When Bad Hires Happen to Good Companies

bad hireFinding the right talent is the holy grail of corporate excellence. Yet so many companies get it wrong. Recent CareerBuilder research reveals that seven out of 10 employers report they’ve been adversely affected by a bad hire in 2012. Forty-one percent of those businesses estimate the cost of that bad hire to be more than $25,000 and 24 percent say it cost them more than $50,000 in lost productivity, recruiting and retraining expenses and negative effects on employee morale and client satisfaction.

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When asked what accounted for the bad hire, three quarters of these companies said they needed to fill the job quickly and had insufficient talent intelligence. Another quarter of participants said they had no idea. This is where you can help. Here are four ways to keep good companies from making bad hires:

  1. Know your client. When is the last time you asked your clients for feedback? Seems like a no-brainer, yet only half the businesses we polled said they received a survey from their primary staffing firm. Those who did receive a survey were much less likely to report that their staffing firm sent them talent that didn’t meet the technical skills requirements.
  2. Consider their culture. Clients say a good technical skills match is the number one factor impacting a firm’s ability to identify successful talent. However, a perfect match is more than aligning the bullets of a job description with key words on a resume. Have your client describe their work environment and identify the personal attributes they’re looking for so that their values and work styles will be in sync with the candidates’. Our research shows that if you miss on technical skills, clients may give you a pass. But if you miss on culture fit, clients will think you don’t understand them, their business or their industry.
  3. Cast a wide net. Don’t limit yourself to the immediate geographic location. Sixty nine percent of candidates say they’d consider relocating for a desirable job – 42 percent are willing to do so anywhere in the country, 26 percent say they’d relocate anywhere in the world. Casting a wider net increases both diversity and quality of hires.
  4. Follow up. Finally, communicating with your client and your hire throughout the first year of employment will not only ensure both parties are meeting expectations but increase their satisfaction with your firm.

 

Jon Maly

Jon Maly
Jon Maly is a national sales director in CareerBuilder’s Staffing and Recruiting Group. In his role, he leads a group of national account executives in providing strategic recruiting solutions and resources to the nation’s largest staffing and recruiting organizations.

Jon Maly

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  1. […] Careerbuider stats, a recent article from the Staffing Stream titled “When Bad Hires Happen to Good Companies” states that seven out of 10 companies were affected by a bad hire in 2012.  In addition, 41% […]

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