Hiring the wrong person does cost a thing

Studies have shown that hiring the wrong person can cost thousands of euros. Such mistakes have a major impact, as hiring is costly and time-consuming. What are the main causes? What are the consequences? And how can we mitigate the risks?

The first consequence involves starting the whole recruitment process from scratch. While the direct impact is time and money wasted, the impact on the employer and client brand, as well as on the teams, is significant. So, how to make it right?

Dismissing an employee on probation

There are many possible causes for a bad hire. They can come from both the candidate and the company.

An employee on probation leaving is frequently the result of a discrepancy between what they expect and the reality. Very often, when values and culture do not match, the newly hired employee leaves.

On the company’s side, management might not have a clear vision of the profile they need. In this case, whatever the quality of the profiles, recruitment leads to a failure. It is therefore critical to think about the key tasks of the position and the type of profile required in order to find the candidate who will meet expectations.

A bad hire is expensive

Recruiting the wrong person is expensive. In addition to the quantifiable costs linked to the recruitment activity itself, i.e. the analysis of applications, meetings with candidates, and the administrative hiring process, there are other time-consuming costs, the effects of which are anxiety-provoking for the teams and toxic for the company’s brand.

If the overall employee remuneration package is the tip of the iceberg, the recruitment process must be taken into account. Human time is not Black Friday. Note also that if you are dismissed after the trial period, compensation and possibly legal costs will add to your expenses.

More difficult to count but just as costly are the efforts made by the company and its teams to integrate and train the new recruit. Less visible at first glance, it will probably be necessary to write off some customer opportunities. How will your customer feel when you tell them that your new employee has left the company? The same goes for morale. An employee leaving always generates anxiety and a loss of productivity. Not to mention the snowball effect. Finally, in the age of social media, your employer brand could well be damaged.

While the consequences of poor recruitment are often measured only in financial terms, and rarely presented to management, less obvious costs will have equally important consequences.

Overall, any recruitment mistake should be taken seriously.

There is no such thing as no risk in recruitment, but…

Limiting recruitment mistakes is a major challenge that can be met… if you follow certain recommendations.

First of all, it is important to have a clear vision of the skills needed to fulfil a position. Basically, it means having some knowledge of the position you are recruiting for.

Secondly, the interview is the opportunity to check if a candidate would thrive in the company, beyond knowledge and skills. Do values match? What about interpersonal skills? Do you feel biased? Ask the team to contribute to the hiring process.

Don’t think that recruitment ends with a contract. On the contrary, it continues throughout the integration process, i.e. 12 months after the new employee joined. Take the new employee on board with an adapted and personalised programme. During this period, the employee, whatever their experience, must be coached and integrated into the work teams and departments.

In the end, your employer brand is your best ally. It allows you to define your values and the added value of your company. Once established, developed and maintained, it will allow you to publicly display who you are.

Recruitment is a long process, which involves expertise. Let’s make the right recruitment choices together.