Offering
Solutions to Candidates in Today’s Housing
Market
(By Dan Simmons)
In last month’s issue, we tackled the subject of the sagging
housing market and how it’s affecting your ability to recruit top
talent. We discussed the many challenges that candidates are
facing and how those challenges are affecting the decisions they
make when it comes to accepting offers . . . or turning them
down.
In this issue, we’re
going to look at some of the solutions you can offer these
candidates. By offering practical, concrete solutions to their
relocation problems and challenges, you’ll set yourself apart from
your competition and increase the likelihood that your offer is the
one that they ultimately accept.
The assessment
Before
you offer solutions, however, the first thing you must do is
accurately assess the situation. There are two reasons for
this. First, no two situations are exactly the same, even
though the circumstances might seem similar. Second, by
assessing the situation to the best of your ability, the solutions
you offer will be targeted solutions, meaning they
will more effectively address the challenges a candidate is
experiencing at a particular moment in time.
During the screening
process, you should already be asking the candidate a series of
detailed questions, some of which involve the topic of
relocation. If you’re not already doing so, be sure to include
additional questions about the housing market. Not just
surface-level questions, though. You’ll have to step it up and
pose the hard-to-ask, nitty-gritty questions that will help reveal
possible conditions and objections. Some questions you should
ask include the following:
- Have you talked to a realtor about the state of the housing
market in your area and the estimated length of time it might take
to sell your house?
- Would your inability to sell your house affect your decision
to relocate?
- If you aren’t able to sell your house, would you consider
renting it out?
- Are there any other factors that would affect or influence
your decision to relocate?
- Is there any other information that you believe would be
pertinent?
Of course, if you’ve
enlisted the services of an executive recruiter for the purposes of
conducting the search, they would handle this line of
questioning.
The solutions
Okay, now
that you’ve assessed the situation, what solutions do you have from
which to choose? Fortunately, there are many, but depending
upon the resources and flexibility you have at your disposal, not
all of them might be viable options. The key is to identify
which ones are a fit for your company, select which of those will
best address the challenges of the candidate, and then present
them.
However, as the saying
goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and in today’s housing
market, creative solutions are invented on a consistent basis.
It would be a good idea to brainstorm with your team for additional
ideas, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want
somebody who will act as a sounding board. Below is a starter
list of solutions.
- Candidates renting out their house.
This is something that should definitely be considered on a
case-by-case basis. Sometimes it’s a feasible solution, but
other times it doesn’t make sense for the candidate.
- Signing bonuses that cover the expected loss on a real
estate sale. Once again, you can ascertain that
loss by asking detailed questions at the beginning of the process.
- Bridge loans. This is a short-term loan
intended to provide or extend financing until a more permanent
arrangement is made.
- Companies actually buying the candidate’s
house. As the housing market continues to tighten,
this is becoming more and more of a viable solution for companies.
- Allowing employees to work from home, at least on a
temporary basis. Of course, the type of work being
done and the distance involved are factors to consider, but this
could provide a workable solution.
- Extending temporary housing allowances.
Many companies provide funds for 90 days of temporary
housing. Extending this timeframe to 120 or 180 days might
be easier than offering a bridge loan or buying a house.
- Using a contractor to fill the
position. Once again, this can serve as a
temporary, stop-gap measure until the proper perm candidate is
found. (Of course, if the contractor works out, you can
always hire them a permanent basis, as well.)
- Know your housing market inside and
out. What are houses selling for in your market
area? You’ll want to know so that you can educate candidates
during their decision-making process. For example, they
could sell their house at a loss in California and still buy a
larger house in a smaller market somewhere else.
- Using a relocation coaching service, or using a
recruiter who’s affiliated with one. This is more
of a supplemental solution. In other words, this should be
done in addition to the main solutions you and the candidate have
chosen.
And here’s a bonus solution, one that you
wouldn’t present but might still solve your hiring problem.
Re-level the position and run the search locally. If you find
a strong candidate, place this person with an experienced mentor and
in a training program. Perhaps this candidate will be able to
grow into what the position was initially supposed to entail.
This could prove to be the best solution in the long run.
A peek at 2008
Through
undertaking this two-step process, first assessing the situation and
then offering targeted solutions, you can greatly reduce the effect
that the housing market has on your efforts to recruit top
talent. By many estimates (if not the majority of them), the
market is going to worsen in 2008 before it rebounds on the road to
recovery. If that happens, stability may not return until the
second half of next year—at the earliest.
Can you weather another year of possibly losing top-notch
candidates? The challenges that these candidates are facing
will become more numerous and in some cases, more severe. Are
you prepared to help them meet those challenges? Have you
identified which possible solutions are viable ones for your company
to offer? It’s time to put together a formal plan to address
these issues. If you have any questions about this topic,
please give me a call at (410-529-7000).
(The end of the year is always a good time for reflection
and introspection. That’s why in next month’s issue, we’re
going to publish the best articles from our newsletter during the
first 18 months of its existence. If you’d like to nominate an
article or articles for inclusion in this special issue, please send
us an email. As we move forward into a new year, we want to
know which articles have had the most impact and provided the most
value.)
