How to Protect Your Business from Hiring Mistakes

Even the best hiring managers can make recruitment mistakes, with recent research finding that poor hiring decisions are a widespread problem. A study by CareerBuilder found that more than two-in-three companies were affected by a bad hire within the last twelve months.

Hiring mistakes cost businesses time and money - in recruiting and training another worker, lost productivity, staff morale and client relations, and can even result in legal issues. With the cost of a hiring mistake so high, it pays to have a simple but strong process in place to reduce recruitment errors.

Here are our top tips to protect your business from bad hiring decisions:

Top Tips: How to Reduce Hiring Mistakes

Before you hire - top tips to test whether the candidate can truly perform the role:

1.    Know what you want – before you start to hire

Before you begin the search for your next employee, it’s essential to know what it will take to succeed in the position. Consider what success would look like in the position: How will you know when your new hire has been successful?

Once you have determined success, work backwards to specify what a candidate would need to excel, such as relevant experience and skills, personality attributes, and qualifications. With the picture of a successful hire in your mind as you start the search, you’ll find screening and interviewing is much easier - and more accurate in determining whether a candidate can perform the role.

2.    Don’t just ask about a candidate’s skills – test them

While effective interview questions provide useful information, a candidate’s answers will only provide part of the story. The best way to determine if a candidate can actually perform the role is to place them in a real on-the-job situation, whether that’s by testing their technical knowledge or by asking them to complete a sales role-play. If you’re still unsure about the hire after the recruitment process, trials are another great way to test their skills on the job.

3.    Seek a second opinion

Consider seeking a second opinion to validate your judgement. Invite the candidate back in for a shorter interview with another person, either management or someone from the team that they’ll be working in. A second interview with another person is a great way to test their cultural and team fit, whilst double-checking your first impressions of the candidate.

However, be careful not to involve too many people in the interview process, as it can make it difficult to get a clear assessment. If you are involving other people in the process, be sure to start with a clear mind of everyone’s input in the decision-making process or risk problems later on.

4.    Be sure before you hire

Before you make the offer, confirm the facts that you’ve gathered with a reference check. Always complete your reference checks over the phone – you’ll be able to read a lot more into someone’s reactions than anything that is written down. Listen to what they don’t say and make notes of what they won’t answer. Conducting references by phone also makes it easier for the referee to complete the reference – making your recruitment process far more accurate.

As a minimum, it’s essential to verify their resume by double checking start/end dates of employment and company names. If there is a company policy against references at the referee’s employer, try to simply verify dates of employment and the candidate’s job title/role. Even the bare minimum of reference checks allows you to verify important information as a final check before employment.

After you hire – put double checks in place to ensure the candidate is right:

5.    Pass probation

As a general rule, probation periods should be enclosed in all employment offers for a minimum of 3 months. A probation period is a long-term trial, after which an employment contract can be continued or terminated. This allows you to genuinely see how the employee will perform in the role.

Use probation periods with a performance management system (combining goal-setting and performance reviews), so you can easily evaluate and demonstrate whether the new hire is meeting expectations. At the end of probation, your business can then terminate employment if the candidate is not right for the position.

6.    Consider casual

While trials are a great way to test skills in a limited time frame, offering casual positions is a further option to extend the trial and see whether the employee will fit into the business. The benefit of a casual employee is the 'no-commitment' of future work. It is therefore easy to cease to offer the employee future work if you deem them unsuitable.

The casual role can be communicated as a trial – an opportunity for the candidate to prove their skills and shine in your business. If the employee is excited and right for your business, they are likely to grab the opportunity and strive to secure the role full-time. You can then suggest a timeframe when their position as a casual will be reviewed and a full time offer could be made.

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