Nearly 80 percent of employee turnover is attributed to hiring mistakes, according to a study by Harvard University. That’s not surprising when you consider how little time most businesses spend preparing for potential vacancies before they
occur, then interviewing possible replacements once someone leaves.

Here are the most common hiring mistakes I have seen in my 20-plus years as a human resources professional:

Not having a clear job description.
Companies need job descriptions for the same reasons builders need blueprints. Without one, you will not know where to start. A detailed job description gives you a clear idea what type of person to look for when filling an open position.
It also provides a road map for reviewing the performance of current employees holding the same position. If you do not have formal job descriptions, begin by determining the most important skills, education and experience needed for the
position you plan to fill. For example, does your job require a college degree? What results will you expect to see in the first 90 days of employment? If you have a hiring manager, you can work with that person to develop the description.

Not articulating the company's vision and mission.
Can you and any employees who interview candidates convey a clear picture of your company and its goals? If not, then the people you hire may not have a good idea what they are getting into and they may be more likely to leave.

Spending too little or too much time on the search.
Do you allow enough time for a thorough interview, a follow-up, a background investigation and final decision? Conversely, do you take so long to make a decision that you lose a top-quality candidate to another company? Both extremes are
a mistake. The way you handle the hiring process and the time involved give an impression of how you conduct business. Applicants today pay close attention to the hiring process, looking for affirmation that your company is a good place to work. Do
not give good candidates a reason to drop out of consideration. How long should you spend on a search? I find it’s best to allot a month but no more than two for hourly jobs, three to six months for a salaried position and up to a year for senior executives. Each industry will have different standard time lines and some hourly technical positions are taking much longer due to scarcity of top talent in that area.

Hiring a warm body, instead of a good fit.
Do you make hurried decisions, just putting anyone into the job without thoroughly discovering whether the person is qualified? If so, stop. You are much better off leaving a job unfilled than bringing in someone who will not be productive.

Using Poor interview Techniques and Interview Bias.
How experienced is your interview team? Have you developed an interview plan so there is consistency in the way you question each candidate? Are the people who conduct your interviews experienced in hiring? If not, you could violate Equal
Employment Opportunity rules at worse and at the least make the wrong hiring decision. Train your team to avoid common interviewing biases such as stereotyping, inconsistency in questioning, first-impression error, cultural noise (candidate tells you what they think you want to hear), contrast effect
(strong candidates following weak ones making the stronger seem even stronger) and similar-to-me error. Also, you should consider performing some type of assessment testing. You have many choices and I do not have space to describe them all here. Be careful to choose a test that’s been proven valid for
the job you’re filling and proven to measure abilities across all applicants without discrimination.

Failing to conduct background investigations and drug tests.

Believing that HR has sole responsibility.
The manager or supervisor who will oversee the new employee should be part of the interview process. After all, that person has accountability for the performance and turnover in his or her department.

Not making the offer in writing.
A written offer provides an opportunity to be clear on the terms of the job and to avoid any misunderstandings in verbal communications. The most common items to include are: compensation (stated in per-payroll amount, not annual figures),
start date, job title, reporting relationship, responsibilities,benefits (including holidays, vacation policy, health and life insurance, and pension/401k limits, especially transfers), COBRA rules and retirement policy. The most important piece
of the offer letter for those employees you relocate is simply the relocation policy. Include a statement that if the employee leaves before a specified minimum period of time, the person will be required to repay all or a portion of the relocation
benefits.

Not performing exit interviews.
You may want to confer with an employment attorney to create a sound policy if you do not already have one. Make certain the employee signs and returns the offer prior to the beginning of either the relocation or date of hire, whichever occurs first, to avoid any misunderstandings.

Not ensuring a smooth transition.
An exit interview helps you determine why a person did not work out so you can take appropriate action for improvement. That will increase the chances the new employee will stay. To help a new hire start on the right foot, you need to
conduct a complete, appropriate orientation and articulate clearly how the employee will be held accountable and how the person can be successful in the new job.

Another critical component of the hiring process is developing the people who supervise your employees. Often the underlying cause of employees voluntarily leaving is their direct supervisor. If you want to keep your best people and
encourage good candidates to join your company, you need to develop your managers. Having well-trained supervisors will lower recruiting costs and reduce hiring mistakes.

At a fundamental level, all companies want to attract top quality candidates. If you address the mistakes I’ve listed here you can improve the chances you’ll hire the right person the next time you have an opening.

Robin conducts team workshops on life skills that are critical for developing your supervisors and managers.  Call today for a free consultation.  We can customize a program just for your needs.

Why Should you choose Cemcon

Cemcon has been providing a full range of staffing services exclusively to the cement industry for thirty years. We have worked with all of the cement manufacturers. We only do cement; therefore, we intimately know the industry and can locate top talent quickly. Give Lee a call to discuss our fee schedule and exclusive contracts.  We look forward to working with you. 
Call him at 800-953-4460 or click here to send an email to LeeRudolph@acementheadhunter.com.   

Now offering DiSC profile assessments. We also offer outstanding workshops, seminars, team coaching and one-to-one coaching.  Let us know your needs and we can custom design a program for you.  These programs can be for 1/2 day or full days.  We are now currently offering outplacement services as our industry moves through a difficult time.