High turnover, sexual harassment, violence in the workplace, employee theft — when you hire the wrong person, you’re risking a lot of problems. Avoid these common errors:
- Failing to Identify Company Needs
Define requirements for the position in terms of skills, character, competency, and experience. Test the assumption that you need a certain type of employee - Failing to Test Employee Skills
Unless you assess an applicant’s skills, you’re gambling that they can perform — a bet you might well lose. - Hiring out of Desperation
Hire in haste — and end with waste. If you can’t hire in a timely manner, bring in a temporary or leased employee, or borrow a worker from another company. - Hiring out of Laziness
If you don’t like to hire people, outsource this function to a reliable professional third party. - Hiring out of Infatuation
Just because someone “looks” right for a job doesn’t mean that they will be. To avoid infatuation, use follow-up meetings and joint interviews. - Letting Baggage Get in the Way
The best and brightest don’t always look and act the way you think they should. Seeking diversity is not only important to placate the EEOC — it’s essential in today’s competitive economy. - Hiring Based on Recommendations
Just because someone thinks somebody they know is a great worker doesn’t mean they are. Go through the same hiring process with every potential employee. - Blindly Using Internal Promotion
Promoting solely from within can create inbreeding and stagnation. Fill at least one third of your new positions from the outside. - Skimping on Background and Reference Checks
Don’t let concern for EEOC and legislative privacy guidelines keep you from investigating backgrounds extensively. Poor hiring decisions are caused by not asking the right questions. - Failing to Recognize a Poor Hiring Decision
Do your best to keep bad hires on their feet by putting them in at least the same position that you found them. Help them with outplacement and a small severance package, so you don’t end up with a bitter ex-employee or, even worse, a lawsuit.
