7 Ways to Avoid Making Wrong Hires

Attracting top talent that’s right for your business can be challenging and devastating, just like making a bad hire. You don’t want to fire anyone as quickly as you hired them because this will waste the company’s time, money, and energy.

If someone gets fired hardly before 90 days elapse, it means they were too difficult to work with or were not too good at their work. Making a bad hire mistake may demoralize your current employees if working with the new wrong hire is difficult.

You can only take your company to the next level if you hire the right candidate with top talent. However, several issues can lead to a recruitment disaster.

So, how can you avoid a bad hire nightmare?

Here are seven simple ways to avoid making wrong hires:

1. Keep The Interview Process Short

Source: Forbes

Concluding the interview process as quickly as possible is crucial. The whole process – from the role brief to the job offer – should take a maximum of four to six weeks. Many candidates may get frustrated and lose momentum and enthusiasm, leading them to seek employment elsewhere if the process is lengthy.

Also, keep your candidates in the know. Let them know the stage of the hiring process and when you will need their services or not within a specific time frame. They don’t need to think you are ignoring them but should appreciate your honest communication even if they don’t get the job. Communication is, therefore, paramount.

While keeping the process short, make sure the interview is thorough in attracting the right individual to your team.

2. Do The Potential Hires Really Need The Job?

Source: NORTHFORCE

More often than not, you will ask your candidates what they know about your company. That is not a common question that you ask to get over with the interview questions checklist. It instead plays a considerable role in helping you assess the candidate’s motivation.

It is important to gauge if the candidate has done extensive research about your business, knows where the business has been, and the direction it will be taking in the future.

Also, the best candidate will be interested in helping your company. So what kind of commitments do they show? Can they suggest potential tasks and projects that will take your business to the next level? If so, they might be the perfect hire.

3. Complete Employee Screening, Background Checks, and Drug Tests

Source: Gordon Law

Getting to know the past behavior of a new hire will, in most cases, inform you of their future action. You don’t have to worry that your new hire will get into trouble if you screen them with a background check and find that their records are clean. A background check can determine the candidate’s employment history and references, or if they have had any run-ins with the law. See TwinCity’s list of best background checking services.

There are several companies for employee screening and background check services such as peopleg2 that you can consult.

You also want to ensure you screen the people you hire with a drug test. You don’t want drug use to hurt the productivity and concentration of your new hires. That will bring your business down.

4. Personal Qualities Also Count

Source: Northeastern University

As a company, you are likely to experience a significant failure if you only focus on a candidate’s specific job duties. Qualification for a particular task alone is not enough. What if you don’t feel comfortable working with them? Will you have fun while working with them?

Paying attention to their personal qualities will make the hiring process complete. You will not have the headache of a bad hire, but an excellent long-term hire that you will be pleased to work with and vice versa.

5. Will They Make The Best Fit For Your Company?

Source: Treehugger

You don’t want to repeat the recruitment process, and so you will have to ensure your new hires feel comfortable and perfectly complement your existing staff.

In most workplaces, employees spend more than 40 hours per week, so you want to make it a place they like. Whether your company follows strict guidelines or has a flexible structure, your new hires should blend in and become part of the community. Ensure they know everything about your company and its values so that they can stay in tune with the company’s specific rhythms.

6. A “Wish List?” – Not Ideal For Your Hiring Process

Source: CEIPAL

Do you know who your next employee is? But, you want them to be perfect, and your wish list tells it all. Let’s face it; perfect employees don’t exist. Don’t waste your valuable time looking for someone perfect. Just check to see if they meet most of the hiring points on your checklist and can do the job effectively. Your new hire will then learn other things on the job and will soon become an excellent fit.

7. Tell People What Might Repel Them

Source: icma.org

If you were hiding things from your partner that they may not like, if they find out, things might turn out disastrous. Hiring the right candidate is like finding the right partner, and you want them to know your company well, whether they are things that might repel them or not – instead of keeping them a secret.

List everything about your company, especially cultural aspects that might not make people work for you. Address your faults upfront even if it means saying your company thrives on chaos. Your applicants may be fewer if you state these clearly in your ads, but you will get the best fit to match your company’s cultural aspects, and the most skilled – perfect combination.

Bottom Line

To avoid hiring the wrong person, kick out the guesswork in your hiring process. You can only hit your company goals and have a positive work environment if you hire the right person. Hiring the wrong person can cost money, time, energy, or, even worse, poison the employee pool. Therefore, it is safe to ensure that your new hires get screened out before you make any hire.