The first day of a new placement and why recruiters should care

2 days ago
3 min read

Introduction

An offer is accepted and the recruiter moves on. The fee is earned, the role is closed, and attention shifts to the next vacancy. Then two weeks later the candidate resigns, or never turns up at all, or the client rings to say it is not working out.

Early attrition is the most expensive thing that happens in recruitment. The fee is at risk, the client relationship takes the damage, and the work has to be done twice. Almost all of it is decided in the period between offer and the end of week one, which is exactly the period most recruiters step away from. That is the whole opportunity.

1. The first day of a new placement is the end of your process, not the middle of theirs

The riskiest fortnight is the one after the paperwork. Stay involved through it.

Offer acceptance is not the finish line

A signed offer is a statement of intent, not a commitment. Counter-offers, cold feet and competing processes all happen in the notice period. Assume all three are in play.

Stay in contact through the notice period

A call each week. Candidates who feel connected to somebody are far less likely to be talked out of moving. Ten minutes each time.

2. Manage the counter-offer before it happens

It is predictable, so prepare for it. Most good candidates receive one.

Raise it in advance

Ask what they will do if their employer improves the offer. Having answered that question once, calmly, a candidate is far more resistant when it actually arrives.

Remind them why they were looking

Money is rarely the real reason. Write down their reasons at the start. The original motivation is what a counter-offer cannot address, and it is easy to forget in an emotional conversation.

3. Make sure the client prepares properly

Poor onboarding causes more early exits than poor hiring. Push the client on it.

Check the basics are ready

Equipment, access, a desk, a first-day contact, someone expecting them. A candidate sitting in reception for twenty minutes is a bad omen and it happens constantly.

Ask for a structured first week

An induction, an introduction to the team, a clear task. New starters who are left alone with nothing to do begin doubting the decision immediately.

4. Contact both sides in the first week

Two short calls prevent most problems.

Ring the candidate on day one or two

Ask how it is going, whether anything is unclear, whether it matches what was described. Small problems are easy to fix in week one.

Ring the client in the same week

Ask whether the person is what they expected. Any concern is far more solvable now than at the end of a probation period.

5. Keep going through the guarantee period

The risk does not end on day one.

Check in at one month and three months

Both sides, briefly. It protects the fee and it is also when the next vacancy tends to surface.

Ask for the referral once it has settled

A happy candidate knows other candidates and a satisfied client has colleagues. Ask when it is clearly working, not before.

Conclusion

Early attrition is recruitment's most expensive failure, and it is decided between offer and the end of week one — the exact period most recruiters step back from. Treat a signed offer as a statement of intent, stay in weekly contact through the notice period, and raise the counter-offer question in advance so it has already been answered calmly once.

Check the client is genuinely ready with equipment, access and somebody expecting the new starter, and ask for a structured first week. Ring the candidate on day one or two and the client in the same week, because small problems are trivially fixable then. Then check in at one month and three, and ask for referrals once it has clearly settled.