All employers want to ensure they hire not just highly-skilled employees but also ones that fit well with the company and the team. Finding the right person can help improve productivity and efficiency, strengthen team ties, and positively impact the bottom line.
But what about when the alternative happens, and your company unfortunately ends up with a bad hire? Despite being able to fire them and rehire, there is a huge loss associated with a bad hire.
What is a bad hire?
This happens when the candidate you hired turns out to be the wrong fit for your company. Common signs that indicate you’ve made a bad hire:
- They don’t possess the skills you expected them to have
- Lack of understanding about their role
- Doesn’t gel well with the rest of team
- An arrogant attitude and doesn’t adapt easily
- Makes numerous references to how things were done at their old job
Essentially, the behaviour and temperament of this hire doesn’t add value to your team and reduces instead of enhances performance levels.
What is the cost to your company?
Dampened Morale & Lack of Teamwork
If a new employee is underqualified or lacking the ability to carry out their role efficiently, it means the rest of the team will have to pick up the slack — often resulting in their workload being heavier than it was before the new recruit started. This can lead to a tense working environment, a decrease in productivity, and produces a lack of team cohesiveness.
Reputational Damage
A bad hire can damage a company’s reputation. If the new employee deals with customers poorly or they produce work that isn’t up to standard of their colleagues, it is reflected onto the company.
Financial Costs
Unfortunately, there are significant financial costs associated with a bad hire. Studies have shown that a bad hire can cost up to two and a half times the salary of the employee in question. The high financial cost is usually related to replacing the wrong hire and trying to compensate for hours of productivity lost in the interim of finding a replacement.
Higher Turnover Rate
On the flip side, trying to keep them on can also negatively impact the company. A large percentage of employees’ decision to quit has been directly caused by other employees. When you keep someone who promotes an unfavourable working environment, you increase the likelihood of losing good employees.
Enlist the help of experts
Qualified and skilled job recruiters are one of the best ways to ensure you are getting the right talent to your company. Recruiters can help you conduct all the necessary background checks, license checks, and skills test to get you the best fit.
At Oz Labour Solutions, we help connect jobseekers with quality construction jobs in Australia. Our experience, combined with our dedication to understanding the needs of each individual client, means we match highly qualified job seekers to complementary companies.
Let us help you enhance your team.