Is Sensitising On Employee Etiquettes The Need Of The Hour?

“Freshers should work 18 hours a day minimum during the start of their careers,” stated Bombay Shaving’s CEO Shantanu Deshpande; whereas British businessman Alan Sugar is of the view that “people who work from home are lazy and don’t deserve total pay!”

Now the only common aspect between both the talks is the agenda of cost-cutting and more work. This shows present day plight of employees. But, on the other hand we even have cases where employees bargain their packages by giving interviews in various companies and tend to choose best of the lot.

Very recently an Indian start-up co-founder Prashant Pitti of EaseMyTrip sparked a conversation with his tweet on what courtesies potential employers and employees may - or may not - owe each other.

Pitti shared a screenshot of a message on his LinkedIn, he said was sent by a candidate on the day they were supposed to join.

In it, the person says they decided not to join because of another job offer. To which Pitti tweeted that this was a "hugely prevalent" problem.

Root Cause

Well, it is always said that when hiring candidates, it is always best to be on the same page and that can only be done by properly informing them of the company’s requirements, expectations and of course what we do and do not accept before they join or consider joining which can also be done by candidate engagement activities which should start at the pre-hire stage. 

When we questioned the man in picture, Prashant Pitti, co-founder, EasemyTrip, he stated the dire need to educate newbies of on the best practices followed by the organisation, especially during the hiring process.

“Increased interaction with new hires between the time of their acceptance and joining the company is one potential strategy. The organisation can utilize this period to familiarize the candidate with the company’s culture and protocols. The candidates can be updated on the company developments via regular emails which keeps them engaged throughout. The organisation can also enclose a document with a list of dos and don'ts with the offer letter where it can highlight the advantages the company has to offer its employees which will help them decide better. The organisation can also welcome the candidate on the company's social media platform, expressing enthusiasm for hiring them and excitement about working with them soon. All of these actions are alternatives to avoid such issues faced by employers.”

When conversed with Sumit Sabharwal CEO TeamLease HRtech he explained, “Hiring managers may leverage advanced multi-channel HRtech products to maintain contact with selected candidates until they join so that there is enhanced candidate experience. With the work from home for the past 2 year, the methods and hiring practices have surely become a lot more flexible and enabled by HR Tech. It is necessary that we ensure candidate satisfaction and employer expectation and bridge the gap between them through clear communication, set guidelines and build trust through the hiring process to ensure no last-minute back-outs or change of course.”

Onboarding Mandates In The New-Normal

The onboarding and selection processes of candidates keep evolving due to the change in the nature of business time and about. A recent example is the pre vs post covid hiring processes. The majority made the switch from office jobs to working from home with little to no training, picking up new technologies, and assisting hiring managers in understanding how to balance remote interviewing, recruitment, onboarding, etc. Companies are balancing readjusting to new work cultures with the shifting of employees from full-time, part-time, remote, or hybrid work models.

Now, to help their hiring managers hire, readjust recruiting strategies, and onboard new candidates, recruiters have had to juggle these adjustments. The difficulty lies not in choosing the candidate, but rather in the candidate's commitment to joining and failure to fulfill it, especially dropping on the date of joining. This has more to do with the candidate's attitude than the onboarding process.

According to various reports and surveys, 42% of employees end up not joining after accepting the offer letter and most of them inform their decision at the very last minute or not at all. There will always be competition to hire and keep the best talent. Employers, therefore, to curb the issue, require a confirmation that the candidates adhere to, and this time, a more formal one. 

Although it is a far-fetched idea, a national database for HR personnel that lists new hires could also be a measure, but this will heavily depend on technology. Pitti further suggests that, “meanwhile, the most immediate measures can be, to engage with the candidates once they have accepted the offer letter till they join. This can be the best opportunity for the brand to connect with them and share its culture with the candidates who will start getting a fair idea of what is in store for them. Regular emails can be used to keep candidates informed of business developments and the company’s growth. With the offer letter, the employer can include a document that contains a list of dos and don'ts. The company can highlight the benefits it has to offer its employees.”

Further, the evolution needed in HR is in the technology aspect. Modern day HR Tech tools are already in place to help talent acquisition professionals. AI-enabled applicant tracking systems intuitively increase engagement levels throughout the candidate journey. HR Tech products leverage Metaverse to provide personalized and customized candidate experiences. Event-triggered AI enabled chatbots, emails and automatic call scheduling are some examples of features that can ensure better connectivity, enhanced engagement and differentiated candidate experience. 

Sabharwal further believes that as these advancements start to enter the HR systems, we are definite to witness developments and upgradation towards a better tech-enable and more reliable program, that can help give the hiring a firm direction with surely and much-required regular updates on the candidates.

Way Ahead

Sabharwal suggests that in order to hit the ground running, immediate joining is of the methods that won’t just prevent the eleventh-hour candidate crisis. New age applicant tracking and engagement HR tech products allow the employer to better access the candidate’s abilities and the employee to get confirmation and a positive outlook towards the company.

While Pitti on the other hand feels that it cannot be the solution but a strong measure to begin curbing this long-standing issue with employees’ ethics and dignity.

Also few industry leaders feel that there should be a blanket ban on providing offer letters well in advance but Pitti is of the view that as a trusted employer and a standard industry practice, employers too follow the hiring protocols. We understand the candidates' point of view and want to assure their employment, so they don't feel insecure about their jobs. However, yes, we do see many candidates using this for a bargain. This is a very sensitive problem and does not have a concrete solution, yet. We feel more than the hiring process, the problem lies with the individual’s work ethic and integrity.

Further Pitti has also received support from Ashneer Grover, a high-profile entrepreneur, who said that India's "broken and expensive" legal system meant that there was "no value of contract".

It was best, Mr Grover added, for potential employers to tone down expectations.