The search for talent is becoming increasingly more difficult. Demographics alone will perpetuate this challenge well into the future. More experienced and talented employees retiring and fewer candidates with lower levels of experience to draw from combine to form a shallower talent pool. Employer hiring mistakes cost your business in lost productivity, decreases in morale, lost time, and lost opportunity.
The cost of making a hiring mistake is well documented. Some put the cost at over $300,000 per incident. That is based on the cost to hire, the salary invested in the wrong candidate and the opportunity cost of lost production and results from the position that was filled by an ineffective employee. An expensive mistake with even broader impact when you consider the potential influence on other employees surrounding a bad hire candidate.
Consider some of the more common employer hiring mistakes as viewed from the perspective of a recruiter:
No Talent Pipeline
Some employers wait until there is a need or perhaps until the open position becomes an issue to start looking. This is less than ideal. Hiring managers should have a list of top talent and perhaps even have interviewed some of these top candidates well before the opening becomes critical.
Consider developing a relationship with candidates or a recruitment firm that specializes in attracting the top talent you seek. The recruiter can keep the best talent on standby for your opening.
No Recruitment Relationships
If you only go to recruiters when the situation is desperate, you are the last in line.
Consider making the regular interviewing of top talent a priority and work with a trusted recruiter.
Slow Decision Making Process
It is difficult for employers to believe, but great candidates have many options. If your process is too slow and too deliberate, the best talent will have already accepted other offers. Too often employers want just one more round of interviews or the decision makers are “out of town” and they will decide when they return.
Consider making the hire a priority. Not something that falls behind trips and meetings but something more important that trips and meetings. Make a realistic timeline and stick to it…nothing more complicated than that.
Below-Market Compensation
Things change quickly. Five years ago your company may have been paying at or above market. Have you tested the market recently? If you are below market, is it realistic to think you will attract top talent?
Consider having an independent recruiter do a market survey for you. See what top performers in your niche are earning. The investment in this exercise will give you a good feel for what is needed to attract the best talent to your open positions.
Problematic Hiring Managers
A tough topic to surface and even more difficult to address. In some instances, the hiring managers your company has empowered are not attracting top talent. They may not be progressive thinkers, they may have old school mentalities on work, they may fear good performers that will overtake them within the company or a host of other reasons for their inability to attract and retain talent.
Consider rotations for employees to other managers if you see top talent fleeing one manager’s team. If possible, fit the hire to the manager. Some hires may be star performers given a good-fit manager, or a failure with the wrong manager. Spend time on fit and make sure you have clear measures for both managers and the employees they manage.
What are some other employer hiring mistakes you see frequently? What are some other options to address the ones listed here?
