Hiring the best people for your organization is an essential part of the success of any business. Managers who want to make the right choices around hiring decisions, and follow an effective, open, and strategic recruitment process, can reduce the chances of making costly hiring errors.
Poor hiring decisions have a real and measurable impact on any business. From a financial standpoint, a business will have to absorb the salary costs and time associated with repeating the hiring process. Also, the retraining of candidates, managing poor productivity, and the time managing issues in the workplace or with customers as a result of having the wrong people on the bus. Poor hiring decisions can also leave a business open to the potential for severance payments or future legal actions, which are also extremely costly.
An ineffective hiring process can cause a ripple effect throughout the business, affecting current employees, and causing a reduction in overall employee satisfaction and productivity. Great performers can burn out trying to manage or compensate for employees who are a poor fit and end up getting frustrated to the point of leaving, resulting in increased turnover.
Organizations who consistently make poor hiring decisions can impact their brand reputation, and top talent may hesitate when being asked to join the business. The pool of great candidates is constantly shrinking, and the people with the necessary kills needed to push a business forward may become difficult to hire.
Following a formal recruitment process is time intensive, and can sometimes seem too slow when you need great employees on the ground right now. The lure of a quick hire, without going through a formal and strategic hiring process, can appear attractive in the short-term.
If you take the time up front to understand job requirements, company culture, and to evaluate what potential candidates bring to the table, you can substantially reduce the chances of a poor hiring decision and the long-term damage associated with poor hiring practices.
It is also important to do your due diligence in the form of background and reference checks, to validate your decision.