Episode #304 – Why Employers Sometimes Make a Bad Hire (and What to Do About It)
Caleb: Welcome to “The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, Animal Health executive recruiter and Veterinary recruiter Stacy Pursell of The VET Recruiter provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health and Veterinary industries. The VET Recruiter’s focus is to solve talent-centric problems for the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. In fact, The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary companies hire top talent, while helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals attain career-enhancing opportunities that increase their quality of life.
Today, we’ll be talking about why employers sometimes make a bad hire and what they can do about it. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Caleb. As always, I’m glad to be here with you.
Caleb: Stacy, what was the catalyst for today’s episode?
Stacy: Hiring is difficult enough these days, especially in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. Making it more difficult is hiring the wrong person.
Caleb: How can that affect an organization?
Stacy: It can affect an organization in multiple ways, and all of those ways are negative in nature.
First is decreased productivity. If the employee is not a good fit for the role or the organization, they may struggle to complete their work efficiently or effectively.
Second is increased turnover. If an employee is unhappy in their role or not performing well, they may quit or be let go. This can result in increased turnover rates, which can be costly for an organization.
Third is decreased morale. When employees see that someone is not performing well or not a good fit for the company, it can lower morale among the team. This can lead to a decrease in job satisfaction, which can further impact productivity and turnover rates.
Fourth is damage to the organization’s reputation. If a company has a reputation for hiring the wrong people, it can damage their reputation as an employer. This can make it difficult to attract top talent in the future.
Fifth is increased costs. Hiring the wrong person can be costly for an organization. They may need to spend additional resources on recruiting and training new employees, as well as on severance packages for employees who are let go.
And sixth is missed opportunities. If an employee is not a good fit for their role or the company, they may not be able to contribute to their full potential. This can result in missed opportunities for the organization to grow and succeed.
Caleb: Wow, you weren’t kidding! There are a lot of ways that making bad hires can impact an organization negatively. What are the reasons that these bad hires are made?
Stacy: That’s a great question, and once again, there are multiple answers. One reason is rushing the recruiting and hiring process.
Caleb: Isn’t an expedient process a good thing?
Stacy: Yes, but not rushed. There is a difference. When you rush the recruiting and hiring process, a lot of things get limited. These things include the candidate pool, the interviewing procedures, and reference checks. Not only that, but there’s also the risk for inadequate evaluation, which can impact decision making.
In addition, when organizations rush the recruiting and hiring process, company officials may feel pressure to fill the position quickly, which can lead to hiring someone who is not the best fit for the role or the organization.
Caleb: What’s another reason employers make bad hires?
Stacy: Another reason is a lack of clarity in the job requirements. This can derail things for multiple reasons.
First, this can lead to misaligned expectations between the employer and the employee, which can lead to dissatisfaction and turnover. Second, if the job requirements are not clearly defined, it can be difficult to screen candidates effectively. This can result in candidates being hired who do not possess the necessary skills or qualifications for the role. And third, it can be difficult to conduct effective interviews. This can result in hiring managers asking irrelevant questions or not asking the right questions to evaluate a candidate’s suitability for the role.
Caleb: That makes sense. What’s another reason that employers make bad hires?
Stacy: Ignoring “red flags.” Hiring a job candidate is like any other relationship, personal or professional. Sometimes, there are red flags in the relationship and those signs are ignored by one of the parties.
Caleb: Stacy, can we define what we’re talking about when you say red flags?
Stacy: Certainly. These are warning signs that indicate a candidate may not be the right fit for the position. However, companies may sometimes ignore these red flags and hire the candidate anyway, leading to a bad hire.
Caleb: What are some examples of red flags?
Stacy: They can include things like gaps in employment, negative references, inconsistent work history, and unprofessional behavior during the interview process. Ignoring these red flags can lead to hiring someone who is not a good fit for the job, which can lead to decreased productivity, increased turnover, and lower morale.
Caleb: What’s next on our list?
Stacy: Another reason why organizations make a bad hire is because of poor cultural fit.
When a new employee does not fit in with the organization’s culture, they may struggle to adapt to the company’s values, norms, and working style. They may find it difficult to understand and integrate into the team’s dynamics, leading to misunderstandings and conflicts. This can create a negative work environment, lowering productivity and decreasing employee satisfaction.
Caleb: When you say poor cultural fit, you mean that the organization hired the person because they seemed to be a fit on every other level, and the lack of a culture fit came back to “bite” them?
Stacy: Yes, that’s right. That’s why you can’t ignore or underestimate the importance of cultural fit. It’s also why you can’t ignore company values, either. A candidate may have all of the necessary qualifications, but if they do not align with the company’s values, they may not be a good fit for the position. Organizations should ensure that they evaluate candidates for alignment with company values to avoid a bad hire.
Caleb: What’s next on our list of reasons why employers make bad hires?
Stacy: Next is the failure to communicate expectations. This can lead to making a bad hire in several ways.
First, if the expectations for the role are not communicated clearly, the new employee may not have a clear understanding of their responsibilities, leading to confusion and frustration. This can result in subpar performance, missed deadlines, and costly mistakes.
Second, if the expectations for the role do not align with the candidate’s skills and experience, they may not be able to perform the job to the desired standard. This can lead to a lack of productivity and a negative impact on the team’s morale.
Third, if the company culture and expectations are not communicated effectively during the hiring process, the new employee may not fit in with the team and the organization’s values, something we just talked about. This can result in conflicts and misunderstandings, leading to a negative work environment and a decrease in employee satisfaction.
Finally, failure to communicate expectations can lead to misaligned goals and objectives, which can hinder the organization’s growth and success. The new employee may not understand the company’s mission and vision, resulting in a lack of focus and direction.
