3 Benefits of Negotiating a Candidate Offer Through Your Recruiting Partner

When you’ve found the right candidate for your company, you know it. You love that they’re a team player and value the same goals as you; and they appear to be an excellent culture fit. However, even the best candidate can feel like an expensive investment. Many companies are too quick to make an offer for fear of losing the candidate to a competitor, only to later realize they could have secured the candidate without breaking the bank account. The same is usually true for the candidate. They may be excited to say yes to their ideal job; or maybe they’re desperate to get out of their current situation. Whatever the reason, they may not do a good job of negotiating a fair salary and later become resentful because they feel underpaid.

This delicate dance between company and candidate is best choreographed by a recruiting partner who knows both sides well and is looking out for the long-term interests for both parties. Consider these three core benefits when you empower your recruiting partner to negotiate on your behalf:

Remove the Emotion
There is no way around it: money can be an emotional topic, especially when negotiating a salary. Candidates want to feel they are being paid what they’re worth, and companies want to make sure that they are not being taken advantage of. However, the end goal is the same—both parties want to feel respected and happy with the outcome. The right recruiting partner is an unbiased third party who can negotiate without letting fear be the driving factor. Just like any large purchase, there is always a time when there is ‘buyer’s remorse’ and the candidate, or company, wonder if they got the best deal. The best recruiting partner will help you see that it was the perfect deal for the current market. If you don’t have that level of faith in your partner,, then you don’t have the right partner.

Begin on the Right Foot
Due to the high level of emotion that is involved in salary negotiation, it’s important to mitigate the risk of hurt feelings for both parties. Nobody wants there to be tension between the hiring manager and a new employee before they even start their new job. There are almost always 11^th hour negotiating challenges that arise; and I like to tell my clients, “let us be ‘the bad guy.” If there are any hurt feelings, blame us so your relationship with your new candidate starts off on the right foot. That way, tough conversations can be had, and both the company and candidate can feel heard without damaging their new relationship.

Secure a Smart Investment
During the negotiation, an employer may extend a higher offer than they need to because they are worried about losing the candidate. The same can be true of a candidate, who may ask for more money, and before receiving a response, will backtrack out of fear that they may lose the job completely. Recruiters know what is fair in the marketplace and where both the company and candidate stand. Therefore, they can make the offer and then comfortably sit and wait for the response and step in when necessary. We negotiate compensation, benefits and start dates, etc. all the time—so we can walk you through the process.

As excited as you may be to hire that new candidate, and as excited as they may be to work with you, emotions can get in the way of what is still a business transaction. To ensure that this will be a lasting relationship between your company and your future employee, empower your recruiting partner to manage the messy, but important, details of negotiating pay. After that is out of the way, the real fun can begin.

And if you don’t know what a true recruiting partner is—check us out at HireBetter. We are a new kind of recruiter, a true Strategic Talent Partner™.