Recent research conducted by Gartner revealed that within a 12-month period, a staggering 50% of candidates have accepted a job offer and then backed out at the last minute. The three main reasons included:

-      Greater flexibility (59%)

-      Better work-life balance (45%)

-      Higher compensation (40%)

This data suggests that there a couple of main drivers behind this behavioural shift in a candidate’s mindset. The first indicator speaks to the amount of choice candidate’s still have in the job marketplace (irrespective of the national unemployment rate being at a 40yr all-time low). Couple this with an 11 point percentage increase (AHRI research) in return-to-office mandates from 2022 to 2023, it’s no wonder that candidates are seeking employer’s that can cater to their needs, with particular reference to the top 3 reasons stated above.

Conversely, employers who allow staff to work flexibly and with autonomy (not to be confused with mandated hybrid work), continue to be the beneficiaries when it comes to competition for talent. Further, working flexibly doesn’t just mean working from home. Employers who are open to hiring staff in regional or interstate locations widen an already diminished talent pool and discover talent that would otherwise remain untapped. 

The report also talks to how organisations can avoid candidates changing their minds post-offer acceptance. Some of the key discussion points included:

-      Scrutinising your candidate recruitment journey to the remove or mitigate roadblocks that can delay or worse, derail your process

-      Using data to verify and address why employees and prospective candidates choose to both leave and join your organisation, respectively

-      Providing access to and transparency of information from the get-go often can eliminate any element of surprise and immediately builds feelings of trust and buy-in

Food for thought and goes to support the view that the design and communication of an organisation’s employee value proposition has never been more important.