Stanford
Manager Toolkit

Offer & Conversion

A seamless and efficient interview and selection process takes planning, but it’s imperative in providing an exceptional candidate experience that is as free from biases as possible.

NOTICE: This webpage has resources and information for all groups at Stanford. For Inclusive Talent Acquisition (ITA) program resources and information for recruitment and hiring, please visit the "Inclusive recruitment resources" webpage on Cardinal at Work. 

Salary Setting

Factors to consider when determining salary offers:

EXTERNAL NEW HIRES INTERNAL NEW HIRES BARGAINING UNIT HIRES
  • Market pay range for the role to be filled
  • Candidate’s knowledge, skills, and experience related to the new role
  • Complexity, impact, and criticality of the new role
  • Pay relative to quartiles in salary range
  • Internal equity – how pay compares to peers with comparable skills and experience in the same role
  • Manager/subordinate pay – how candidate’s pay would compare to manager
  • Sign-on bonus may be considered for a new hire in unique situations
  • Market pay range for the role to be filled
  • Candidate’s knowledge, skills, and experience related to the new role
  • Complexity, impact, and criticality of the new role
  • Pay relative to quartiles in salary range
  • Internal equity – how pay compares to peers with comparable skills and experience in the same role
  • Candidate's performance in current role
  • Manager/subordinate pay – how candidate’s pay would compare to manager

If you are hiring a staff member into a bargaining unit job, base pay information is located in the contractual agreements between Stanford and the unions.

For more information about compensation and setting base pay, view the Administrative Guide Memo 2.1.5 and our Staff Compensation webpages.

Offer Letters 

Offer letters are accessible by HR professionals. Work with your local HR to form the offer letter and decide on the process (e.g., who’s the main point of communication and for what). If you have not yet sent the Benefits Highlights Flyer, now is a great time to do so.

HR members can visit the HRM Toolkit to find and customize offer letters.

Negotiations

It’s safe to expect a candidate will negotiate the offer. Here are some tips to consider:

  • Don’t just talk about the salary. Instead, talk about the total compensation package (review benefits flyer for more information)
  • Personalize the conversation. Throughout the interview journey, you should have an idea of what’s important to the candidate. If it’s career advancement, talk about our training programs, STAP, and people you know who have successfully advanced their Stanford careers. Also, talk about your journey and why you continue to enjoy working at Stanford.
  • Ask questions such as “What part of the total compensation package is most important to you?”; or if they have already declined the offer, “What specific change in the package would make you accept the offer?” or “What could we offer you that would make you change your mind?"

  • Encourage candidates to think about the compelling work, upward mobility, or even the perks of going to campus events and being part of the Stanford community.

Background Checks

A background check (secure authentication) is required after the final candidate has accepted the contingent offer. You cannot enter a candidate into Stanford's employment system until a background check is successfully completed. Continue to work with your local HR Team to launch the background check.

Disposition Candidates

Once the final candidate has accepted the offer, complete the applicant tracking system's mandated candidate disposition data. For more information, go to our section on Taleo Applicant Tracking System. It's courteous for people who weren't selected that you interviewed to give them a phone call or personalized email versus a canned response.

Stay Connected

You’ve spent lots of time and resources on finding the right candidate for the job, so stay connected to make sure the candidate feels they made a great decision. Here are some ideas on how to create a plan to stay connected until their start date:

  • Send them an email weekly to check-in, answer any questions and share any relevant news from the department or team.
  • Assign one week to each person on your team or hiring committee to send a congratulatory email and get them excited about starting at Stanford.
  • Invite them to review our Staff Groups and let them know they can sign up for any that interest them once their Stanford email is created.

  • Send them the Stanford events calendar to get them engaged in the community and invite them to sign up for the Stanford Report.