the cost of hiring the wrong person.

In business, hiring the wrong person can be a costly mistake. A bad hire can hurt productivity, innovation, employee morale and the company's bottom line.

Replacing a bad hire is expensive, often costing a large part of their annual salary. However, a good recruitment process can improve the organization and lead to financial gains. HR teams must treat recruitment with the same care as other essential business operations: managing costs, analyzing results and improving continuously.

This post will show you how to create a recruitment process that minimizes the risk of hiring the wrong person.

how hiring the wrong person happens

Hiring the right employees adds value to the organization. Hiring the wrong ones does the opposite. So why do many organizations have poor hiring processes?

The main reason is a disconnect between HR and hiring managers. Here are four situations that lead to bad hiring decisions:

1. Hiring managers don't know how to identify a "good hire." Many hiring managers don't have the skills to pick the right candidate. They often lack the interview training needed to evaluate candidates well.
2. Hiring managers feel rushed to fill a position. This pressure can lead to hasty decisions and overlooking red flags.
3. HR teams don't communicate the relevance of employee performance metrics to hiring managers successfully. HR teams sometimes fail to tell hiring managers what to look for in a candidate. Without this information, hiring managers don't know what qualities to seek.
4. Disconnect between HR and hiring managers. When HR leaves hiring to managers, there can be a lack of communication and agreement on the goals of the hiring process.

how to ensure a successful new hire every time

A bad hire can lower productivity, hurt morale and drive away clients and good employees. A lot of time and resources are wasted on bad hires. Instead, focus on ensuring good hires.

Here are four ways to improve your hiring process:

1. Optimize the job description and advertisement. Job descriptions and ads are the first contact with candidates. Make sure they attract the right people. Think about the needs of your team and organization when creating them.
2. Brand your company and its culture accurately and successfully. Just as managers get frustrated with bad employees, new employees perform poorly when the company culture isn't what was advertised. Be sure potential candidates reading your job description will understand your company culture as they consider you. Then, communicate key aspects of company culture during the interview. Establishing realistic expectations about the role early will prevent "poor fit" candidates from slipping through.
3. Formalize interviews to address critical aspects of the job. Too many companies lack a standardized interview process. This prevents hiring managers from communicating and receiving vital information, including details about the candidate's behavior, situational responsiveness and technical aptitude. What's more, hiring managers cannot accurately compare the results of multiple interviews if they are not conducted based on identical standards.
4. Look for universal qualities of successful employees. In addition to finding employees with the right experience and skillsets, hiring managers should know to look for key characteristics that every new hire should have — no matter the position. These include empathy, natural talent, a willingness to learn and confidence in their ability to make decisions. Similarly, hiring managers should know the qualities they do not want in a candidate and why by naming and defining them ahead of time.

Download our guide to writing successful job descriptions.

a future of successful hires is within your reach

Improving your hiring process isn't just a good idea — it drives real business value. But 100 percent of hiring success starts with getting the right candidates through the front door — and that starts with your job descriptions and advertisements.