While notice periods in the USA are limited to 30 days or less, Indian businesses, especially corporates and IT companies, are infamous for having more extended notice periods that range between 30 to 90 days. There are several reasons for varying notice periods, some of which include:
● The employee is at a senior post.
● The employee is in the middle of a project.
● The employee has been fired.
The objective of having notice periods is that the employee leaving the company hands over their responsibilities to the staff taking their place. For the transition to be smooth, why bind the employees by a time-period? For probationary or junior employees, usually, 15-30 days could be enough for a smooth transition. For senior employees, the notice period could vary.
Whatever the reasons may be, both the employer and employees face certain challenges concerning this. First, let us discuss the employee’s perspective.
To have ample opportunities, employees tend to accept multiple job offers, only to choose the organization that offers higher pay and benefits when compared to the others. While this may benefit the employee, it puts employers in a difficult situation because a significant amount of time and resources is dedicated to acquiring, hiring, and recruiting candidates.
So how can employees handle this in a better way? By doing the following:
1. Understanding the job role
They should take the time to understand what the job entails and also ensure that it matches their career interests. If they have more than one offer, weighing the pros and cons before making an informed decision makes sense.
2. Looking out for telltale signs
Is the potential employer carefully listening to their questions and coherently answering them? Are they enthusiastic about a new employee joining their organization? These are some pretty good indicators with which to gauge a future employer.
3. Not focusing only on remuneration
It is good, to be honest, and to be prepared to talk about the remuneration and ask for what the employee believes is good enough for the job role. Along with the salary, the deciding factors include the company culture, the exposure one gets as well as the network the potential employee would get to build.
4. Being forthright
It is essential to be upfront about having other offers from companies. Accepting an offer and then retracting from it after being offered a better one is not only unfavorable but also harms the candidate’s credibility and reputation.
While job-applicants can follow the above practices, employers, too, can make improvements in their way.
According to a 2018 survey by TalentNow, the top-performing candidates are available for hire for only up to ten days after the interview.
A recruitment statistics report by CEB claims that each vacancy costs companies an average of $500 per day. Therefore, organizations should prioritize filling up vacant job positions because it costs money and decreases work productivity.
Finally, it is equally vital for an employee to realize that their actions have consequences. The question the prospective hire should be asking is, “Do I want to burn bridges in my industry?”
The answer is no. No professional in the world wants to eliminate the chances of having a future association with a potential employer.
Could blockchain help a company’s HR function?
Absolutely! According to CareerBuilder, 58% of employers have caught a lie on a resume. Skills, employment dates, academic degrees, anything that can give professionals an advantage have been found fabricated.
What if we told you that the blockchain technology could verify academic and professional credentials, public records, and workforce development – after taking proper consent, of course.
Imagine a verified version of LinkedIn available online – without the lies and garnishing rampant today! Professionals can get their profiles verified by both the company and peers on SpringRole. All verifications are written to the blockchain and show up as confirmed online.
This means, once the candidate accepts an offer, the acceptance is secured on the blockchain, leveraging its immutability. The goal being, every company can keep a track of candidates who accepted their job offer letters. If for any reason the applicant ditched the offer letter, they can mark them as “habitual offenders”.
When that information is made available, the employers can plan their recruitment process accordingly and invest time and resources on those potential candidates that have a higher chance of joining them.
What are your thoughts on using the blockchain for tackling the problems that notice periods pose? Tell us in the comments below.
