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Extra Vacation for Candidate
Recruiting & Staffing
Extra Vacation for Candidate
Exchange ideas about sourcing, screening, interviewing, finding passive candidates, measuring your results, and more.
We are filling a difficult position and found a candidate that we like. We offer 3 weeks vacation but he wants an additional 5 days. I don't really want to set this precedent but don't want to lose th
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Forums » Topic Forums » Recruiting & Staffing » Extra Vacation for Candidate
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Extra Vacation for Candidate
posted at 6/24/2010 7:13 AM EDT
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Posts: 9
First: 9/13/2006 Last: 2/22/2011 |
You might also want to consider if the it is the time or is it the money that goes with it that is the most important part of this candidate's negotiation - if they want the time, see how important it is by offering the extra week off as a one time only unpaid time off. That way you are not breaking with past vacation practice yet still accomodating the potential new hire. |
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Extra Vacation for Candidate
posted at 6/24/2010 7:38 AM EDT
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Posts: 32
First: 7/29/2003 Last: 7/22/2010 |
I disagree with most of the posts above. Sooner or later (and the smart money is betting on "sooner"), other employees in the same work group/department/team are going to ask "Can I have another week of vacation too? Why not?" This situation is a classic example of letting the camel's nose into the tent. |
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Extra Vacation for Candidate
posted at 6/24/2010 10:52 AM EDT
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Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002 Last: 9/14/2011 |
ewilliams4, the ability to answer the question "Why not?" to the asking employee's satisfaction is Management 101, a level that most of us passed long ago.
I do agree with you to the extent that if you CAN'T answer the question to the asking employee's satisfaction, you need to learn that satisfactory answer before you start granting extra vacation time to only some people. |
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Extra Vacation for Candidate
posted at 6/24/2010 11:45 AM EDT
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Posts: 3
First: 3/20/2007 Last: 6/24/2010 |
I work in a high-tech industry and 3 weeks is standard for engineers, management positions, etc., but if we grant additional days off to clinch the deal, we make it clear in their offer letter that this is an exception to our policy and is a special dispensation, as it were... |
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Extra Vacation for Candidate
posted at 6/24/2010 11:59 AM EDT
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Posts: 4
First: 1/12/2010 Last: 2/4/2011 |
Make the extra weeks vacation a sign-on bonus. Put it in the Offer Letter as "sign-on bonus" and make sure you mention that policy only grants 3 weeks and that this is for this one time use.
" Your sign-on bonus consists of 1 extra week of vacation, while company policy only allows 3 weeks, this will be a one time bonus." Hope that helps...Michael |
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Extra Vacation for Candidate
posted at 6/25/2010 3:15 AM EDT
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Posts: 32
First: 7/29/2003 Last: 7/22/2010 |
A counterpoint (partly to "hrbth"): Consider the following possibility (which I have seen): Granting the extra vacation to employee X produces benefit X1 (X joins the company, works harder, etc.). Demotivation of fellow employees Ya, Yb, Yc, etc. produces ill effects Y1, Y2, Y3, etc. X1 may be greater than any one of Y1, Y2, Y3, etc., yet far less than the "sum" of demotivation negatives. Also, "management 101" contains enough legal cautions to make me very leery of an examination on the witness stand where I try to explain to the jury "No, X just joined the company and has less seniority than the plaintiff, but we did grant him/her more vacation time per year because...." |
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Extra Vacation for Candidate
posted at 6/25/2010 7:54 AM EDT
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Posts: 32
First: 7/29/2003 Last: 7/22/2010 |
"deltac," you make a very good point. A competent manager will be aware of how the Ys (in my notation) will react to the new potential hire. Yet, when (not "if") the Ys later learn that X got extra vacation, they will likely ask for it too, and form the unfortunate opinion "What counts around here is being a hard-nosed negotiator and consummate office politician -- doing good work is of minor importance." |
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