Interactive Offer Letter - OffrWise

[hdelaluz14]

Hey all,

Tl:dr - its a SaaS that allows you to fill in the details for a candidate and it will generate an "interactive offer letter" link that is unique to them. Its called OffrWise.

The problem its solving is that a lot of prospective candidates get all of this information dumped on them throughout the interview process, and in a world where people are juggling multiple job offers, it helps to present your offer (and company details) in a nice, concise, user-friendly way. It also saves HR/People teams a lot of time as they don't need to draft a new PDF offer every time, or spend time answering questions about how equity works, or company benefits, etc. The bottom of the page has a button to bring the user to a virtual signature link, if applicable.

Whipped this quick prototype/MVP together after a couple of prospective clients mentioned that they had seen it as a small part of existing tools but never as a standalone tool.

Here's the Figma link, and if you go through and hit "Generate", it will bring you to the sample app.

Future things that have been requested/asked about:

- Explanations of how equity works

- Integrations with AITS

My main reason for posting is because I want to know if this is something that:

1. As a candidate, would you like to receive this? Are you more likely to sign an offer coming to you like this, all else being equal?
2. If you're in a position to hire others, would you pay for this? This brings me to the next question...
3. I still haven't figured out a pricing strategy yet. Some options we've considered:
   1. $5/offer letter
   2. Pay $10/mo for unlimited offer letters
   3. $5/mo for 5 letters per month, $10/mo for 10 letters per month, etc...
   4. Buy "packs" of letters, e.g. $20/5 offer letters.
   5. Free, but premium features (e.g. equity, custom branding on the letter, etc...) require subscribing for $5/month
      1. This is the one we dislike the most.

Roast away!

 

[tajeff]

@hdelaluz14

1. As a candidate, I like this. It's a nice layout and gamifies the offer letter more. I think a good study would be to run a survey or generate insight on how this might affect conversion. That would be a good selling point.
2. This one I'm not as sure about. In a market that is contracting, how does this added cost help? Drafting a new PDF generally isn't that much more work than this form. Usually offer letters are templates that replace 2-3 main words or sentences (start date, name, compensation, etc.) - just like your initial form. Then there's the question of where this is hosted. If this is on-prem or needs to be deployed by the firm, that's more costs and maintenance. If it is hosted by you, there may be issues about confidentiality and legal. Those hurdles might make the case for adoption even harder.

Overall, it's a cool visual. A nice treat for the candidate. But I'm struggling to see a firm see a large ROI from the investment of time and money they need to implement this.

I think the platform needs more vertical integration to be stickier: integration into workday or job application software, integration or feature expansion into the actual candidate interview process, and/or integration with DocuSign, HireView or other post-hiring services. In other words, this feels like a small feature of what should be a more holistic product.

 

[tajeff]

Another thing I'll call out is: in a world where 99% of employers will use the standard route, will this stick out and be remembered, or will candidates miss this somehow and actually not see the offer? If there is no attachment in the email, will candidates misinterpret the email? Is there going to be a hurdle in education to both sides of your users? Something to think about if I was in the position to try or buy this platform.

 

[hdelaluz14]

@tajeff Thanks so much for the feedback! Let me respond to all of it here:

In a market that is contracting, how does this added cost help?

100% fair - given the low cost, I think its not unreasonable to simply see it as part of the cost of drafting an offer. I'm trying to position it as: If you could spend $1 extra but feel more confident in the candidate accepting the offer, would you do it? I've asked around, and am seeing a general "yes, why not?"

Drafting a new PDF generally isn't that much more work than this form. Usually offer letters are templates that replace 2-3 main words or sentences (start date, name, compensation, etc.) - just like your initial form.

Again, totally fair, but is a PDF dynamic? Can you edit the offer the candidate has in front of them without having to send a new document? Does a PDF explain not only the what but how? I think these are the key selling points here.

Then there's the question of where this is hosted [...] If it is hosted by you, there may be issues about confidentiality and legal.

Definitely hosted by us - I think the key thing here is that this isn't meant to be a formal, legally binding document. Its just an accompanying visual tool. You'll notice the "Sign" button at the bottom - that's where users will go for the "legally binding" portion of this. We intend to add language and consult with a lawyer to make sure we're covered here.

Another thing I'll call out is: in a world where 99% of employers will use the standard route, will this stick out and be remembered, or will candidates miss this somehow and actually not see the offer? If there is no attachment in the email, will candidates misinterpret the email? Is there going to be a hurdle in education to both sides of your users? Something to think about if I was in the position to try or buy this platform.

Excellent call out - I think we'll work on some "standard verbiage" (or maybe even a "Send to candidate" button in the UI) to make sure its exceedingly clear to the candidate that they have an offer.

 

[tajeff]

@hdelaluz14 I like your responses to the concerns. I am trying to play devils advocate in some ways, in order to really stress test the idea. I think you are onto something with this. If I were in your shoes I would work hard to
quantify the claims. The more you can convert statements like "a candidate is more likely to accept..." into "a candidate is 5x more likely to accept..." the more likelihood you have to make the pitch stick. As a business owner, if I can say, for the $1-5 investment I'm making in the offer I'm seeing my acceptance rate go up by X% the more I can see tangible value beyond the pretty UX/UI. Get a customer(s) fast so that you can make these claims!

Also, have you thought about maybe creating a college facing version? Education market is ripe for this and the best part is it's an annual, "never going away" market no matter what happens with the job market. Plus, it may be an easier "in" if you are an alumni or student of an existing school. Good luck!

 

[hdelaluz14]

@tajeff Love this feedback and idea, thank you!

 

[brucee]

@hdelaluz14 I think it can work but you'll have to sell it the hard way in the beginning. At some point it may become popular and preferred, but nobody is looking for this solution imo - if you want to disrupt something with a new way, you'll have to go after your target market head on. That's my opinion anyway.