Should You Risk Losing a Candidate Over a Non-Compete?
The market is tough and positioning is the best way to ensure that your company does better than the competition. You want to ensure that competition doesn’t have insider information about your company, and you think that having your hires sign a non-compete agreement is probably a good step to making sure that your brand stays very relevant and competitive in today’s world, but what if that non-compete agreement is actually working against you?
Your Opportunity Might No Longer Be Attractive
A non-compete agreement, particularly in roles in the sales sector of your business, could actually turn off the best candidates. Qualified sales candidates are scarce, and attracting the best, most experienced candidates to your opening is a high priority. Non-solicit agreements are more palatable to future hires because, while they bind the hire to not approaching your clients, they don’t bind your hire from working for your competition. An experienced sales hire won’t want to wall himself off from being able to move inside the same sector, as that can feel like wasted experience if they don’t get to utilize it. The less restrictive non-solicit can still accomplish your aim of not losing your clients, while not making your new hire feel like their hands are tied.
Your Candidate Might Want to Offset the Risk
If the candidate decides to take the offer and sign the non-compete, they realize that they’re now investing time in a sector that they will have to leave if they move forward. That’s a lot of risk. That means they would need to be able to pad the coffers in case they have to switch tracks at a later date. For you, this means a sign-on bonus.
In today’s job market, highly skilled candidates call the shots. And employers need to sell themselves to attract top talent. But if candidates aren’t accepting your company’s job offers, you shouldn’t just blame the job market.
Instead, you should evaluate your current recruiting process. Chances are, you can make small changes that have a big impact on your ability to hire and retain top candidates.
If you’re thinking through the ways to attract the best and brightest to your organization, Artemis Consultants’ team of specialized professionals can walk you through current market trends and today’s hiring peaks and valleys to help you have an in-depth picture of ways to reach the best talent. Contact us for more information.
