7 Strategies to Avoid Hiring the Wrong People

You've been there – spending weeks sorting through stacks of CVs, conducting countless interviews, only to realise a few months down the line that you've made a poor hiring decision. A bad hire can drain your resources, disrupt team dynamics, and ultimately damage your company’s productivity and morale. By adopting effective hiring strategies, you can tip the scales towards consistently making good hires. Here’s how understanding the importance of good hiring can revolutionise your HR practices and prevent regrettable hiring decisions.

Understanding the Importance of Good Hiring

What Makes a Good Hire?

A good hire goes beyond just meeting the job requirements on paper. They blend skills and experience to become a valuable asset to your team. Key attributes of a good hire include:

• Technical Competence: They possess the core skills and qualifications necessary for the role.

• Adaptability: They can quickly adjust to new challenges and environments.

• Interpersonal Skills: Effective communication and teamwork capabilities.

Hiring someone who ticks these boxes ensures they can not only perform the tasks required but also integrate smoothly into your existing team. Their positive impact can drive projects forward, foster a collaborative work environment, and contribute to long-term success.

Investing time in selecting such candidates is crucial. Companies like Amazon and Apple have stringent hiring processes because they recognise the value a well-selected employee brings.

How Bad Hires Can Impact Your Team

Bad hires can cause significant disruption. They often fail to meet expectations, leading to a drop in productivity and team morale. Here are some impacts of hiring the wrong person:

• Lowered Morale: Existing employees may feel frustrated or demotivated by the underperformance of the new hire.

• Increased Workload: Colleagues often have to pick up the slack, leading to burnout and resentment.

• Team Tension: Conflicts can arise due to differing work standards.

Furthermore, bad hires can damage client relationships if they fail to deliver quality work. Just imagine a customer service representative who repeatedly makes errors - this can tarnish your brand's reputation significantly.

The Cost of Bad Hiring Decisions

The financial ramifications of bad hires are profound. According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) a bad hiring decision at mid-manager level costs a business more than £132,000. These costs include recruitment fees, training expenses, and the productivity loss during the transition period. Breaking down these costs, we see:

• Recruitment Costs: Including advertising, HR staff time, interviewing and potential agency fees.

• Training Costs: Time and resources devoted to onboarding and skill development.

• Lost Productivity: The gap between the exit of the bad hire and the replacement becoming fully functional.

Apart from monetary losses, frequent turnover can damage your company’s reputation, making it harder to attract top talent. Candidates are more likely to steer away from companies known for high staff turnover. Pro-tip: Regularly review and refine your hiring process using metrics such as time-to-hire and employee retention rates to identify and rectify weak spots.

By understanding the impact of hiring decisions, you can adopt practices that lead to better hiring outcomes, ensuring that your company not only avoids these pitfalls but also builds a thriving workforce.

7 Strategies to Avoid Bad Hires

1. Crafting Clear and Precise Job Descriptions

Creating a job description that is both clear and precise can drastically improve your hiring process. It’s vital for the description to outline the main responsibilities and duties of the role. Break down key tasks, list relevant skills, and specify qualifications. This ensures potential candidates understand exactly what the job entails and whether they fit the criteria.

Additionally, use language that reflects your company and how you like to work. This helps to attract candidates who align with your values. Highlight essential technical skills, experience required, and preferred attributes. Avoid jargon and keep it straightforward so that anyone reading can easily comprehend it. Remember, a well-articulated job description sets the foundation for finding the right person.

Pro Tip: Include expectations for the first 90 days in your job descriptions to set clear performance benchmarks.

2. Interview Training for Hiring Managers and Interviewers

Interview training for all individuals involved in the hiring process is crucial. Without proper training, managers may inadvertently focus on subjective impressions instead of objective measures. Highlighting the importance of structured interviews ensures consistent, fair, and more effective candidate evaluation.

Offer training sessions covering key interview techniques. Emphasise the need for objective scoring systems, listening skills, and avoiding biases. Incorporate workshops or role-playing scenarios to simulate real interview conditions. Knowledgeable interviewers will make more informed hiring decisions, reducing the risk of bad hires.

Pro Tip: Regularly update training materials to reflect the latest best practices in interviewing, take a look at our guide on interview training for more tips.

3. Structured Evaluation Process

Implementing a structured evaluation process ensures that all candidates are assessed on equal footing. Develop a candidate scoring system based on predetermined criteria. This can include work experience, technical skills, behavioural skills and more.

Consistency is key. Ensure you use a diverse hiring panel where multiple interviewers can offer varied perspectives. After the interview, compile feedback using a standardised evaluation form (like an ATS scorecard). This approach not only encourages fairness but also creates a comprehensive overview of each candidate, helping make better hiring decisions.

Pro Tip: Use Evidenced to build structured interviews to give your candidates a consistent experience.

4. Focus on Behavioural and Skills Based Assessments

Behavioural and skills-based assessments provide insights into a candidate’s potential beyond their CV. These assessments can identify problem-solving abilities and adaptability. Use situational questions that require candidates to outline past behaviour in relevant scenarios.

For skills-based assessments, create tests that simulate actual job tasks. This could be coding tests for developers, writing samples for content creators, or project management tasks to gauge planning skills. This method helps pinpoint candidates who not only appear suitable on paper but can perform in practice.

Integrate behavioural and skills assessments early in the hiring process to filter out unsuitable candidates quickly, read our guide to writing interview questions.

5. Open Communication With Candidates Throughout the Hiring Process

Maintaining open communication with candidates during the hiring process enhances their experience and keeps them engaged. Regular updates and feedback help candidates feel valued and informed. Clearly outline the hiring timeline, stages involved, and what they can expect next.

Encourage candidates to ask questions and provide feedback. Open dialogue can offer insights into their communication style, important factors in job performance and team dynamics. Transparent communication builds goodwill and leaves a positive impression, even if the candidate is not selected.

Pro Tip: Use automated tools or template emails to ensure timely and consistent communication with all candidates.

6. Comprehensive Onboarding Process

A comprehensive onboarding process is essential to integrate new hires efficiently. Plan a structured onboarding that covers company policies, team introductions, and role-specific training. Provide resources like an employee handbook and access to necessary tools from day one.

Offer mentorship or buddy systems to help new hires acclimate. Frequent check-ins during the initial months can address any concerns and provide support. A well-rounded onboarding process sets the stage for long-term success and reduces early turnover.

Pro Tip: Create an onboarding checklist to track new hires’ progress and milestones.

7. Implement Probationary Periods to Assess New Hires' Performance

Introducing probationary periods can be an effective strategy to evaluate new hires. Typically lasting 3-6 months, this timeframe allows you to monitor the individual’s performance and fit within the team. Clearly communicate the expectations and criteria for successful completion of the probation period.

During this period, offer regular feedback and support to help the new hire succeed. Conduct formal evaluations at the end of the probationary period to decide on permanent employment. This method reduces the risk of long-term commitments to unsuitable candidates. If you do need to terminate employment, read our guide on how to approach it in the UK.

Pro Tip: Use probationary reviews to identify any training needs that could help the new hire improve.

To sum up, avoiding bad hires requires a methodical and well-thought-out approach from the job description stage to post-hire evaluation. Implementing these strategies can significantly enhance your hiring process, leading to a more productive and cohesive team.