The costs of a bad hire can be devastating. It’s not just the wasted time, money and 
energy, but a bad hire can have a demoralizing effect on both your current employees and the new “bad” hire when you have to let them go. Bad hire = bad fire, virtually every time.
So, how can you avoid making a bad hire mistake in the first place?
Here are 5 simple ways that you can avoid the potential nightmare of a bad hire:
- Hire Smart, Qualified People – The truth is that there are many things you can teach your employees, but IQ isn’t one of them. Make sure that your new hires are people that not only know their job but are qualified and skilled.
- Hire Ethical People Who Fit Your Company Culture – Ditto the above…honesty and integrity are not something you are likely to be able to teach a new employee. Look for those traits in the individuals you interview. Ask questions in the interview that lead you to answers that go deeper than just their experience in the job market. Review your company culture before you hire anyone. Make sure that your new hire is a good fit in attitude, integrity and overall demeanor and it will save you a lot of headaches in the end.
- Hire People You NEED In Your Organization – Take a close look at your organization. When was the last time you updated your organizational chart? Do you need to create an organizational chart? It is quite common to hire people based on job descriptions that you already have in place, but have you looked at whether your positions are up-to-date and are best serving your business? Perhaps it’s time to take another look at that org chart to see if there are positions that need to be created to support the current state of your business.
- Don’t Hire from a “Wish List” – Let’s face it…we all have a wish list of what our ideal employee would be like in the “perfect world.” News flash: There is no perfect world. It’s quite likely that you need to hire someone now so find someone who can do the job effectively and fits the other hiring points on this checklist. If you get a good fit here, the things your new hire CAN learn are a lot easier to teach.
- Never Hire Anyone for their “Potential” – Your new hire strategy should be based on “what is” not what we “hope” to be true. While we all appreciate potential in individuals, it is very rare for anyone to actually live up to their potential, so hiring someone based on what some perceived future-vision of what they could be is not going to solve your problem today.
Of course, there may be other criteria that you need to insert into this formula, but stick to this simple list of absolutes in your hiring processes and you’ll find that attracting and hiring the right individuals to fill out your employee requirements will be a much less time-consuming process, along with providing you with greater long-term satisfaction, for both you and the new hire. Remember: A bad hire is a costly endeavor but a good hire is invaluable to your team.