Caleb: You can see how all of these reasons are intertwined and related to one another.
Stacy: Yes, exactly. Everything that we’ve talked about to this point are reasons why organizations make bad hires.
Caleb: So that brings us to the “what you can do about it” part of our podcast episode. Is it a matter of just doing the opposite of everything that we’ve discussed so far?
Stacy: Yes and no. It’s not exactly like that, but you’ll see the patterns that develop.
First, and foremost, an employer must clearly define the job requirements. There must be clarity and not confusion. Employers should have a clear understanding of the job requirements before they start the hiring process. This includes outlining the skills and experience needed for the role, the responsibilities, and the expected outcomes. This information should be used to develop a job description that accurately reflects the position’s requirements.
Providing clear expectations is part of this, as well.
Caleb: Can you elaborate on that?
Stacy: Yes. Employers should provide clear expectations for the role, including the responsibilities, goals, and performance metrics. This can help the new employee understand what is expected of them and help them succeed in their role if they are chosen for the position.
Caleb: What else can employers do to ensure they don’t make a bad hire?
Stacy: They can use pre-employment assessments.
For example, a skills assessment can help to identify candidates who lack the necessary skills or experience for the job, while a personality assessment can provide insights into a candidate’s work style and how they might fit into the company culture.
Pre-employment assessments can also help to ensure that candidates are evaluated fairly and objectively, based on their skills and qualifications rather than subjective factors such as appearance or personal connections. This can help to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce and reduce the risk of discrimination or bias in the recruiting and hiring process.
Caleb: Do such assessments also save time during the recruiting and hiring process?
Stacy: Yes, they do, by streamlining the process and identifying the best candidates more efficiently. This can help to reduce the cost of hiring and training new employees and improve the overall quality of the workforce.
Something else employers can do to prevent making a bad hire is “look beyond the resume.”
Caleb: What does that mean, exactly?
Stacy: Resumes are designed to present a job candidate in the best possible light, but they can also be misleading. By solely relying on a resume, an employer may miss crucial information about a candidate’s qualifications, work style, and cultural fit.
To look beyond the resume, an employer can conduct interviews that delve into a candidate’s work experience, skills, and personal qualities. Behavioral interviewing, for example, can help assess how a candidate approaches work-related scenarios and situations. It can give insight into their problem-solving skills, communication style, and ability to work in a team.
And there’s another way to avoid a bad hire that’s related to this.
Caleb: What’s that?
Stacy: Social media screening.
Caleb: I’m sure that candidates don’t appreciate it, but employers are not about to stop screening them through social media, are they?
Stacy: It’s a consequence of this digital world in which we live.
One way that social media screening can help employers avoid a bad hire is by identifying inappropriate behavior or content. For example, a candidate’s social media accounts may reveal discriminatory remarks, unprofessional behavior, or illegal activities. By discovering these issues early on in the recruiting and hiring process, employers can avoid hiring a candidate who may bring negative attention or harm to the company’s reputation.
Social media screening can also provide insight into a candidate’s character and values. Employers can gain a better understanding of a candidate’s communication style, attitude towards work, and overall personality. By considering a candidate’s fit within the company culture, employers can make a more informed hiring decision and avoid hiring someone who may not align with the company’s values or work style.
Caleb: Do employers have to be careful when social media screening?
Stacy: Social media screening should be used cautiously and ethically. Employers must ensure that they are not violating a candidate’s privacy or discriminating based on protected characteristics. In addition, employers should use social media screening as just one aspect of the hiring process and not solely rely on it to make a hiring decision.
Caleb: What else can employers do to prevent them from making a bad hire?
Stacy: Something that’s important is to involve the entire team in the recruiting and hiring process.
By involving the entire team, you can gain valuable insights and perspectives that can help ensure a good fit. Team members can provide input on the skills and qualities needed for the job, as well as the team’s culture and work style. They can also participate in the interview process and provide feedback on the candidate’s fit with the team and the company.
It also helps to ensure a smoother onboarding process, which is critical for new employee retention, and can help to build trust and engagement. Team members will feel more invested in the recruiting and hiring decision and more empowered to contribute to the success of the team.
Caleb: Stacy, you spoke of the onboarding process. What else can employers to do help after they’ve already made the hire?
Stacy: They can provide adequate and effective training and support, which is sometimes overlooked when analyzing the reasons for a bad hire.
When a new hire doesn’t receive the necessary training and support, they may struggle to adapt to their new role, become disengaged, or make mistakes that can negatively impact the team and the organization. New hires must have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities, the tools and resources they need to do their job, and the company’s policies and procedures.
Once again, this also helps to increase engagement and retention. When employees feel supported and invested in, they are more likely to stay with the organization long-term, reducing the cost and disruption of turnover. And of course, it helps improve performance, which is one of the major barometers for assessing the quality of the new hire—and not just the performance of the new hire, but everyone’s performance.
And last but not least, employers should regularly evaluate the new employee’s performance and make adjustments as needed. This can include providing feedback, setting goals, and addressing any issues that arise.
Caleb: Stacy, we’re just about out of time, so is there anything else that you’d like to add before we wrap up today’s podcast episode?
Stacy: Yes, one more thing. I didn’t mention the basics and fundamentals of the recruiting and hiring process, things like writing a quality job description, screening resumes, conducting phone interviews, and checking references, things like that. I didn’t mention those things because it should be assumed that employers are carrying out those duties during the process, hopefully at a high level. Unfortunately, even when an employer executes these fundamentals well, it can still make a bad hire. That’s why this is such a timely topic and such an important one.
Caleb: Stacy, thank you so much for joining us today and for all of this great information about why employers sometimes make a bad hire and what they can do about it.
Stacy: It’s been my pleasure, and I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!