1/ Yes. It happens to everyone. It's devastating when you're smaller (< 20 employees). There's nothing you can do except move on. Don't let it scar you. Truth is: even if you made them feel badly & they came back tomorrow you wouldn't them. You dodged a bullet.
2/ Find clever ways to solve this & engage people: (1) invite them to the office for after-hours hang outs w/ team, (2) setup mtgs to take care of HR things prior to arrival to avoid paperwork on the 1st day, (3) grab coffee & guide them on what to read up on before they start.
3/ The point isn't to get the bad apples to not ghost you. It's so that they bail earlier on their commitment to you so you can move on faster. Good apples will appreciate the TLC.
