What to include in your job offers: Template & checklist

June 29, 2021

 

iCIMS Staff

8 min read

Ever look up a recipe online and it’s all the way at the bottom? The worst.  

To get to the good stuff you have to scroll all the way past grandma’s life story, how she grew up penniless in a cabin at the top of a mountain. Sometimes it’s interesting. Often, it’s not. 

Mixed news on that front.  

Bad news first: I did include a lot of additional resources before the template. I know, I know. But I do it for you. Read on to see the common challenges of the job offer process, solutions, success stories, what to include in your offers, and a sample workflow. It will be fun, I promise. 

Now the good news: You can avoid my poetic musings about the job offer process and get to the good stuff – a job offer template and checklist – by scrolling to the very end or clicking here.  

Let’s get started.

Common challenges in the job offer process

A lot of attention gets put on the beginning of the hiring journey, namely sourcing and interviewing. One might think it’s all sunshine and rainbows by the time we get to the offer process. You’re here because you know firsthand that it’s not. 

Here are just a few of the more common challenges we see employers face with managing their job offer process: 

• Complicated terms of employment (Ex: a business with employees whose compensation depends on performance, earning tiers, and various other guarantees and bonuses). 
• Fast-paced hiring that’s contingent on a deadline (Ex: a property management company acquiring a new location or an amusement park operator getting ready to open for the season).
• In-demand roles in a competitive industry (Ex: a healthcare network in need of surgeons).
• Multiple locations and hiring types (Ex: a nationwide insurance company in need of salespeople and account executives).
• Complex, multi-level approval chains (Ex: a franchise where hiring decisions are split between branch managers and a small team of corporate recruiters).
• Disjointed reporting between recruiting and your ERP or HCM (Ex: a multinational business that grew through acquisitions and now has 3-4 applicant tracking systems).
• Low rate of job acceptances (Ex: a company in a region or industry that’s perceived as undesirable or that can’t compete with other salary offers). 

Solving hiring challenges with job offer management software
 

First, what is job offer software? Here’s what our recruiting and HR glossary has to say: 

“Offer management software eliminates manual, error-prone processes to get offer letters out to candidates faster. Branded templates and e-signatures are stored within the system for easily repeatable processes, while approvals are managed at scale during this critical stage of the recruitment lifecycle.” 

In other words, job offer software centralizes and automates the offer process. Part library, part template builder, iCIMS Offer Management Portal makes it easier for you to make job offers quickly, accurately, and professionally.  

As a result, we’ve seen customers shave days off their approval process and increase their acceptance rate. 

Examples where faster, professional job offer management is mission-critical

I don’t think anyone will argue that having a better way to manage your job offers makes life easier. But as anyone who’s gone through a procurement process knows, there’s a long way between “nice to have” and “business imperative.”  

Here’s the good news if you’re struggling to manage your offer process using an outdated or manual process. Put down that checklist and take a look at these examples: 

There’s Peet’s Coffee for one. The international coffee company hires coffee fans – called Peetniks – between 5 and 6 business days faster than before with our offer management software.  

Then there’s IMT Residential, a property management company with more than 60 high-end apartment communities in the United States. While they hire new associates all the time, they’re also growing quickly by acquiring existing properties. All employees that join through acquisition must be offered new terms and onboarded. Retention depends in part upon a smooth transition. 

“Creating or modifying a job offer template is really easy. It’s easy and very straightforward to use for the administrator, the recruiting team, and candidates,” says their director of recruiting and engagement. “iCIMS’ Offer Management helps us present IMT as professional and organized.” 

What to include in a job offer letter
 

Just because an organization is large doesn’t mean they have everything figured out. Some of the biggest companies in the world use multiple recruiting and people management systems. The process can look very different depending on who you are, where you are in the world, and what you’re applying for.  

Here are some best practices for what to include in your offer letter. You can find this and additional detail in our downloadable template below: 

• Clear and consistent branding. You worked hard to build a beautiful career site. You kept up with candidates every step of the way, gave them regular status updates and provided an excellent experience. Don’t fall off at the end. Simple, consistent branding works. But to help instill a sense of belonging now (and help strengthen retention later), consider embedding employee testimonials in the offer itself. 
• Strong opening. Again, you’re building on an experience. Keep the opening light and build excitement. The offer letter should be easy to skim – it’s sometimes hard to read slowly and carefully when you’re excited. You can see an example in our template.
• Accurate and clear details. Here’s the magic of having a library full of clauses. Include terms, start date, compensation, pay structure, etc.
• Closing and signature. If your candidate accepts, they’ll sign electronically. Bravo! The deal is done.
• Link to your company news page or social media outlets. The main focus should be on signing. But after that, encourage new hires to share their good news and follow you to stay connected. 

Managing the job offer process workflow
 

Each organization handles the job offer process a little differently. We’ve seen a lot of organizations, some with very sophisticated HR systems, lacking when it comes to offer management software. There’s more manual spreadsheets and Microsoft Word documents out there than you might think. 

Here’s a quick summary of how our job offer software works: 

1. System administrator creates and manages offer templates, clause options, and user permissions within your applicant tracking system (ATS). Think of this person as your librarian – they keep the offer management system organized and up to date.
2. Recruiter builds a personalized offer letter from an approved template and clause options. Depending how your admin configures the space, much of this process can be automated.
3. Your job offer management software routes the offer to the hiring manager and stakeholders who need to sign off on it. The recruiter and candidate receive updates on its status.
4. The candidate receives your offer letter. If they accept, your candidate immediately receives a digital copy of the letter for their records. The candidate formally accepts by signing electronically. If they reject the terms, the process starts back again with the recruiter updating the terms and clauses. 

Download offer letter template and checklist
 

Welcome to the end of this article. Now for what you’re really looking for. Get your copy of the template and checklist by clicking here or on the image below.