What employers get wrong when hiring

Hiring the wrong person can cost a lot of time and money. It can result in decreased productivity, a higher rate of sick days and more money spent in the long run on recruitment. Unfortunately, it’s all too common – a report by the Futures Foundation said that the overall cost of mis-hiring in the UK is around 12 billion pounds.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that recruiters make:

Rushing the process

If someone leaves a role, it’s understandable that an employer would want to replace them as soon as possible to make sure that everything continues running smoothly. However, this can result in a ‘that’ll do’ attitude when meeting a candidate who ticks most – but not all – of the boxes.

Don’t do a half job. If you’re not completely satisfied with how somebody interviews, then you’re unlikely to be satisfied with the job they do for you. Take as much time as is necessary to find the perfect candidate.

Not having a clear idea of the role

If you aren’t absolutely clear on everything that your next employee will be doing, how can you know who will do the best job? An employer could hire someone who is talented and a great fit for the business, but if the full details of the job haven’t been disclosed, the new employee may be dissatisfied.

Spend plenty of time creating as detailed a job specification as you can, with every tiny detail about the role. If you can, get the person who is leaving the role to feed into the description.

Not following up on references

Even if you have just interviewed the most fantastic and charming candidate with an impressive CV, you should definitely have this backed up by others to get an idea of how they work.

Call (not email) one of the referees that they’ve listed. You will get a much better idea of how the candidate works with others, as well as double-checking that what they’re saying isn’t all show.

Over/undervaluing how they fit in

The candidate’s personality is a tough one. Of course it’s important that they fit in and work well with their new colleagues, but it’s also easy to be so impressed with someone’s personality that you forget whether they’re good enough to do the actual job.

Make sure you consider how they will fit into your workplace, but make sure it’s only one part of a much larger picture. Employers must remember that there’s a job that needs to be done.

Undervaluing networking

A vast number of hiring decisions will come about from adverts placed by the employer, but recommendations and connections are often the best way to find the perfect candidate.

Employers should actively network at all times, whether they are currently hiring or not. Meeting a range of people and getting introductions could land contacts with the perfect experience and skills that you can call on when the time comes.

Struggling with the hiring process? Give our friendly and knowledgeable team a call today to discuss your needs and put your recruiting in the hands of the experts – 01492 517 602 / 01248 671 477.