The Costs Of Hiring The Wrong Candidate

We’ve all bee there. You hired a candidate that you think is a good fit for your position. You interviewed dozens of applicants, and this one stood out. After months of searching, you were happy to have the position finally filled and looking forward to your new hire becoming a productive member of the team.

As time passes you realize that you hired the wrong person and your potential star is actually not a good fit. So, you let them go and start the search over. No big deal, right? Wrong! Hiring the wrong person is extraordinarily expensive with costs affecting both the bottom line and intangibles. According to the Society for Human Resources Management bad hires can cost as much as five times the annual salary of the mismatched employee. Let’s look a little closer at the costs involved.

Financial

Loss of productivity from a vacant position.
Loss of productivity while training a replacement.
Costs of freelancers or overtime to bridge the gap.
Time processing employees exit (payroll, exit interview, etc.)
Lost customers due to understaffing.
Potential severance pay.
Potential unemployment benefits.
Recruiting costs (advertising, interviewing, drug testing, responding to candidates, etc.)
Relocation expenses.
Employee orientation costs.
Time processing new employee for payroll, benefits, etc.

Intangibles

Damage to your company’s reputation.
Decreased morale.
Decreased productivity.
Higher turnover.
Eroded teamwork.
Loss of a former employee’s network.

It’s easy to see how these expenses can spiral out of control. What can you do to increase your chances of hiring the right person the first time? Let’s start with the cause. You didn’t likely set out to hire the wrong person. It’s more likely that you didn’t have valid information. It’s been estimated that half of all candidates misrepresent the truth on their resumes and during interviews. You must thoroughly vet all verifiable information a candidate provides you (e.g. education, references, compensation, positions held, etc.). Any material discrepancy should throw up an immediate red flag. You may want to consider using the services of a professional recruiter. A good recruiter will give you access to their network of verified candidates. Additionally, they have a critical eye and can often spot candidate discrepancies you may not see.

Danielle Foppe is a Recruitment Manager at Business Centric Technology. If you are interested in learning more about how to get the best IT talent in the Dallas metroplex, contact Danielle specializes in recruiting IT talent in Dallas, Ft. Worth and North Texas. If you are looking for a rewarding career contact us today.