7 Lessons Learned from Hiring the Wrong Person
4 Sales Compensation Plans: Which One Is Best?
November 30, 20163-Legged Sales Strategy . . . Which Leg Are You Missing?
January 20, 2017If you are a business owner or hiring manager, it is probably a safe guess that you have made a bad hire at some point in the past. Maybe you have made many bad hires. Yet, let’s not beat ourselves up over it. There are many lessons that can be learned from our mistakes that may get us closer to making better hires in the future. In fact, maybe we must learn these lessons before we start hiring right.
Here are the top 7 lessons that you may learn:
1. Job is poorly defined: How can you find you what you are looking for if you don’t know what it is? Sometimes you need to learn what doesn’t work before you know what will work. Apply what you have learned and re-evaluate the job criteria, if necessary.
2. Compensation plan is below market: Competition is tight for talent and compensation requirement have increased. Paying for new talent may push you outside your pay structure for existing employees. If you are not willing to ante up, you may need to decrease your expectations on candidate experience and skills.
3. Company brand is lacking: If your company flies low on the radar, candidates may be hesitant to join your company. Be prepared to do a better job of “selling” your company’s vision, future growth, and career opportunities.
4. Sourcing strategy is weak: The bigger the pond, the better your chance of catching a fish. If your applicant flow is under 100, I would recommend stepping up your sourcing strategy to increase your candidate pool.
5. Evaluation process is inconsistent: Not uncommon that a bad hire is made when your hiring process is circumvented, particularly with candidates you personally know. Apply the same interview process to all candidates to create more consistent results.
6. Quantitative data is unavailable: Trusting your gut when hiring is a recipe for disaster. Assessment tools provide valuable quantitative data that may prove helpful in determining if a candidate is the right fit for the job.
7. Onboarding process is lacking: Expecting new hires to “hit the road running” may be a pipe dream. Even the best candidates need to learn your products and processes and get a “feel” for your company culture and dynamics. It may take up to 6 months for new hires to acclimate to your company.
Practice makes perfect. If your company does not hire often, don’t expect to hire perfectly every time. Knowledge is gained from experience which can be used to develop better standards for your future hiring initiatives.
If you would like to improve your hiring results, give us a call at 317-578-1310.
