Well, it’s exactly what it say’s on the tin. . . (or in the title) The Post Offer Engagement Plan is a method of keeping in contact with a candidate after an offer has been accepted and a contract signed. If you are recruiting agency side or the in-house world, this step is a great addition to your hiring process. There is one important caveat; it must be an opt in option for the candidate rather than a requirement. While there are several benefits to a Post Offer Engagement Plan, it still requires time from the candidate side, which isn’t always available during a busy handover period.
Where to start?
First, you need to get the hiring team onboard. This shouldn’t be a problem since their participation has a positive impact for the team as well. For a team of three people, a max of 30 minutes per month is plenty of time to allocate to your Post Offer Engagement Plan. If the candidates notice period is longer or if the team size is smaller this may increase slightly.
What is the objective?
The objective is to keep the candidate engaged, excited and prepared to join your organisation:
💍 Engaged – (not this type of engaged but you get the picture) schedule a short video call with a team member to discuss current initiatives or projects the company is involved in or working on. These type of updates helps the candidate to perceive life in the business.
🤗 Excited – Schedule short coffee calls with team members and use them as meet and greets. This is a less formal way of meeting after a rigorous interview process and will allow for more discussion on what current team member enjoy about working with the company.
🧐 Prepared – Candidates will be more knowledgable about the work environment, their colleagues and management. This is a great stepping stone into their onboarding experience and will often lead to a quicker time to productivity.
How to implement and who for?
An example time line is provided below along with a template document you can view to give you an idea of how to organise and share with the hiring team. It is important to be organised when preparing and scheduling these calls for the internal team as it will keep them engaged and committed to this step of the hiring process. Also, it is important to understand that the candidate has just spent a lot of their time interviewing, not just for your company but often multiple companies while pursuing their next job. With this in mind, remember, the Post Offer Engagement Plan should always be an opt in option for candidates. Once the hiring team is onboard you should agree on topics of discussion and who is comfortable talking about specific areas. Then you can schedule calls as per the below example.
The below weeks start from after an offer is accepted and contract signed. This example is for a 2 month notice period.
Week 1: no meetings. The calm after the interview storm is important.
Week 2: a 15 to 30 minute call with a team member – it can be an interviewer or another team member.
Week 3: a 15 to 30 minute call with a team member – it can be an interviewer or another team member.
Week 4: no meeting.
Week 5: a 15 to 30 minute call with a team member – it can be an interviewer or another team member.
Week 6: a meeting with the candidates manager – all informal.
Week 7: no meeting – onboarding tasks/material/content should be sent to the candidate.
Week 8: optional meeting with the manager – the first week of onboarding should be confirmed and the candidate should know what to expect for their first day/week with the organisation.
The Post Offer Engagement Plan is especially useful for longer notice periods but if you have a candidate who likes to be kept updated or a candidate who is more of an introvert and nervous about starting in a new team, this step can be a huge value add to the candidate experience.
Here is a basic template you can view to get started and to make the hiring team aware of the Post Offer Engagement Plan;
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