The Biggest Mistake We See in Hiring

Hiring is tricky, especially because of COVID-19 and its lingering impact on the global job market. Every good leader wants to “get it right” when bringing new people on board because getting the right people in the right seats and getting them to stick around is the mark of a thriving business.

But, how do you make the right hiring decisions in a tight market like the one we’re seeing?

Understand what the role requires – and don't lower the bar.

The biggest mistake we see in hiring is leaders not genuinely knowing what success looks like for a given role and then just placing people into positions based on personality or intelligence. In desperate times, a leader will even hire somebody because they’re simply a warm body who can get some work done.

To Identify Role Requirements, Consider the following:

• How will this position help the company’s success?

Remember, everyone that you add to your team should drive the company’s success. Whether that is being the welcoming face at reception or managing a critical project effectively, every role drives success in some shape or form.

• Who will the position collaborate with most?

What are the strengths of the colleagues this new person will be working with, and how can the incoming team member add to the team’s overall synergy?

• What are the skills, knowledge, and experience required?

If you’re going to have to spend six or more months upskilling this person to fulfill the basics of the role, maybe you’ve moved too fast to hire them.

• What does failure look like in the position?

Knowing what failure looks like is just as important as knowing what it looks like to be successful.

• What differentiates outstanding performance from “good” performance?

Hiring “good” or “ok” performers into a role will keep business moving, but are you going to grow as fast as you would if you found the right person with the right strengths in all three parts of the mind to be a superstar?

Turnover will cost you big.

Yes, you need employees, but lowering the bar to fill a seat will cost you both time and big money — an average of $11,713 according to a recent Department of Labor’s minimum estimate.

Take a sales team, for example. If you invest money on advertising, lead generation, software licenses, etc., and the new person you hired is not closing deals or working well with the team and resigns within a year, what has the investment returned? Could you have better defined the role to attract the right person to close those deals?

When thinking about the cost of turnover, also consider the following:

• How many leads did the employee fail to close?
  • What was that lead worth?
• How much time and equipment were invested for the new hire?
• How much time did you need to spend training/resolving issues?

Understanding employees’ costs and worth can help you navigate through this hiring shortage and future growth. It is essential to know and understand who is the right fit for your team.

Many factors are involved in this, from skills and experience to motivations, culture, and instinctive strengths. To get a 360-degree view of candidates and reduce turnover, explore Kolbe’s powerful RightFit™ Hiring and Dynamynd^® Interview process.