5 Offer Letter Mistakes You Need To Avoid Making Right Now

When you are done with all the interview formalities, imagine messing up the very first step you take right after you thought you have recruited an ideal employee for your organization. What impression would it make on the prospective candidate? What if he/ she says no to the offer? What could be the possible outcomes of making these mistakes? Yes, all these questions right in the beginning only because you forgot to double-check the information mentioned on an offer letter before issuing it. There are several steps you can follow or probably create a checklist to avoid making little blunders like these. 

To help yourselves find the right employee, let us walk through 5 major mistakes that you should steer clear of when drafting and releasing an offer letter:

Do Not Forget Any of the Job Details

An offer letter is all about presenting job particulars to the selected candidates so that they can decide on whether to join a company or not. Now, if you forget to mention any important detail, chances are you may get into trouble after the offer is accepted. The primary essentials of an offer letter that you need to include are:

• Name of the Candidate and Position Offered
• Significant Dates, Timings, and Locations
• Salary Package Offered
• Company Policies and Procedures
• Benefits and Compensation

Refrain From Technical/ Grammatical Errors

Many employers just take paperwork too lightly and complete the document issuing task as a formality. This is the reason why in a hurry, they make silly grammatical and other mistakes in the letter. As soon as you download an appointment letter or offer letter format, make sure you just don’t forward it right away! Take out time to proofread the document and edit the information wherever required before releasing the same. Besides, checking the flow of content, usage of formal tonality and grammar is also a must!

Steer Clear of Vague Legal Statements 

Many a time, HR professionals are carried away by the excitement of onboarding an employee and unknowingly end up making vague/ improper legal commitments. There are several cases where an offer letter states controversial statements that are unintended and just indicate that the source did not have clarity on the usage of the legal terms. Now, a lot of care and cautiousness is required when mentioning anything that could take a serious turn and might be used by the candidates to their advantage.

Highlight the At-Will Employment Point

Keeping in mind the basic elements of an offer letter, do not forget about the most important point to be given - The At-Will Employment. It is the power an employer has over the employees to terminate their employment at any point without giving a former notice/ warning as long as the reason is not illegal. It is necessary to make the candidates aware of this condition before they join hands with you.

Take Care of the Time to Issue Offer Letter

In the end, once you are done with double-checking the letter particulars, make sure you only issue it at the right time. When is this right time? It is when the HOD, HR Head and other concerned senior professionals give a green signal to the candidate! Do not rush into hitting the send button.