The cost of a bad hire is financial and emotional – because having the wrong person in the wrong seat at your organization can quickly turn into a cancerous situation that will quickly destroy morale and ultimately degrade your customers’ experience with your brand. Happy Employees = Happy Clients = Happy Bottom Line for the business.
Hiring is somewhat like dating – we often overlook the little things because we are so enamored with the person, or we are desperate. The little annoyances should be noticed because they are BIG RED FLAGS that will rear their ugly heads at some point post-hire.
Before the Hire:
Everyone wants to hire the right person, so identifying those who are NOT a good fit for your company and culture is critical. Just as important, is letting go of individuals currently on your payroll who are dragging the company and the team down – they aren’t the right fit, and they will probably thank you later in life for freeing them from a toxic situation!
7 Ways to Spot Candidate Red Flags
- They make excuses early in the hiring process – about anything
- There are unusually long delays in communication when setting up interviews
- They are only focused on questions regarding benefits and compensation
- The candidate shows up late to the interview – shows a lack of respect for you and your time
- There are canceled interviews at the last minute and asked to reschedule
- The candidate has not researched your company and knows little about you
- The candidate knows very little about the job for which they are applying
10 Warning Signs of a Bad hire
- The employee’s quality of work is not up to standards set during the training period
- The employee keeps making the same mistakes over and over – even after support is given
- They are frequently late to work or miss days completely
- The employee doesn’t take ownership of mistakes
- Skills are missing that the employee claimed to have in their resume
- The employee is very negative and critical of the company processes and systems
- They don’t complete projects on time and consistently underperform
- Customers complain about the employee’s poor attitude and give bad reviews
- They constantly complain about work to their coworkers
- There is a growing lack of respect for management
Before you go down the hiring path, spend some time to understand EXACTLY the type of person you are looking for – who is your ideal candidate? What are the non-negotiables when it comes to skill sets, work history, and personality – and where are you willing to be flexible and perhaps train?
Given the current inventory of job openings, it’s tempting to make concessions – but don’t. The cost of a bad hire is astronomical. Be clear as to whom you want and if the task of recruiting seems utterly daunting, KMR Executive Search offers a free consultation to help you understand our process. As always, we guarantee our hires for one year. If they don’t work out – we will find you a replacement at no charge.