The Hidden Costs of Hiring the Wrong People

A bad hire can harm your company’s culture, productivity, and finances, often without you realizing it until it's too late. Dismissing the employee doesn't eliminate the need to restart the time-consuming and costly hiring process. Understanding the hidden costs of poor hires will help you avoid them in the future.

Understanding the Hidden Costs

The true cost of a bad hire extends across the following areas of your business:

Talent Recruitment and Hiring
You can spend big as you try to future-proof your workforce. Talent recruitment and hiring costs you could encounter include:

• Job posting
• Candidate screening
• Interview
• Adding a new hire to your payroll
• Onboarding
• Training

These become sunk costs when you hire the wrong people. Having to repeat the hiring process increases these costs further.

Team Morale

Underperforming new hires can increase stress and frustration among teammates, lowering morale and potentially driving satisfied employees to leave. A poor work ethic can also create a toxic environment that deters top talent.

Brand Reputation Damage

Bad hires can negatively affect how job seekers and customers perceive your business, leading to damaging feedback and reviews that harm your company’s credibility. Avoiding poor hires is crucial to protect your brand reputation.

Lost Time and Resources

Hiring, onboarding, and training employees requires significant time and resources. Failing to identify bad hires results in poor decisions, and those invested resources cannot be regained.

What to Do If You’ve Hired the Wrong Person

• Evaluate the Situation by discussing concerns with peers to assess the employee's performance and explore potential solutions.
• Provide Feedback to the employee by highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.
• Share Resources and equip the employee with the tools to enhance their performance.
• Create a Performance Improvement Plan outlining specific performance issues, goals, timelines, and consequences.
• Track Performance by scheduling regular check-ins to monitor progress and offer support.
• Reassign or Adjust the Employee’s Role to help reignite their enthusiasm and productivity.

Tips to Help You Avoid Bad Hires

• Revamp Your Hiring Process. Clearly define the role and ideal candidate. Thoroughly vet candidates and involve multiple team members in interviews.
• Access Cultural Fit. Ensure candidates align with your company culture. Introduce them to team members and have them participate in mock exercises to evaluate compatibility.
• Invest in Your Onboarding Process. Create an efficient onboarding process that allows new hires to voice their concerns and feel valued.
• Track a New Hire’s Performance. Regularly check in with new hires to ensure they are comfortable and confident in their roles. Address any struggles early on to prevent escalation.

You want the best hires every time you need to fill a vacancy. With professional recruiters on your side, you can protect against bad hires. Plus, you can get the staffing help you need to find superb job candidates for your team at your convenience.

---

Trust PrideStaff — Your Workforce Planning Partner
PrideStaff is proud to be a CEA Partner. At PrideStaff, we know how difficult it is to recruit and hire talent. Contact your local office today and we can help you solve your staffing challenges.