Half of candidates are backing out of job offers – how can employers secure talent?

New research has revealed that 50 per cent of candidates backed out of a job offer after accepting it over the past year. With employers scrambling to secure skilled workers, how can they turn this around?

The research from Gartner found that steep competition for talent is driving these results, as 59 per cent of HR professionals believe these trends will continue for the next three months.

It’s clear that candidates are taking advantage of the state of the talent market, with many staying open to offers and leveraging benefits to decide where to work.

Aaron McEwan, Gartner HR practice vice president commented on the trend: “Despite the recent rise in unemployment, the talent market in Australia remains tight.”

“Open positions remain hard to fill in Australia and many candidates are uncommitted to their new employer and keeping one foot in the open job market.”

Identifying what candidates are after and including it in contracts may help to secure them in a market where their options are plenty. According to Gartner, 35 per cent of respondents said they received four or more job offers in their last job search.

Meanwhile, 47 per cent of those who recently accepted an offer said they were still open to other offers, and 42 per cent believed they could find a better position if they continued searching.

Employers can stay ahead of the competition by rethinking their offerings. Gartner revealed that 59 per cent of candidates accepted job offers in part due to greater flexibility. Offering flexible working options is clearly a key driver for accepting offers, which smart recruiters will leverage in order to bring people through the door.

Other benefits included better work-life balance, which was a driving factor for 45 per cent of candidates, and higher compensation, which was considered for 40 per cent.

“Gartner’s latest Global Talent Monitor survey data reveals the leading driver of attraction for Australians today is work-life balance, followed closely by location,” explained Jonathan Tabah, director of advisory at Gartner HR Practice.

“Those taking a new job are not walking but running to employers whose flexible work policies enable them to exert ownership over a working environment that best suits their needs.”

Employee experience was another key driver according to 56 per cent of candidates: “Nearly 90 per cent of candidates said they have exited a hiring process due to at least one mismatch in employee value proposition (EVP) preferences,” said Jamie Kohn, senior director at Gartner HR practice.

“This includes compensation and benefits, but also things like flexibility in working hours, career pathing, skills development, team diversity and management style.”

Being transparent with employees can also be an effective way to secure talent. Many jobs don’t bother to include salaries, perhaps in the hopes of being able to negotiate. This may be a detriment to companies, however, as 68 per cent of candidates said they expect to see salaries in job advertisements.

Meanwhile, 64 per cent said they’d be more likely to apply for a job that has the salary listed. Forty-four per cent said they’d decided against applying for a job due to compensation not being included.

Similarly, back-to-office mandates are deterring candidates. Gartner found that 75 per cent of workers whose job allows them to work remotely prefer to do so more than half of the time. In fact, 47 per cent of employees were looking for another job to increase their flexibility.

Mr Kohn concluded: “When it comes to pay transparency and return to office mandates, organisations can either enhance or impede their talent attraction efforts based on the decisions they make.”