Ghosting in the Workplace: How Often Do New Hires Disappear Before Day One?

How common is ghosting?

How common is ghosting, i.e., an employee disappearing after accepting an offer letter or not showing up at work on day one?

Dear Vaatsalya,

Not reporting for duties on a specified day after receiving the offer letter is referred to as a "No Show" by the candidate. This phenomenon has been occurring for the past 15-20 years, and there's nothing new about it.

During my training programs, this matter is occasionally discussed. To address this challenge, some participants have shared the practices followed in their companies. These practices include:

a) Not mentioning the salary breakdown in the "Offer Letter."

b) Issuing the offer letter on bond paper and including a clause on penalties for not accepting employment.

c) Requiring candidates to deposit their academic certificates when issuing the offer letter, along with providing a proper acknowledgment for the receipt of these certificates. The certificates are returned once the candidate joins.

d) Asking candidates to deposit two or three times their gross salary, refundable with interest after three months of employment. Designing these terms requires a proper legal agreement.

Disclaimer: I have shared the practices that participants disclosed to me. This does not imply that I endorse these practices.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Subjectivity of the Issue

Vaatsalya, this question is very subjective, and a unanimous action or suggestion may not be decided or elicited on a public platform like this. It is a known concern and will always be.

Professional Conduct in HR Practices

We, as HR professionals, may not want to suggest or introduce any form of unhealthy practices to attract, retain, or release a person from employment—it is completely unprofessional.

Internal Discussion and Reflection

Please discuss and close this matter internally and ponder over why a candidate may not want to join you or what you could have done differently to attract talent. I think it is extremely subjective and specific to the job.

Thank you.

Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing well. Can anyone guide me through this situation wherein candidates accept the offer letters, acknowledge and send the acceptance of the offer, and then after a few days, reject the offer? What can be done in such a situation? Also, can we make some changes in the offer letter so that the candidates do not do so?

I searched using Google, and there does not seem to be any survey done on the topic of not showing up for the job after receiving a job offer.

The Common Practice of Candidate Ghosting

It's a very common practice among candidates; there is nothing new in this approach. As an HR professional, it obviously feels bad when candidates don't join after accepting the offer letter. On the other hand, it's better not to run after such candidates; let them leave. Such candidates will never fit into your work culture, will not show interest in performing duties, or working a little extra. At least your time and efforts on onboarding such candidates will be saved. Trust is important between the recruiter and the candidates; the gap between offering the job and joining the job is filled with trust. If trust is not there, nothing will work out in the future as well.

Prevalence of Offer Shopping in the IT Sector

It is a very common practice and more prevalent in the IT sector, although it does happen in other profiles as well. The candidates receive offers and then negotiate with their current employer, also engaging in "offer shopping," before ultimately joining the organization that offers the highest package. It is considered a normal occurrence.

Good evening all, I need suggestions on this "No-Show" business of candidates. I am in need of candidates as resources are less. I have been scheduling interviews for a long time, giving my 100%, but still not successful in onboarding them. Candidates are just busy taking counter offers, and wherever they get the best deal, they run away. I know this is normal, but I need to tackle such situations and get the required candidates. Please suggest what strategy I should use to onboard the candidates.

Hello all,

This is a real practical issue that almost every employer/HR is facing. Being an HR System Consultant, I sometimes suggest customized ideas that can help a company avoid or control such situations. Few of them are worth pondering upon:

Interview Strategies to Identify Other Offers

1. In the interview itself, structure your questions in such a way that it helps you capture whether a candidate has other offers in consideration. Reiterate the fact and insist that as a company or HR, you ensure smooth and fair recruitment practices while expecting an employee to stick to their commitment. This approach may give a hint to the candidate, and if they are genuine, they will inform you upfront about other options or you can gauge through their non-verbal cues.

Backup Candidate Strategy

2. Why bank on a particular candidate? When candidates have 2 to 3 options, why not semi-select at least 3 candidates whom you can rate as A, B, and C? This way, if A does not join, B is available, and if B does not join, C is an option. To implement this, consider shortening the joining period to 15 days to 1 month for better flexibility.

Preference for Immediate Joiners

3. Preferring immediate joiners can also help solve this problem to some extent, as it is a common preference among employers now.

There could be a few more ways to address this issue.