The cost of making the wrong hiring decision

07/07/2016

3 Minute read

There are a many horror stories around hiring new employees. While some of the truly awful weed themselves out during the interview process, the internet is full of stories about new hires. Those who were inappropriately friendly, or who ignored any training then proceeded to make a costly mistake, or even one candidate who could not read – he’d been interviewed over the phone and his girlfriend filled out the online application for him.

But beyond the completely incapable, many companies find themselves in the position of having hired someone who just is not right.

There are two major reasons why companies find themselves with an employee who cannot do the job. The first reason is that there is a skills mismatch – the employee’s abilities do not meet the job’s requirements. The second reason is unclear performance objectives – the employee does not know what goal they are supposed to be working towards; this leads to them either doing nothing, or doing the wrong thing.

The cost of making a bad hire is hard to quantify, but low estimates range in the tens of thousands of dollars, and high estimates in the hundreds of thousands.
There is the direct cost of paying a salary to someone who is not suitable for a job, and the cost having to go through the hiring process again.
Then there are more intangible costs –
• Reduced productivity as managers take time to try and train the new hire up to standard.
• Lost custom or output due to the poor work of the unsuitable employee.
• Reduced staff morale as they have to deal with the person and complete the work they are not doing.

The scramble to hire someone new lends itself to making further hiring errors due to not taking the time to carry out the proper due diligence on any replacement.

How Deployed can help you avoid hiring mistakes

Too often, hires are made because of a ‘gut feeling’ or because the interviewer liked the candidate personally – rather than because the candidate had all the skills necessary.

It’s understandable. The hiring process is a drain on any company, particularly small-and-medium-sized businesses. It takes time, which managers are already often short on. Adding the time to create, administer, and review skills tests can feel like an added load to an already burdensome task.

Deployed manages the hiring process for you, we take the time to locate the talent that you need, so you don’t have to. We are able to vet candidates, contact references, and administer any skills tests you require to ensure any candidate you meet with has the ability to perform the job you need.

We can help you clarify the objectives you want your new employee to work towards, and provide support and management during the onboarding process and beyond – ensuring you and your new hire are always on the same page.
Along with the cost savings of outsourcing, using Deployed gives you confidence in the hiring process and lets you continue your day-to-day tasks while we put the time and effort into finding you the right employee.

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