The Cost Of Not Getting A Hire Right the First Time

While letting go of someone who isn’t a good fit might seem like a setback, the true cost of a bad hire can leave a larger impact on your business than you realize. Because of this, investing time in finding the best person for the job is important and can have long-term benefits for everyone on the team.

Let’s delve into some of the costs of a not getting a hire right the first time, how they can affect your company’s resources, and a few practical ways to try and avoid making the wrong hire.

3 Ways Poor Hiring Can Impact Your Company’s Bottom Line

With 30% of new hires leaving their roles within the first 90 days, the financial impact of needing to re-hire can snowball far beyond their salary. These early-stage departures can disrupt workflows, lower team morale, and create a significant financial burden for companies.

We’ve been staffing for over 20 years, so we know the impact of a bad hire can hurt. But we also know: these things happen! With our experience, we can not only help you find someone who can thrive in their role but also help you avoid starting over from scratch.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the hidden costs that can affect your bottom line:

1. Lost Productivity

Needing to re-hire a candidate can cost a company up to 30% of the role’s annual salary in lost productivity every week that role isn’t filled. This can translate to:

Missed deadlines: When you go through multiple hiring cycles with the same position, it can create bottlenecks and delays in project completion.
Quality concerns: In addition to slow output, a candidate not fit for their role might produce low-quality work, which could require additional revisions and corrections, further slowing down progress.
Overworked teammates: To compensate for partial contributions, other employees have to take on additional tasks—which could lead to burnout and decreased productivity.

The actual impact can vary depending on the role, industry, and the caliber of the hire and their dedication to the role. Nevertheless, a bad hire can have a sizable impact on your team’s ability to get things done.

2. Customer Dissatisfaction

Finding the right people for customer-facing roles is essential. Naturally, new hires need time to learn the brand, products, and tone, but a bad fit with employees and employer could damage your relationships with clients. This can lead to lost business in two ways:

Direct Loss: Frustrated customers may simply take their business elsewhere.
Indirect Loss: Negative online reviews or word-of-mouth complaints can deter potential new customers.

In today’s digital age, building a team with strong customer service skills can help drive positive word-of-mouth reviews and revenue growth.

3. Recruitment Costs

Getting a new hire settled into their role means you’ve already invested in the advertising of the position, screened resumes, conducted interviews, and put them through o rientation and onboarding. Some of the costs—both time and financial—associated with the recruiting process can include:

Writing a job description
Screening resumes for the right work experience
Following up with qualified applicants that applied
Scheduling and conducting interviews
Awaiting background check results
Waiting on candidates to decline or accept an offer

Time is money, right? On top of the lost productivity, going through the hiring process multiple times adds up in the time you dedicate to it.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Complete Guide to Finding Employees

The Solution

As we’ve seen, needing to re-hire roles you thought you nailed can be costly to any company. Fortunately, there are tactics you can use to ensure you’re giving new hires the best opportunity to succeed. They include:

Clearly defining the role: Take the time to create a detailed job description that outlines the specific skills, experience, and qualifications required for success.
Conducting comprehensive skill assessments: Integrate relevant skills assessments into the interview process to objectively evaluate a candidate’s capabilities beyond their resume.
Investing in development: Offer and encourage on-going professional development opportunities to new and existing employees to advance skills sets and keep your team engaged.
Utilizing targeted recruitment methods: Go beyond simply posting a job ad online. Network with industry professionals, attend job fairs, and leverage social media platforms to attract qualified candidates.
Quality onboarding: Creating a thorough onboarding process can set employees up for long-term success by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and connections they need to thrive in their roles.

Save Your Time, Skip the Search

We know these processes can be hard to nail down, so let us help you narrow down those last few candidates! We are a leading staffing and recruitment agency dedicated to helping you find the best talent and make them successful. Our experienced team can handle every step of the hiring process, from crafting compelling job descriptions to conducting comprehensive assessments.

When you prioritize a well-defined hiring process and ongoing support for your new hires, you can avoid the consequences of hiring the wrong candidate. Let us do the heavy lifting so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business. Reach out to us to discover what Insight Global can do for you!

Looking for more expert advice? Insight Global hosted a webinar with hiring experts Rebecca Farno and Keith Simpson. In this excerpt, they summarize their conclusions on the true cost of hiring.

Want to watch the full webinar? What is the True Cost of Hiring? is available on demand. Sign up now!