Hiring Hiccups

It is a feeling I have never been able to get grips on!

We have grown up getting adjusted to a lot of power cuts in our city. Looking back, it has been intriguing. Anytime the current went off, there was general despair-whatever we did came to a standstill, and at most times, even set us behind! Almost the first thing we did, however, was quickly go out to the balcony, and look at the neighbourhood. Believe me- if they too did not have power, one could feel an overwhelming sense of relief ! Funnily though, looking back, one really did'nt mind the inconvenience as badly :-)!!

Offer dropouts and power cuts are similar!! In a booming and developing economy, there are lots of companies chasing good talent- candidates have multiple offers. Companies make offers. As recruitment consultants, we do come across a fair amount of our candidates, backing off at the last moment..and there's mayhem. We learn to move on:-)!

In a way, when I saw a pressnote "Rising Job refusals " quoting my associate Gauri Sarin, it was with a sense of dé·jà vu. Just a quick gist of the article:
"The trend of candidates declining new job offers comes even as firms are increasingly becoming flexible in terms of salary structures and fitment. The last two quarters have seen the number of candidates declining offers almost double"

Now back to the power cut.Over time, I have tried to rationalise it. Perhaps it was the comfort of a feeling that there is nothing really wrong in our house. It could be a power outage. Perhaps some transformer has tripped. May be it was the heavy rains, and the local authorities have put off the supply for a shortwhile. Or even a major shutdown. But the general feeling- aha-if it effects a large section of people, you can be sure someone is attending to it..and yes, it is at best a short term transitionary discomfort! Some of the more affluent got invertors. And the rest of us got back to our regular duties, doing other chores that one can do without waiting for the power to come back.

So, what does the HR fraternity do with this hiring hiccup? Do we accept it as life and get along? Do we start having back ups? Can the 'benches' in the IT industry parlance be sustained in this era of subprime crisis and dwindling margins? Or do we unto others as others do unto us? Am I being optimistic in hoping that someone somewhere is attending to the anamoly?

On a personal note though, I think it boils down to decision making and transparency. In a maturing market where the power is slowly shifting to the 'jobseeker', it is essential for us to educate our colleagues that "time" is the most critical aspect. I have nothing against people dropping offers- it is just that, more often than not, the decision is not communicated at an appropriate time to the stakeholders.

Even the decision not to make a decision -is one! Life is all about options! There is never enough resources to arrive at the perfect call. There is a need to bite the bullet. And have the gut to stand by it-but yes, do inform others -well in advance!!