A mis-hire is a very costly mistake. Not only financially, but it also damages the team that you have already taken the time to organize. The time to avoiding hiring mistakes begins long before you have collected resumes and interviewed candidates. A few key objectives to making a good hiring decision is to understand the position. Then conduct an “audition” and then take the time needed to make a good decision. Finally, if the fit isn’t right, it is important to move quickly to rectify it.

Start by looking at the job vacancy that needs to filled and defining the job description. It doesn’t matter if you are filling a recently vacated position or is starting from scratch, anytime you need to find a new team member, it is important to define the job. You’ll need that before you can find the right person. When the job is accurately defined–including important elements like performance objectives, required skills, education and other requirements specific to the position–the likelihood of a mis-hire is greatly reduced.

Any interview can be a potential minefield for hiring mistakes. First impressions can often be deceiving, yet most hiring decisions made by Utah staffing agencies are heavily influenced in the first 30 seconds of the interview. Thirty seconds is an extremely short period of time. Most people don’t get beyond small talk in the first 30 seconds. A more permanent well-informed decision usually takes at least 30 minutes, which is still a short amount of time to make an educated hiring decision. Choosing to have a candidate audition for the job is a good way to determine if the job is a good fit. It’s a good idea to delay making any type of decision for enough time to make a well-thought out decision

Once you have decided on the best candidate for the position, give the candidate a period of “audition. Hiring by audition might be a great way for both the candidate and you to determine whether they are a perfect match. This is a great way to assess the quality of the candidate’s results. Auditioning means the candidate actually works for the organization for some period of time and is paid for by the organization as a consultant for a few hours, several days or for a few weeks. This audition gives both time to see if the job fit is best for both.

Another audition model is to have the candidate work at night or on the weekends if they are currently employed and cannot audition during normal working hours. At the end of the audition trial period, you will then be able to see real-time performance. The candidate will also get a better feel for the position.

Despite the best hiring processes, mistakes can and do happen. It is important to regularly assess new hires for the first 45 to 90 days. Get feedback from co-workers, team members and colleagues to help make a complete assessment. If the feedback indicates that the candidate and the job is not working out, take corrective action as soon as possible. First steps in the corrective process include additional on-boarding, mentoring or, if necessary, termination. The worst hiring mistake is keeping an employee that isn’t working out. If the assessments point to a mismatch, it is best for both you and the new hire to move on.

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