Those who are responsible for filling open jobs at a company often have other responsibilities competing for their attention, some of which may be more closely related to a business’s success and therefore given higher priority.
Particularly in the present jobs market, where jobs vacate faster than they can be filled, the temptation to rush the hiring process to place a candidate quickly and “see if it works out” might prove hard to resist. The long-term consequences, especially in terms of costs, can quickly erase such ill-conceived convenience.
Although no steps in a hiring process should be skipped, it’s possible to streamline with the help of pre-employment personality and aptitude testing designed for the workplace. The testing process aims to allow hiring managers to quickly gather objective evidence that balances the subjective impressions gained through the interview process, a well-written resume and hand-selected references with sterling recommendations.
Combining pre-employment testing with a patient and thorough hiring process can help companies elude a number of consequences, discussed below, which are often attributed to hasty hiring.
Consequence #1:
Incompetent Candidates
Perhaps the most obvious price to pay for a bad hire is outright incompetence. A candidate who is charming and articulate during an interview and who presents a resume with relevant career stops and the correct self-reported skill sets might not have the personality traits that make for a good fit in the role or at your company. A properly designed pre-employment test can help ensure that a candidate’s contents match the wrapping.
Consequence #2:
Expensive Expediency
The average cost of hiring an entry-level candidate is $3,300. Even worse, a bad hire can cost a company six times an employee’s annual salary when recruiting, onboarding, training, and other costs are considered. So, while taking shortcuts during the hiring process might seem to save time for a hiring manager and money for the company, in both the long and short run it does not.
Consequence #3:
Cultural Corrosion
Taking a short-sighted view of the hiring process can result in damage greater than recruiting and training a replacement candidate. One bad apple can truly spoil the entire basket. Employees who work with a poor hire can experience an erosion in their morale and become less productive as a result. In extreme cases, they might vacate their positions, creating several openings to fill.
Consequence #4:
Ruined Reputation
The cost of bad hires doesn’t always remain internal. An incompetent employee might be interacting directly with a company’s clients or working poorly internally on projects that ultimately reach clients. Poor customer service and botched projects often cost a company customers and clients. One estimate places losses attributable to poor customer service at $62 billion a year.
What’s worse is that a tarnished reputation can make it difficult to gain new clients; and the damage can easily take years to repair. During that time, the company might experience difficulties attracting talented job candidates and qualified investors.
In Conclusion
Do the Right Thing and You Can’t Go Wrong
Finding the right candidate quickly by streamlining – not skipping – steps in the hiring process will pay dividends in a number of ways. Pre-employment testing is perhaps the most valuable part of this early work, providing hiring managers with solid objective information that helps avoid costly hiring mistakes.
Discovering the wrong candidate has been hired after investing in finding and training that employee, drains valuable revenue from a business. Allowing a poorly chosen candidate to lower productivity from competent workers or damage the company’s reputation and ability to attract talent or gain clients is the long-term price.
