Four ways to ensure quality hires

The cost of a bad hire can be significant for organizations. In fact, some reports estimate that the cost can range from one to five times that of the employee’s annual salary¹. Additionally, 80% of employee turnover can be attributed to poor hiring decisions². Because of this, it is crucial for organizations to take measures to ensure that the hiring process is effective.

Inc. Magazine compiled four ways to ensure you make great hires—each and every time. One of which is highlighted below:

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Get proof that they have it. The hiring process (and yes, hiring should be a process, not an event) must have one purpose only: to prove to you, without a doubt, that the candidate you choose possesses the skills and behaviors needed in order to excel in the job for which you’re hiring them.

This means that the process must include tests (Do they need to write code in PHP and jQuery? Give them some coding to do); role plays (Do they need to sell? Take them on a ride-along and watch them sell); simulations (Need to make snap decisions under pressure? Let’s see them do it); and anything else necessary to give you the proof you need.

If your hiring process is still essentially a dialogue in which you lob vaguely associated questions at the candidate hoping that by the end of 45 minutes you’ll have formed some hit-or-miss notion of the person’s overall likelihood to succeed, your hiring success rate will be equally hit or miss.

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This point underscores the importance of using validated leadership assessments as a key data source for making employment decisions.

The other three strategies highlighted by Inc. Magazine include:

• Ditch the “secret sauce” mumbo jumbo
• Know precisely what you’re looking for
• Involve others

To read the full article, please visit Inc Magazine.

¹ Harvard Business Review

² Society for Human Resources Management