A lot goes into making a company successful. You need great marketing, a product people want or need, offer great customer service and so much more. However, perhaps more important than all of those is the team you build. Your employees, and how they work and work together, can make or break your company.
As a result, hiring the right people is very important. You want to hire people that not only know how to do their job, but also fit within the culture of your company. Unfortunately, many companies make harmful hiring mistakes that can ruin their company and severely hurt their company culture.
Without any further ado, let’s take a closer look at some common hiring mistakes you should avoid in order to have a more successful business and a great company culture.
Not Using Technology
Technology has played an incredibly important role in almost every business, and has changed the space forever. If you are not using technology to help with hiring, you’re making a mistake. Technology can be used for a range of different things from finding the right candidates or sharing your job posting. Even tracking and analyzing applicants through an ATS, or applicant tracking system, is possible. Click here to learn more about how ATS work.
All of these various types of technologies can help make hiring easier, more streamlined and much less expensive. This doesn’t mean you need to use every piece of technology out there, but you should at least consider a number of them. Without it, you will surely be spending more time, money and energy on hiring than you need to.
Only Considering Skills, and Not the Fit
When hiring a new employee, you want them to have the necessary skills to get the job done right. However, if all you consider are things like their skills, education and experience, you might not be getting the whole story. A big part of how successful an employee will be with your company depends on cultural fit.
Social skills, the right behavior and a willingness to work with others are all important things a candidate should possess. A potential employee could look outstanding on paper, but if they aren’t a good “fit” within the company, hiring them could be a mistake. This is why it is a good idea to get to know a potential employee before hiring them based solely on their skills or experience.
Not Being Clear With the Job Posting
When companies post a job description to the internet, they often try to make their opportunity look as good as possible. The better the position looks, the better employees will apply for it, right? While this is true, it isn’t always a good thing. If you are misleading or unclear with the job posting, it is likely going to confuse or anger candidates once they find out the truth.
It is a better option to make the posting as honest and as detailed as possible. Authenticity is the best policy when it comes to looking to fill a position. Potential employees want to be given an honest and clear look at what the position is. If the posting is vague or doesn’t actually match up with the job it represents, filling the position with a high-quality candidate can prove difficult.
Not Taking Enough Time to Find the Right Candidate
When a position opens up at your company, it makes sense to want to fill it immediately. Being without someone in a role, particularly if it is an important one, can be worrying. However, rushing the process is often a bad move. Filling the open position quickly without fully considering other options can lead to you making a bad hire.
Hiring the wrong person can end up actually wasting more time and money than simply taking your time to find the right candidate. The more time you take and the more people you consider for the job, the better the chance that you will be able to find the right fit.
Relying Too Heavily on the Interview
For many companies, the interview is the decisive method that will decide whether to hire an employee or not. However, while helpful for gathering information, interviews should not be relied on as heavily as they often are. Some people are quick-thinking and often interview better than others. But that doesn’t mean they are necessarily better at doing the job.
As a result, consider the big picture and the full-scope of a candidate, not overly focusing on the interview. In addition to interviewing potential candidates, you should also have some tests for them. This will allow them to show off their skills or answer important questions with actions, instead of just words.
Hopefully this article has been able to help you avoid the common hiring mistakes that can ruin your business and company culture.
