HR - understandable mistake, or red flag?

[tobypercy]

A friend of mine just received a job offer from a big company. Her name is Francesca, and the email with the offer starts "Dear Fred"

Would it put you off the company entirely, since HR are clearly pretty careless? Or would you see it as no big deal? There don't seem to be any other issues with the offer.

*names changed

It's a pretty big thing to get wrong. Wrong spelling is forgivable but wrong name entirely and wrong gender to boot. I would be less than impressed.

Id probably email back and ask them to clarify who the email is actually for. Ultumately though, no it wouldnt put me off.

No big deal. It should have been proofread but they might be very busy and it has slipped through. Also quite likely a mistake by autopredict, you start to type "Dear Fr..." and accept the suggestion instead of the full name.

Does the rest of the email suggest that she is the intended recipient?
I'd be thinking they've sent it to the wrong person rather than put the wrong name.

If it is just the wrong name I don't think I would be upset by it, mistakes and typos happen.

I'd be more concerned at someone looking for red flags in everything.

It's very easily done when using a standard letter template and was probably done by a relatively junior member of staff. If everything else about the company has seemed OK, I wouldn't worry about that in itself.

Unless the email is clearly directed to someone else entirely... It's just a typo. Quite possibly caused by an autocomplete.

What exactly does she think this says about the company? You'd already know from the interview process if they were slapdash across the board, most likely.

Well until you know otherwise it's a mistake. We all make them hence being human. Jumping to conclusions vis a vis red flags is a bit.... intense.

I’d be concerned that they’d sent it to the wrong person so I’d query that but it wouldn’t put me off the company.

Thanks for the views :)

I should clarify "red flag" was my term not hers. She mostly thought it was funny - the letter attached to the email has her proper name on so it's clearly for her.

Demonstrates HR there are crap and stupid. I had some significant typos in the offer letter for my current job. HR where l work are a bunch of idiots who don’t seem to know anything about or be qualified in HR. Awkward as they are meant to advise me as a manager. Next weeks fun job is telling them they owe me 5 days annual leave, when they thinks it’s 1

It was clearly copy and pasted. Someone I know received a contract like this and was told to just put their name on it, sign and send back.

Autocorrect or copy and paste, it's not a 'red flag'.

Once I started a job and HR sent my contract - alongside pay details of three of my future colleagues. I raised it with them and said I would be exceptionally discreet about their error - they basically did a Vicky Pollard style shrug in response. Should have run a mile - they were a nightmare to work for!

@EL8888

Demonstrates HR there are crap and stupid. I had some significant typos in the offer letter for my current job. HR where l work are a bunch of idiots who don’t seem to know anything about or be qualified in HR. Awkward as they are meant to advise me as a manager. Next weeks fun job is telling them they owe me 5 days annual leave, when they thinks it’s 1

You've got some significant spelling and grammatical errors in your own post! Pot/Kettle/Black?

OP, wouldn't have an issue with this. Presumably they're like the rest of staff, frazzled and trying to do a million things at once. Good luck to her in her new job!

I would assume it was a template of a job offer and they just forgot to change the name on it, wouldn't bother me as you've said the letter attached was definitely for your friend.

I don't think it says anything about the HR department, although I worked for a "big comapny" in the uk up until last year and the whole company was a joke, never mind just HR so let's hope it's not the same one!😂

I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at this. People make clerical errors. Pick your battles.

@Mantlemoose well, it was 22:39 at night. lm tired and this isn’t a professional document as far as l am aware.

What can l say, lm sick of the HR department where l work and they are part of the reason lm leaving. Their ineptitude knows no bounds. They are so unconvinced by their own professional expertise, they won’t even document advice in emails. When challenged about the inaccuracies in their advice, then they do a 180 and say they didn’t mean that at all

What could be life changing email to receive could be one of 30 of equal importance to the HR rep typed out that day.

People make errors at work. I'd confirm if they meant me but after that I wouldn't blink.

In the days of typewriters (remember them) I received a letter of a job offer full of tipp-ex! I had fun trying to work out what was underneath!!!

@EL8888

Demonstrates HR there are crap and stupid. I had some significant typos in the offer letter for my current job. HR where l work are a bunch of idiots who don’t seem to know anything about or be qualified in HR. Awkward as they are meant to advise me as a manager. Next weeks fun job is telling them they owe me 5 days annual leave, when they thinks it’s 1

You dont sound like a very nice colleague tbh

@Letsallscreamatthesistene probably from having a few years having my fingers burnt by their ineptitude. Like l said, the HR department are part of the reason l am leaving my current job.

What @Imgladyoulikedit said