Real cost of a bad hire exposed

With many Australian businesses facing the prospect of the new calendar year with positions to fill, it is important that the hiring process runs as smoothly as possible.

Although the recruitment process is rigorous and extensive, bad hires can sometimes sneak through. While these are often written off financially, do you understand what impact this has on your productivity levels?

More than 2,100 chief financial officers (CFOs) were surveyed by recruitment firm Robert Half. The results showed these individuals were less concerned about the impact poor hires had on their wallet than they were about other potential results.

Most CFOs feared lower staff morale (39 per cent), followed by lost productivity (34 per cent) with monetary cost a distant third with 25 per cent of the vote.

Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half, explained how a bad hire can affect existing employees and how it can easily slip under the radar.

“A poor hire can cause friction as other employees are left to take on extra work and fix projects that weren’t done right the first time,” he said in a December 4 media statement.

“Bad hiring decisions also can cause staff to question management’s judgment and even lose faith in company leaders.”

Mr McDonald said it was vital that businesses are thorough with their recruitment efforts. Interviews and reference checks “are designed to ensure a successful hire”, but are not fail-safe.

One way that businesses can ensure that their recruitment process is as tight as possible is to incorporate HR Management software. Features include tracking applicants, skill searching and the ability to conduct online assessments.

By streamlining this system, employers can spend more time evaluating each candidate to ensure that a bad hire doesn’t upset the company culture that current exists within the business.