Top Five Hiring Mistakes

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on August 7, 2006
Filed Under Selection

In a recent survey of 273 US companies by Right Management Consultancy Inc., more than four out of 10 companies cited inadequate definition and evaluation of roles critical to successful performance as the number one mistake businesses make in hiring and promoting managers and executives. The most common mistakes organisations make in hiring and promoting managers and executives are:

Inadequately defining and evaluating roles critical to successful performance, chosen by 43% of respondents
Insufficient grooming of high-potential employees through coaching, mentoring, and training programmes, 41%
Using overly subjective criteria and unreliable assessment tools, 29%
Too much focus on the basic requirements of the jobs to which people are being selected or promoted, such as managerial and interpersonal skills, and not enough emphasis on less apparent talents, such as morale or team building, 27%
Giving inadequate consideration to people from outside the organisation, 20%

“Due to the rising cost of, and negative organisational impact from, bad hiring and promotion decisions, more workplaces are turning to formal assessment processes,” said Rick Smith, Right Management Senior Vice President. “These include online assessment centres that use multiple assessment tools, including workplace simulations, situational judgement, cognitive ability testing, and other approaches.”

“Formal assessment methods provide a broader picture of candidates under consideration, more consistency in management development, and people who are the best fit for the challenges of today and tomorrow,” added Smith.

It costs an average of 2.5 times an individual’s salary to replace an employee who doesn’t work out, including recruitment, training, and severance costs, and lost productivity, according to a survey of 444 organisations throughout North America released by Right Management earlier this year. More than 4 out of 10 organisations (43%) said it costs at least three times the employee’s salary.

Lower employee morale and decreased productivity are the biggest consequences of bad selection and promotion decisions. Other negative consequences of bad selections and promotions include: lost customers and market share, and higher training, recruitment, and severance costs, according to the survey.

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