0:31
Okay, so we in the offer package.
You want to make sure that you include the offer letter,
an employment agreement if applicable, a non-compete if applicable, but
for certainly a job description should be for every employee.
Let's outline what needs to be in the offer letter.
First, it needs to be in writing.
No verbal agreements, so you avoid any sort of misinterpretation of expectations.
Next, what is the rate of pay?
It's been advised that human resource professionals, quote,
pay for an applicant in either a weekly or bi-weekly pay period,
whatever it is that your organization uses.
And that is because, to my knowledge, employment lawyers had given that
advice because some people were saying that we had created a, or
that HR people were creating a contractual agreement.
That if I say that you were going to earn $70,000 a year, and
you leave after two months, apparently to my knowledge, some individuals
were saying, hey, you owe me the rest of that money for the rest of the year.
So it was advised, don't do that.
Quote it in smaller increments according to your pay period.
So instead of $70,000 a year, you would say, this is whatever it is, I don't
have it off the top of my head, but $2,000 per pay period minus applicable taxes.
And so you'll put that in there.
You also would want to make sure that you put a start date
when the candidate should reply by.
And you could also put in that offer letter, that it is
a contingent offer based on the successful completion of a background check, and
drug screen, or whatever it is.
It's not a bad idea as well to put an at will employment statement saying that
the company reserves the right to change conditions of the agreement,
of terms of employment, and as necessary, and those kinds of things.
So think about that as well.
So with the employment agreement.
Again, that's not going to be for every job, but certain jobs it should be
outlined what the expectations are, and typically we see those in somewhat of
a some critical roles and mid-management and above kind of positions.
And so here it spells out information about the employer responsibilities
in terms of confidentiality, what are the benefits that the employee will receive,
maybe perhaps grounds for termination,
but you want to make sure that those are not in conflict with at will employment.
Any, again, confidentiality,
protection of trade secrets, ownership of the employees work product.
For instance, if the employee writes books or invents things for the organization,
3:41
Some companies use what's called a non-compete agreement, or
else it could be called a covenant not to compete.
And this kind of agreement is really to protect
the employer from having a former employee leave the organization and
then go into into direct competition with that organization.
So it might be where an employee leaves and
starts a business that is identical to or very similar to, and
tries to take some customers along, may try to hire former employees,
or I should say current employees, to move along to the new organization.
And it also outlines what can be shared in terms of confidential information,
trade secrets, business practices, all of these different components that become
protected and sort of in a way, I suppose, owned by the organization.
4:37
In order for
a non-compete agreement to be valid, it needs to be not overly restrictive.
So for instance, you would have to be very careful about saying that a former
employee cannot conduct business, may not conduct business in your entire state.
Or they can't have any sort of competition within any sort of
mileage from your location, or you can't restrict someone from an entire industry.
So some of these things need to be taken into consideration,
along with the idea of consideration.
So consideration means a payment of some sort.
So if I was to sign a non-compete agreement,
I would need to get a financial payment from the organization for that.
And so that's why if you change positions within a company,
the company needs to give you a payment to sign a non-compete.
So maybe I'm moving from an administrative assistant to a sales position,
at that point I would need to get some sort of payment in exchange for
signing this agreement.
5:44
Certainly I do want to point out again, that when it comes to
legal documents of the organization like offer letters, employment agreements and
non-compete agreements, that you consult with an attorney.
This is not the kind of activity that you go out on the internet and
just download forms.
These are things that you need to have a qualified and competent legal opinion
to ensure that you are not exposing your company to any legal issues whatsoever.
So, I really strongly say, have an attorney look at all the stuff and
have the attorney maybe even draft it for you.
Another part of the offer package to make sure you include is the job description.
And I know some organizations even have candidates sign it to say yes,
I've seen it, and yes, I agreed to it, but
at the very minimum, the person should have a copy of that in that offer package.
You've put together that offer package and
now it's time to deliver it to the candidate.
So here's a few tips that I suggest.
Well, I used to always like to deliver in person,
meaning I would meet with the person face to face, but that's not always realistic,
it's not necessarily convenient, efficient.
So perhaps if you can't do that, then the next best would be to face time or
communicate via Skype, something where you can actually see the person
face to face because I like to gauge their body language and, try to read,
especially in theworld of negotiations, where are they coming from.
Are they really excited about the offer?
Do they look very leery, like hm,
this is far lower an offer in terms of compensation than I expected?
7:27
So my advice is to actually let the person know an offer is coming.
You send it to the individual.
And then you say, once you get this, call me and let's go over the details.
And I find that to be really helpful, so we clear up any miscommunication, and
I can really sort of sell the offer in some aspects.
There are some parts I'm sure, to your benefit package,
or your incentive programs, or just your organization in general,
that this is not the time to sort of just let the candidate read it on paper and
make up their own judgements, I suppose.
They will no matter what, but
you want to make sure that you put it in the best light possible.
8:31
I also recommend documenting your conversation regarding the offer, and
then sending that information back to the candidate.
So for instance, if the candidate says, I would like
to clarify some of the points in this offer, and you communicate those points.
Then I think you should put it back into an e-mail and
send it to the candidate saying, these are things we discussed, and
just to be clear, this is the information that you need to have.
So I think it sort of helps in terms of documentation,
what's been said in that process.
Okay, so what about compensation?
Well, I will say that if you are not willing to negotiate,
you should tell the candidate that up front, because so many people are used to
negotiating salary, at least here in the United States, and
it's just understood that you make an offer and someone can come back and say,
hey, I'm interested, but I'd like, instead of like 55,000 I'd like 59,000.
So if you're not going to negotiate, I would tell the candidate that up front.
But, be ready that people are willing or wanting their negotiate their salaries, so
an important detail always to remember is the understanding that at each
point in this back and forth conversation, either party, the candidate or
the company, must be willing to walk away from that conversation.
Amy SimonSenior Lecturer
Stacy Doepner-HoveDirector, Masters in Human Resources and Industrial Relations program
