You’ve gone through the entire recruitment process, from creating a job description and disseminating it, screening resumes, contacting candidates to set up interviews, performing multiple rounds of interviews, and negotiating an offer. You onboard your candidate. After they start, you discover they don’t have the skills to perform in the position. A week later, they’ve quit – and you’re right back where you started. 

Making a bad hire isn’t just frustrating. It can be a financial disaster. And there are negative effects that go beyond the money, too.  

The Shocking Recruitment and Hiring Costs Associated with Bad Hires

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost of a bad hire can equal at least 30% of the individual’s expected first-year earnings. (Some estimates put this percentage much higher.) So, if you bring on an employee expected to earn $60,000 a year and they don’t work out, your company has just lost out to the tune of $18,000 – at a minimum.  

Lost Productivity: The Silent Killer of Revenue

The financial risk alone is a great reason to avoid making a bad hire if you can, but that’s not the whole picture. Lost productivity is another factor to consider. Since you’ll have to start the recruiting and hiring process over again after you’ve made a bad hire, you’re missing out on production while that role sits vacant. The more specialized the role and the harder it is to find someone to fill it, the longer this will drag out – putting an even greater strain on your business.  

How a Single Bad Hire Can Haunt Your Business for Years to Come

As if the financial risk and the lost productivity weren’t enough, making a bad hire can also seriously affect the morale around your company. Morale tends to drop when the turnover rate is high, which can have a ripple effect that’s hard to contain. The long-term effects of a bad hire can last for years! 

So, how can you avoid a bad hire? 

Hire the Right Person, the First Time 

You can ensure you’re bringing on the right person for your open roles through proper background screening and vetting. That way, you avoid the risk of a bad hire, saving your company money, time, and productivity. Let Metrodata Services help you hire better – we’re the premier PBSA-accredited background screening provider in Western New York. Contact our team today to get started.