Post appointment phase
If you are doing this yourselves, you will now want to make an offer. Ideally by this stage you will have already dealt with push and pull factors, eliminated blockers to the candidate accepting, and be in a position to close the deal. With the chief executive role, you will have already articulated a salary level. It is unwise to ‘low-ball’ the offer, though many organisations do. It can cause ill will and lead to the candidate rejecting the offer. Be clear not just about the salary but also the wider package details – flexibility, annual leave, pension, all these can be more important to candidates than you think and give you more room to adapt in different directions. Look to create a total package that works best for both sides. If the role is unremunerated (as it usually is with chair or trustee roles), you will have already tested conflicts of interest and the capacity your preferred candidate has to take on the time commitment. Reiterate these.
Do not stand other candidates down until you have secured your preferred candidates. As this can sometimes take a couple of days, ensure you have managed everyone’s expectations by telling them at the final interview stage when they can expect to hear from you, allowing yourself a little extra time than you might in fact need.
You will want to provide as much feedback as possible to unsuccessful candidates at this stage. They have invested a great deal of time and effort in your organisation. Personalising this is important. If you are working with a partner, get them to make the offer and broker the deal. Asking them to stand unsuccessful candidates down and deliver the feedback is also sensible. Feedback should be as honest and developmental as possible in order for unsuccessful candidates to benefit, so it’s important to articulate reasons. It can be genuinely helpful, if painful, for a candidate to hear that they were too generic, or talked too much, or didn’t give enough specifics in their examples, or sounded defensive on a particular topic. It’s also important to start any feedback by thanking the candidate for the time and effort they have given the process.
