If you’re recruiting, it’s because you’re growing and require specific skills to take your venture to the next level. And no business goes into recruiting with the hope of losing that key person within a few months!
Recruitment plays an important part. However, not executing it effectively can significantly impact companies, colleagues, and clients. Not only does it have financial costs, but there are several hidden costs that can have a bigger negative influence. This article highlights the cost of hiring the wrong candidate and ways to ensure you’re recruiting the right people.
The Impact on Companies
Wasted Recruitment Spend
Whether you use a recruitment company or not, every recruitment strategy comes with a price tag. Along with the initial advertising costs, you’ll also invest in new technology, software, uniforms, etc., all of which go to waste if you hire the wrong person. If you use a recruitment agency, you’ll need to consider their fee on top of everything else, which can vary depending on the seniority of the vacancy.
Lost Productivity
Recruitment often involves a senior member of the team interviewing, taking them away from their day job for long periods. As you onboard your new colleague, you’ll also require team members to find time in their day to support and train them. This impacts day-to-day operations, adding additional stress on existing employees, especially if you continue to hire poor candidates.
Damage To Brand Reputation
This leads on from the above point. If employees are pulled away to support new members, there’s a risk that their service levels may slip. This can have a knock-on effect for clients, customers and suppliers if orders, payments or communications are missed or delayed. Furthermore, this reflects badly on your brand and could invite negative reviews or diminish trust.
The Impact on Employees
Higher Staff Turnover
Although you may dismiss employees because they’re not performing or passing probation, it creates a different perception to onlookers. Instead, outsiders notice a high turnover of staff for the same positions. This could suggest a toxic culture, poor training, or unrealistic expectations. Either way, it’s not the impression you want.
Team Disruption
A collaborative and engaged workforce helps create a motivated and enjoyable culture. However, if employees are asked to train new team members who inevitably could leave, it can result in low morale and frustration. Employees may become reluctant to train new employees and resent the extra workload while you find the right recruit.
How to Avoid a Bad Hire
The good news is that, no matter the size of your business, there are proactive measures you can put in place to ensure you’re hiring the right candidate every time.
Clearly define the role: By providing a detailed job description including responsibilities, salary, holiday and benefits, candidates have all the information they need. Minimising the risk of candidates bartering for more or claiming they were unaware of what was expected.
Check references thoroughly: Although this may feel like a time-consuming task, it's time well spent. Someone’s CV will highlight the key skill sets, experience, and qualifications you’ve asked for, but it can also illustrate their soft skills, creativity, and personality, which may benefit the role.
Use behavioural interviewing: A great way to understand a candidate's problem-solving or work ethos is to focus on past behaviours. Asking them to provide examples of certain scenarios or how they would manage a situation you present to them provides a good idea of their attitude, communication skills, and confidence levels.
Assess soft skills: Soft skills include communication skills, how they collaborate with others, emotional intelligence and relationship building. These are often underrated but highly valuable. They highlight additional talents that can help them succeed in their role and empower others.
Invest in a solid onboarding process: Many failed hires come from poor onboarding and initial support, not from the fact that the recruit was a bad hire. This comes down to the employer to ensure a new employee has the resources, technology and support to learn and thrive in their role.
Partner with a trusted recruitment agency: One way to save time, money and stress on poor recruitment is by partnering with an expert like Quest! Recruitment agencies dedicate their time to defining the roles you require, finding the right candidates, and helping onboard them effectively. This means you can focus on your day job, and we’ll oversee your entire recruitment process.
Improve Your Recruiting with Quest
When it comes to successful recruitment, we know a thing or two! Let us help enhance your recruitment strategy by implementing our best tips and advice and securing worthwhile candidates who assist in reaching your business goals. Contact us today.
