How Do You Ensure New Hires Actually Start on Their Scheduled Joining Date?

Addressing Candidate No-Show on Joining Day

Hey all, it seems it has become a regular practice for candidates to accept an offer and not join on the specified joining date. This leads to a lot of frustration and a waste of time.

I have gone through various articles to gain knowledge on what organizations should do to address this issue, but not much has been written on this topic.

Dear Members, please let me know what processes your company follows to ensure that candidates join on the scheduled joining day. Your inputs will be very valuable in helping us improve our current processes.

Regards,
Sumita

It's true. Hence, as an HR Manager, even if a person is selected, we issue them an offer of employment. However, as far as salaries are concerned, we don't put anything in the offer letter. We include their grade and the pay scale and mention the other benefits they will be entitled to in that particular grade. We issue them an appointment letter within one week after they join our company. However, since we are very professional, we make it clear to them about the level they will fall in the particular pay scale. For example, suppose the selected candidate has 11.5 years of experience; then in a given slab, they are fixed at XYZ basic salary. We don't run after a candidate if they don't turn up.

In cases where there is an acute shortage of candidates, we sign a bond with them to serve for a minimum of one year on the day of finalization of their appointment. The bond has very stringent conditions for both parties. This way, the selected candidate generally, at least in our case, doesn't dare to cheat us by assuring to join and then not joining our organization.

I understand the frustration and the wastage of time. In this case, you may confirm the joining of the candidate one week prior to his/her joining date. I prefer a confirmation email to have legal proof.

Small/medium-scale companies sometimes force candidates to delay joining to transfer knowledge or to complete pending work before they leave. However, even in these cases, companies confirm the relieving of the candidate 1-2 weeks before the last working day. Therefore, I believe that this confirmation email serves its purpose.

Additionally, you may propose that if a candidate does not join on the confirmed date, they may need to wait or risk losing their offer of employment with your firm. I disagree with this approach as it seems unfair to the candidate since they have no control over the postponement caused by the existing company's delay in providing the relieving letter, which is essential for us.

Regards

I agree with what my friends have said, but there is nothing in our hands when a candidate does not join the company after accepting the Offer Letter.

Understanding the Offer Letter

An Offer Letter is a document issued to the candidate as an offer to join the company. It is up to the candidate to accept or reject the offer. If the candidate accepts the offer, then they are free to decide whether to join your company or not. If the candidate does not join your company after accepting the offer letter, then you cannot force them to join, as it is up to the candidate's will. No legal action can be taken against this decision because a candidate can reject the offer for various reasons:

1. He/She might be retained with a higher package in the existing organization.
2. He/She might not accept the offer due to better remuneration offered by another company.

Appointment Letter vs. Offer Letter

Since we issue the appointment letter after the candidate joins the organization, if the candidate does not join the organization and leaves after accepting the appointment letter, legal action or pressure can be put on him/her. However, in the case of an offer letter, nothing of this sort can be done. Therefore, the best way to avoid this problem is always to have a second prospective candidate. If the first candidate rejects your offer, then you have a second candidate, which will prevent you from having to go through the entire recruitment process.

Regards

The Bond System: A Critical View

In my view, the bond system is a very bad practice. It indicates that a company lacks the capability to retain employees. Will an employee work with dedication after signing a bond, or will they just do the work for the sake of the time being and rush to run away after completion of the bond? It seems like the employee is a slave to the company.

My advice would be to have all communication via email and ensure the employee of their better future in your company. Their decision not to join may be due to a lack of knowledge regarding the credentials or goodwill that the company offers its employees.

Regards