Want to Avoid a Bad Hire? Two Words…DUE DILIGENCE!

A bad hire can be a nightmare. Anyone that has had this experience of hiring the wrong person knows that it costs time and money to have to go through the entire cycle again.

We all know that a great hire can improve productivity, boost morale, and impact a bottom line. Making that great hire has a lot of upsides. But what about making the wrong hire. What are the risks inherent with this?

A lot of people might just figure it’s not a big deal if the wrong person is hired. You just fire them, right? This is not the case and a bad hire can affect a company in many different areas.

The number one thing that is always talked about when considering what bad hiring does for a company is financial. When you have to replace a bad hire, it costs money. For an entry-level or mid-level position, it’s estimated at around $10K; for a management position, it can be closer to $40K.

Other things that are not thought of with how a bad hire can affect a company are as follows:

1. Increased turnover. Regardless of how happy employees are, if they see a company making bad hires they may lose trust and quit themselves.
2. Morale. Putting the wrong people in place can kill morale…it can kill a culture. Companies work hard to create award-winning cultures, but it takes one or two bad hires to tear down what might have taken years to build.
3. Teamwork. If they can’t “play well with others” then chances are they won’t fit into a company that is team-driven and a culture that is motivated by this team mentality.
4. Reputation. The wrong hire can not only hurt a company’s morale, but it can also affect customer relationships if the actions of the bad hire are disrespectful or rude.

The biggest factor that causes so many issues is that candidates lie on their resumes and misrepresent their backgrounds and experiences.

How do you avoid making that bad hire? It’s simple…due diligence. It’s important for companies to investigate all aspects of an applicant’s resume, which includes conducting a comprehensive pre-employment screening. A great background check company like PeopleG2 can help uncover some of the “misrepresentations” that applicants may place on their resumes or in their interviews, and once uncovered, these findings can save you from the nightmare of bad hires.