Did you know a bad hire could cost you up to three times the salary you paid them? When your budget is tight, that’s something you really don’t want to happen. It’s wasted cash at the end of the day!
But how do you get it right? Firstly, you aren’t psychic. Whether you’re a HR Manager or recruiter, it’s normal for bad hires to slip through the net from time to time. Afterall, you only see potential hires on average three times during interview process and they could’ve put on their best Grammy award winning performance to get the job.
Or it might be (and this one may sting a little) that the job description and the job itself don’t match up, leaving a ‘good’ hire disappointed and unmotivated once they start.
Whether it’s one of these reasons or none, you can implement these key things into your recruitment hunt to remove as many wrong hires from the process as early as possible.
Always be honest
When we talk about bad hires, we don’t always mean ones who fail to work up to a certain standard – or come in late and get next to nothing done all day.
Sometimes, you could be so desperate to hire for a position, you sugar coat the role, making it something it’s not, which leads to your chosen candidate leaving before their probation is up.
Even if you think they’re the most qualified for the role, if you’re selling them something that doesn’t exist, there’s a high chance they’ll walk. Always make sure you have a good job description that is honest.
Be clear about what your ideal candidate looks like
We’ve either been here before or know someone who has. If you have no idea who you’re looking for, it’s very hard to narrow down the right people to interview, let alone choose someone to hire. During the hiring process you’ll meet a wide variety of candidates, and there’s nothing wrong with it if you end up loving them for different reasons. But remember, if it leads to multiple interview stages then it might end in dropouts. All the good candidates are interviewing elsewhere too!
Assess your hiring process
You need to ensure you’re always learning. When you repeat the same process over and over and find yourself interviewing bad candidates, or worse, hiring them – a new strategy needs to be implemented ASAP.
Ask yourself questions like:
- Can I add requirements to my online job adverts that can automatically remove candidates I’m not interested in?
- Am I thoroughly checking out their CVs/resumes?
- Does the interview task truly reflect what their job will be, and can it help me identify if the candidate has the right skills?
- Could I lend a pair of eyes to take a look at the CVs for me?
Look for warning signs in the interview process
Did you know 55% of communication is non-verbal? So, if you’ve ever felt ‘off’ about a candidate but couldn’t put a finger on why, or felt like they didn’t want to be there, you were probably right.
We can get signals from so many angles. People’s facial expressions. Their posture. Whether they fidget, whether they don’t. It can be really cool to look into.
You can read more into this here, but please take this information with a pinch of salt. While it can help you indicate a candidate who may not be right for the role, like everyone who has an interview, it could just be the nerves!
Think about how it feels to work with them during this process, is it easy?
Don’t get us wrong; we understand people have current jobs, and families, and everyday emergencies, so sometimes they might not pick up the phone, or they might login to Zoom a bit late. But some people are just difficult to manage through the entire hiring process.
If they aren’t turning up to scheduled interviews, cancelling last minute, and coming up with constant excuses then it may be a sign of what’s to come.
Create working exercises that are relevant to the job they’ll be undertaking
Interview tasks are a great indicator of how well the candidate could manage their day-to-day tasks. Utilise this time to create genuine work exercises they’d undertake if they got the job. If you’re unsure, ask someone in the role, or in the department you’re hiring for to give you some framework to start.
For example, don’t just give a Content Writer a standard spelling test. Have them create a blog for you or pretend to write copy for a new exciting webpage. Not only will they get a taster of what their day to day will look like, they’ll also know if the job is for them. And if it’s not, you’ll find they’ll drop out of the process at this stage.
Bottom line: It’s easy to hire the wrong people, but with proper practice and rules you stick by, the right one is out there. And finding them requires some effort on your part too. Good luck!
