Are you getting new people for your start-up or expanding your existing team workforce? Irrespective of the sector in which your business operates, getting the right person for the job is imperative.

Now, it’s reasonable to assume that one would not consciously hire a person who is not right for their business house. Nevertheless, more often than not, it happens. Invariably, every year several companies find on their books a substantial headcount of “wrong-hires”.

So, who classifies as a “wrong-hire” in the first place? 

When new recruits display any of the following, it should raise a red flag on the quality of the hire – 

• Inferior quality of workmanship
• Negative attitude towards co-workers or workplace, in general
• Inability to work with other employees
• Unable to display the skillsets, as claimed during the hiring
• Tardiness or absenteeism issues

So, what’s the issue with getting just a few wrong hires, you may ask. Let’s see just how this molehill snowballs. 

Apart from the visible impact on the immediate teams in which the wrong-hire operates, there are sizeable other unfavorable long-term implications as well.

The journey begins with onboarding the new hire where you spend existing employee’s paid man-hours and resources to upskill new hires. Now imagine this effort being expended on a person, who may be a poor fit – either for the role or for your organization’s culture & value systems. The waste is just painful.

Bad hires inherently eschew “alignment” of all sorts – be it performance metrics, job distribution structures, hierarchy, or output accountability. This forces existing teams to exert more effort and still end up losing as they are unable to deliver, per standards. The additional energy drained to manage the new hire negatively impacts the turnaround time, which ultimately leads to an obvious and observable loss of output. Furthermore, if the newbie does not bring to the table stated skills and knowledge it may lead to costly errors (both output and equipment), which the whole team will then end up fixing – albeit grudgingly.

The loss of productivity in an otherwise high-performing team slowly starts to degrade the whole team’s morale. Good employees begin to feel resentful towards the company, as their performance takes a hit, even after putting in their best efforts, energy, and time. This loss of motivation can be hard to replace and begin a downward spiral. In an unaddressed scenario, good employees may begin to attrite.

When new employees are not fit for the place, they foster negativity and it spreads fast. Bad hires usually do not get along with peers and seniors, which end up requiring more policing and loss of man-hours. The general feeling of harmony in the internal team takes the direct hit of these emotions. It can also lead to conflicts within the team or with other departments.

Legal liability both within and outside the firm is also an exposure that a wrong hire attracts. In case of errors caused by inexperience or incorrect skill, the client can sue. On the other hand, inappropriate behavior within the team can cause existing employees to feel harassed. It may sound far-fetched but the risk remains.

To top it all, this loss is coming at a substantial cost. The intangible cost of allocating resources, training, and supervising the new hire when they come on board is in addition to the tangible cost of salaries and then letting them go with severance pay. 

Now you have to start all over again – the time is lost, the incomplete job is piling up and you still have to find a replacement resource. This cycle of seeking a resource and then breaking up will eventually strain finances.

To state the obvious – project timelines will get impacted and now the real picture begins to emerge – even one wrong person in your business can potentially derail projects by forcing substandard delivery. Now, this heat has the potential to burn the threads of trust you hold with your existing clients. When expectations are not met, new projects and clients will be challenging to find as your reputation will take a hit. 

Undeniably the “cost” of a wrong hire is too deep and wide to ignore – both monetary and non-monetary. 

Your organization’s profitability and progress are governed by the people who work in it. Invest in a robust hiring process with adequate background screening to minimize the risk by checking credentials, previous employment records, and competencies. It can be done in-house (expensive) or outsourced (cost-effective & resourceful) to avoid getting a misfit onboard.

Take a leaf out of Steve Jobs’ book, who quoted – ” The secret to my success is that we’ve gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.” Invest adequately in thoughts, effort, and filters to make informed selections for your organization!