the new employer – not providing the potential candidate that you have given a verbal job offer to with any feedback on when they will receive their written job offer during the lockdown period is what I like to call ‘the unknown zone’.

This could be harmful to both the new employer and the candidate. The candidate needs the security of the job offer in writing from their new employer to allow them to then resign from their current employer.

Starting dates might not be mentioned on the written offer, it might state something along the lines of joining once the lockdown period is over.

Candidates losing interest and retracting from the entire process

Should a company take too long to send the written offer, candidates might lose interest or keep their options open on something else that comes their way.

A good way to keep a candidate interested is to provide them with feedback, inform them that the delay from sending the written job offer is out of their hands but they can expect it in their mailbox asap.

This way, the candidate has that security from their new employer and wont stray when another opportunity comes their way.

Another downside is that due to this lockdown period and the negative effects it has on all businesses other than essential trade is that when the lockdown period is over and the candidate has not yet received his/her written job offer, they might be in a position where company informs the candidate that they are now in a complicated position and want to rather put the job offer on hold or retract the job offer completely until all is back up and running in the organisation.

In conclusion

It is important for companies to understand the implications of holding out on a job offer in this period, you might risk losing the best fitting candidate that can join your company when the lockdown period is over.

This will enable you to hit the ground running and operate as per normal in the organisation.

Even grow your organisation and gain the necessary strength that will be needed to bring us all out of economic strife.