As the job market grapples with the effects of The Great Resignation, there has been another, equally significant development: The Great Reneging. Picture this; as the university recruiting manager, you advertise internship positions, receive hundreds of applications, sort them, and invite promising candidates for interviews. After several rounds, you settle on a few candidates whom you find to be the perfect fit for your company. A few days before their first day at work, you receive an email that some candidates will not be joining your company. Gut-wrenching, isn't it?
Reneging is becoming a common phenomenon, and it's costing companies money. Loads of it. A study by SHRM estimates the cost of hiring to be approximately $4,700 per person. This means a company may lose at least $4,700, or much more, for every hire that reneges. In this article, find out why interns renege and how you can reduce this occurrence.
What are intern reneges?
Intern reneges is a situation where a candidate initially accepts your company’s internship offer or an alumni intern accepts a full-time offer, but turns it down later. Reneging is a university recruiting manager's worst nightmare, as it makes a company fall short of interns that were potentially going to become full-time hires. In the end, reneging forces companies to go out and recruit all over again.
Why do interns renege offers?
Knowing the reasons interns renege offers can enable you to find solutions to the problem. Here are some common reasons your best internship candidate may turn around and renege on your offer:
- Received a better offer
Competition for talent in the job market is stiff. When you’ve offered an intern position to someone or a FTE offer to an alumni intern, they may still continue with their job search as they wait to report to your company. If they receive better offers from other companies, such as flexible working hours or a better pay, they may easily renege on your offer. According to a recent RippleMatch report titled “The State of the Gen Z Job Search” - the top reason for reneging was that another opportunity was better aligned with their career goals, followed by higher pay.
- Missing loyalty to the company
When interns don’t feel loyal to your company, they may renege on your offer. Gen Zers are highly selective about who they want to work for during their internships and full-time employment. Building a compelling employer brand that resonates with this generation is essential not only to attract talent, but to ensure internship candidates follow through and actually join your company.
- No engagement between the company and the intern
When you settle on internship candidates and full-time candidates for your company, it’s essential to keep them engaged. Failure to keep in touch may cause them to lose interest in your program. Additionally, other companies may be engaging with them.
Engaging interns who have been offered internships and alumni interns who have been offered FTEs may entail simple activities, like sharing information about upcoming company events or connecting them with other interns from their cohort or alumni interns from the company, on platforms such as Symba. Don’t let distance and time cause your company to lose out on future talent.
- Not enough time for candidates to accept the offer
Accepting a job offer may seem like an obvious decision, but it’s not. This is especially true with Gen Zers, who are keen to work for a company that aligns with their values.
When you set the offer acceptance deadline too soon for your internship or FTE roles, candidates may not have time to think through and make the right decision. While some may readily accept and sign on the dotted line, others may feel rushed and renege.
The impact of reneges
How do reneges impact employers?
According to RippleMatch's report “2021-22 The State of the Gen Z Job Search”, 1 out of 5 interns renege on an offer. Imagine your recruiting team devoted time, effort, and money into finding the perfect candidate for your early talent program. Then, a few weeks before the start of the internship program, an intern reneges. Along with losing that candidate, your organization lost valuable efforts and resources. Reneges could also reduce recruitment team morale and cost important bandwidth.
6 ways to reduce intern / alumni intern reneges
- Keep interns updated
Keeping your prospective interns and full-time employees updated is a terrific way to reduce reneges. Send emails or even text messages informing them of various developments to keep the conversation going. You can share company newsletters, company events, or any information that amplifies your company’s brand.
Leverage tools such as Symba where your interns and alumni interns can connect, collaborate, and get consistent feedback. By keeping alumni on the platform, you can encourage interactions and even mentoring between alumni and current interns. Program participants who regularly hear from the company may already feel part of the team and are less likely to back out.
- Allow adequate time for prospects to consider an offer
Give interns enough time to accept their internship offers and FTE offers so they are able to make an informed decision after comparing all the offers they may have. They might want to take a harder look at the benefits, or consider the logistics of moving to a new place by the start date.
- Create a personal connection with your interns
Find out about your interns' values, goals, background, and interests to know them on a personal level. If you invest effort in understanding your interns, they are more likely to be eager to join your team and get to work.
For example, you can create online groups (LinkedIn groups or leverage Symba’s Community tab) to engage them, or organize virtual interactive events with the entire cohort of students who have accepted offers.
- Allow for flexible work arrangements
Gen Zers are interested in hybrid work opportunities with the option to go into the office once or twice a week. To appeal to and retain the early career talent of today, your company should refrain from making entry-level roles strictly in-person positions.
- Assess their job skills and career paths
Use the interviewing process to assess an intern's job skills to determine where they would be most useful in your team and where they would be able to develop their skills further. When pitching your offer to interns, take time to understand their career aspirations to ensure you'll be a suitable long-term match for them. Also, provide professional development opportunities to help interns envision a future with your organization.
- Put your best offer forward
Since there are multiple factors that interns consider while accepting an internship or FTE offer, you should make sure you lead with the most attractive offer letters that your company can afford. To secure top talent, your offer needs to be attractive not only in terms of pay, but also in terms of work culture, alignment with career goals, internship/ job format flexibility (remote, hybrid or in-person) and more!
Struggling with reneges and want to prevent them? Get Symba's 'Keep Warm Strategy' Checklist to keep your alumni interns engaged up until their FTE start dates. The checklist contains ideas for communication, swag, events, and more!
Reduce your renege rates with Symba
Symba provides an easy way to engage with intern alumni and keep them warm in your talent pipeline until their FTE start dates! You can also upload intern users before their start dates to keep them updated and engaged, and they can leverage our Community and Engagement features to get to know each other. Get in touch with Symba today to reduce reneges and increase intern engagement.
