What Happens if it's a Bad Hire?

Sometimes you hire the wrong person and things don't work out. But, hiring the right person is more in your control than you might think.

Here's how to get ahead of this problem.

First, you need a systemized hiring process that allows you to fully vet your candidates. This should include:

  • An application that tests specific skills and gathers data about the candidate's experience, skill set, and demeanor.

  • A phone screening with a recruiter or hiring manager that vets the candidate further and grades them.

  • A series of interviews where you further test and get to know candidates.

  • A project or official test.

  • A way to quantitatively compare candidates before making an offer.

Second, you need a strong onboarding process that continues to measure your new team member's progress and success as they learn. Set clear expectations including deliverables and firm deadlines.

Tracking your new hire’s onboarding process allows you to step in and offer help at the first sign that something is off. Whether it be a miscommunication, a missed deadline, or poor quality work. It's important to make sure that your new hire continues to be a good fit (because you already determined they were during the interview process, right? 😉) within the company's culture.

The key to avoiding a bad fit is three-fold:

  1. Step in as soon as you see a problem and communicate your expectations, a clear directive, and an action plan to make the adjustment.

  2. Continued measurement throughout the onboarding process.

  3. Act quickly so that you don't waste days or weeks before making a change, or dismissing a bad fit.

Bonus: A system in place for this exact scenario.

Give people time to adapt, but decide for yourself what your breaking point is. I suggest making that decision earlier than you might think. It should never get to a breaking point.

Hiring the wrong person can have serious repercussions for your business. It wastes time, brings team morale down, and disrupts the flow of multiple departments. The good news is that hiring the wrong person is avoidable and with the right systems in place, you can make changes sooner rather than later, in the event that your new hire doesn't work out.

Image by Bruce Mars on Unsplash

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