Business Ghosting and Bad Etiquette
What is ghosting? Well, it all started out in the on-line dating era and has managed to spill over into the business world. You meet, you part, and you never hear from them again.
No matter how much you follow-up and email, or call, you aren’t getting a response. You’ve been ‘ghosted’ and I’m sure it’s probably not the first time.
It’s the digital age and there is absolutely zero excuse for vanishing acts. Especially when we are all connected to our devices 24/7.
And yet, you still hear about it all the time – recruiters ghost candidates, people don’t show on the first day of work, procurement never follows-up on a RFP event.
And now, even coworkers ghost each other when they feel the need. Taking a convenient escape route is becoming the norm. No longer is it a career-ending action.
Ghosting isn’t just a bad dating habit anymore, and it’s becoming (IMO) one of the most damaging trends in professional culture.
A Business Ghosting Story
To be clear, there has always been ghosting in business (bad business to be specific).
But it sure was a lot harder to dodge a question when you can just pop in someone’s office for an awkward exchange. Those were the days!
That said, deals have always fallen apart due to changes in strategy or budgets and category managers have accidentally forgotten to email suppliers who didn’t win the business.
Even job recruiters haven’t always responded in kind to all their applicants. So, what has really changed?
Well put simply, it is how often it’s happening and how acceptable it’s become. And it’s exhausting. For everyone.
This new digital / remote working world makes it ridiculously easy to hide in the dark.
What use to be the completely rude (they never replied to my email – gasp!) has now become the norm.
I know I’m getting old, but business etiquette did have some benefits for all involved.
Ghosting Criminals – The Worst Repeat Offenders
The Vanishing Candidate
Vanishing Candidate
They go through the interview, accept the job, go through on-boarding, and then don’t show up on the first day. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of work just to be a no-show … and I will never understand it.
The RFP Rouge
The RFP Rouge
They request you to send a reply to 100 excel questions, get on multiple phone calls, expect a 100 page power-point presentation and for you to show up onsight to present your ideas. So to ghost a supplier after they’ve jumped through all these hoops, is the definition of bad business. Just don’t do it.
The Reckless Recruiter
Reckless Recruiter
You spend time and effort taking someone through the process just to ghost them at the end? Maybe they just take too long to respond to your emails (or never at all). Just used a canned template saying you are going another direction and move on. Keeping someone waiting is painful in this job market.
The Company Karen
The Company Karen
She never answers your emails. And I mean NEVER. But if Karen emails you, she definitely expects a reply to hers in a few hours. And if you don’t, you can be sure she will escalate to your boss, VP and even the CEO. She’s the worst of the ghosting offenders because as often as she does it to you, she refuses to put up with it in return.
Fighting Ghosting Culture
I’d be remiss not to give a little bit of guidance in fighting the good fight. So here’s five ways to battle the grueling ghosting culture.
- Use multiple communication channels. When emails fail try a phone call or text. When that fails, schedule a meeting or in-person meet and greet. Sometimes being persistent can drive you to results. Just don’t be overly annoying.
- Document EVERYTHING. I learned this early on in my career, but seriously document EV-RY-TH-ING. Because having a paper trail allows for an easy escalation.
- Offer an easy out. Make it easy for them to say – ‘yeah you just aren’t the right fit for the job.’ It sucks, but at least you won’t be hanging in the wind.
- Set an action. This is my favorite. Sometimes a – ‘if you don’t reply I will take this as a yes’ can produce quick results.
- When all else fails Escalate. (Just make sure it’s worth it.)
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