While informing prospects that they have not been chosen for the job is difficult, it gets even more difficult when the person you are declining already works for your organization.
Most managers attempt to avoid doing this. It’s much harder when the candidate is a key team player. Here are four main ways how to reject an internal candidate.
- Avoid using emails
We can all agree that the convenience and speed with which email makes communication possible is worth its potential drawbacks. However, this is not the appropriate method when conveying terrible news to your employee.
Despite your busy schedule, you must meet face-to-face to discuss the final decision. In situations like these, how you speak, the expressions on your face, and how you carry yourself can collectively have a significant and beneficial effect on how the employee reacts to the outcome. It also says a lot about you that you’re willing to take time out of your day to talk to me about this topic in the first place.
- Make sure that the justifications for your choice are very clear.
It would help if you had a firm grasp of your choice and its motivations. The advantage of an internal transfer over an external candidate is that the individual has already been determined to be a good fit for the company’s culture. This means that the reasons they were not selected for the position are most likely related to their lack of experience or the experience they do have. As a result, you are in a better position to provide them with sincere and direct feedback, which will make sense to them and eventually assist them in improving.
For instance, if the applicant lacked an essential ability required for the position, you should describe exactly that competence. Please explain why you feel that another applicant would be a better fit. Whatever you do, don’t just abandon the individual without providing any explanation.
- Inquire about their career objectives
When an employee applies for a move inside the company, they could have their motivations all wrong. They’ve reached a point of stagnation with their present squad and are seeking something fresh to try. Therefore, the job they have applied for could not be in accordance with their professional goals and objectives.
Having an honest dialogue about their professional aspirations might be of great assistance. What is the one title that they want they could hold one day? Who are some of the professionals they look up to? What aspect of the organization or work do they feel most passionate about? By gaining an understanding of these aspirations, you will be able to recommend ways in which they can build on these abilities and desires in their current role (and thus encourage them to remain with the company for a longer period) and pursue future roles that more closely align with these goals.
- Always remember to check-in.
After everything has been said and done, you still need to follow up with the individual after a few days or weeks have passed. Make an offer to buy someone lunch, suggest going out for coffee, or set up a quick meeting. When you check in with your employees, you give them the impression that they are valued and heard, which fosters a long-lasting affection for and commitment to your firm.
Wrapping up
Give your employee a sense of ownership over the company’s future by outlining your vision for its development and how they may help bring it to fruition. As an added measure, a strategy should be developed to position them for success in such a position if and when it becomes available. They can get more enthusiastic about such opportunities than the job itself.