A Harvard Business Review study found that 80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions, and 45% of bad hires are attributed to a lack of process. The cost of a poor hiring decision can be quite high, with estimates ranging from a low of $18,700 to hundreds of thousands of dollars in the case of executive-level positions. With leadership turnover averaging 18% annually, it’s clear that most organizations could benefit from a better approach to hiring—especially at the top.
This is a high-level summary of the Forbes article. We recommend you take the time to review the article in detail.
If your company has struggled with hiring, it’s possible you haven’t been equipped with the right information and tools to select the best talent for the job.
The Factors That Jeopardize Successful Hiring
There are obstacles that can thwart your efforts to select the strongest candidates. Common problems like the following often cause hiring decision-makers to get distracted from selecting the right person for the job.
Failing To Identify the Requisite Competencies
Without clearly defining the knowledge, skills, and capabilities necessary for succeeding in a role, you won’t be able to gather the right information to make the best hiring decision. Without an understanding of the required competencies, your interviewers may screen people using the wrong criteria, eliminate good-fit candidates and allow less-experienced candidates to proceed in the process.
Using The Wrong Assessments
Many organizations use surveys and other written assessments as part of the evaluation process, but not all assessment tools are appropriate for pre-employment screening.Be sure to choose or design an assessment tool that tells you exactly what you need to know so you can make the most informed decision.
Taking An Unstructured Approach to Interviews
When hiring managers conduct unstructured interviews, they tend to simply go with their gut when making decisions. This can lead to being influenced by the wrong factors. You should take a structured approach and develop questions that will target the key competencies.
Not Establishing Evaluation Standards
It’s vital to evaluate every candidate consistently and objectively—whether it’s a single interviewer evaluating multiple candidates or multiple interviewers assessing the same candidate. The best way to achieve that is to define the behaviors that constitute low, medium or high performance of each competency you’re evaluating.
Falling Victim to Common Biases
When your hiring process is standardized, it helps greatly reduce the odds that biases will sway you toward a candidate who isn’t the best fit. For example, taking detailed notes and comparing them against the behavioral standards you’ve already set means you’re more likely to be objective and consistent in candidate evaluations.
Talking Too Much During the Interview
The interview is your opportunity to take notes and collect data that supports sound decision-making, and the best way to gather it is to listen. Yet, many hiring managers spend much more time talking than listening.
Not Prioritizing Interview Training
As the previous points illustrate, the interview is a critical and complex component of the hiring process. Given the importance of making the optimal hire—and the consequences of getting it wrong—consider investing in training for interviewers.
Hiring involves a series of sequential steps, each greatly impacting the end result, and improving the process demands a holistic view. By taking a broad perspective, your organization can assess the hiring experience from start to finish, identify gaps and pitfalls, and implement measures to choose the best candidates who help the business thrive.
James P. Randisi, President of Randisi & Associates, Inc., has been helping employers protect their clients, workforce and reputation through implementation of employment screening and drug testing programs since 1999. This post does not constitute legal advice. Randisi & Associates, Inc. is not a law firm. Always contact competent employment legal counsel. Mr. Randisi can be contacted by phone at 410.494.0232 or Email: info@randisiandassociates.com or the website at randisiandassociates.com
