For your company to be successful, you need the best people in the right positions. With today’s skill gap and worker shortage, that can be more difficult than ever. However, what’s worse is hiring the wrong person. In fact, a bad hiring can cost you in a lot of ways, from impacting morale and productivity to damaging profits and your company’s bottom line. It can even have an affect on your business reputation.
The question is, how do you avoid a bad hire and find the right people? First, it’s important to know why bad hires happen, so you can avoid following suit. For instance, in many cases, it comes down to:
- A weak job description. It’s surprising how important the job description is when you’re hiring. This is what will attract candidates. If you don’t have properly defined needs and qualifications, the best-fit people may not even apply.
- Hiring too quickly. When you need to hire, you want to do so as soon as possible. But don’t skip key steps, like skills testing or checking references in order to hire a new employee. Make sure you’re carefully vetting them to ensure they’ll be a fit for the role.
- Unconscious bias. If a candidate has similar interests or background as the hiring manager, this can lead to bias during the hiring process. The wrong candidate gets picked, as a result, and chaos can ensue.
Another reason, which you can’t control, is when a candidate misrepresents their background or exaggerates their skills. Again, though, this is why a thorough hiring process is key without jumping over skills testing, homework assignments, and background checks.
To avoid a bad hire – and the expense and headache that comes with one – make sure you:
Have a clearly defined job with expectations and goals.
This not only helps with writing the job description, but also ensuring the right interview questions are asked and the candidate has a clear understanding of the job. If you need inspiration, look to those employees who hold similar positions. What are their skills, abilities, and personality traits? Why do they thrive in their jobs? Identifying these details will help you to find your next great hire and avoid a mistake.
Assess candidates for technical abilities and cultural fit.
Don’t simply verify a candidate’s skill set. It’s equally as important to ensure they have the personality to mesh well with their team and the company culture. If, for instance, the job requires a lot of collaboration and meeting time and they prefer to work independently, then they won’t be happy in the position. It’s why asking questions related to company culture and even conducting a personality test can be helpful.
Trust, but verify.
Don’t ever extend an offer before you’ve verified key details about the candidate’s background. Even if they were referred by someone you trust, make sure you call past employers to check about their employment and tenure. Also, reach out to all the references they provided to ensure there aren’t any red flags. If there is a gap or a discrepancy, ask the candidate to explain.
Do you need help hiring and avoiding a costly mistake?
At Provisional Recruiting, we’re one of Spokane’s leading staffing agencies and can reduce your chance of a bad hire. We have a proven process for thoroughly vetting candidates, so you get the individual best-suited for the job. You can avoid a mistake and wasting valuable time and money. Contact us today to get started.