What To Do When You've Made The Wrong Hiring Decision

Finding the right people for any role can be difficult.  It’s time-consuming and therefore cost consuming, so it’s critical to get it right.

You may have hired someone and thought they were great – great resume, enthusiastic personality with the right skills and experience; however, after a few months, you’ve realised they are not what you thought at all.  It’s OK – you’re not the first to have made this mistake, and you certainly won’t be the last.

The first few months of a new employee joining a company is a test for you.  For them, it is to see whether they can do the job as well as they told you they could, and for you (as the hiring manager) to see whether you made the right hiring decision.

When you’ve hired the wrong person, it can be a real blow to your confidence and ability to judge people during the interview process; however, there are steps you can take to recover and stop it from happening again.

Establish why it is a bad hire

Consider whether they would be better in another role

Let your mission guide you

Know when to give up

Avoid future bad hires

Establish why it is a bad hire

Before you do anything, you need to discover why the employee isn’t working out.

Is it because you’ve made the wrong hiring decision, or is it because your onboarding process is wrong?  Did you rush the recruitment process and overlook potential red flags? Whatever the reason, once you can determine the issue, you can decide whether it is fixable or not.

Here are some tell tale signs you could have made a wrong hiring decision:

They make the same mistakes

Your new employee is bound to make mistakes; no amount of training can cover everything the job will entail, whether it is a junior or senior role. However, if you have provided additional meetings and training sessions to go over the mistake, you should expect your employees to not make them anymore.  Continuous mistakes may mean a lack of attention and willingness to learn, as well as being lazy and unable.

They wait for you to tell them what to do

All employees need a little guidance when they start a new company; however, after a few days or weeks, you should expect some work initiative.  Employees who wait to be given the next step are unlikely to ever become a star performer.

They don't get to know anybody

Office culture is an ever-increasing necessity; it adds so many positives to your company, including strengthening your brand, and boosting motivation and productivity. If a new employee isn’t gelling with their colleagues, it could mean they have problems working in teams, or they might not plan on staying with the company long.

They don't have any questions

It’s impossible to know everything about a new job.  Your new hire should be asking questions – it shows engagement and interest in the position. Questions relating to the business are also a good sign meaning they're still interested in learning more about the company they’re working for.  If they’re not asking questions, it could mean they think they know everything about the position or are not motivated.

They compare this job to their previous job

Trusting the company you work for means trusting the way they do things.  If a new employee is constantly comparing your company to their previous one, it could mean they prefer their old way of doing things.  They should be adapting to how your company does things; it’s a big warning sign if they’re not.

They're never there

If a new hire is late, always sick and is always taking extra-long lunches, they’re lacking the motivation to want to be a great employee.  This is a red flag in any industry and level.

It’s not the end of the world if you make the wrong hiring decision – seek advice and gain others’ opinions on hiring in the future.

Consider whether they would be better in another role

If the person is fitting in well but isn’t performing to the standard you expected, consider whether they would be better suited to another role.

You don’t want to lose someone who is the right culture fit, and that could potentially exceed in another position.  Great people can be difficult to find, so don’t be too quick to dismiss them – training them in a new role will be less costly than restarting the hiring process.

If you do give your bad hire a second chance, make your expectations clear, along with communicating measurable goals and a completion timeline.

Let your mission guide you

Your mission, vision and values should guide every decision you make.  If the employee’s behaviour and skills aren’t aligned with what your company is about, they’re not a good fit.

Be professional and courteous and always do as much as you can to help employees – however, also realise that you cannot completely change people, and there are some that you will have to let go.

Know when to give up

There will be instances when bad hires just aren’t for you or your company.  If you have given them every chance to succeed but they simply aren’t right – cut your losses.

Here are a few scenarios where termination may be the only solution:

• The employee lied about their skills and experience

• The employee simply isn’t the right fit for your company

• The employee shows a lack of commitment

Avoid future bad hires

Every business makes hiring mistakes; however, you can only move forward by learning from your mistakes and implementing a strategy to prevent it from happening again.

A good place to start is your recruiting and interview process.  Start right at the beginning with your job descriptions and list of specifications.

If you don’t know where to start, consult a recruitment professional. Recruitment firms will be able to offer you guidance and assist you in finding the right people, with the right skills and experience for the role you are trying to hire for.

Acknowledging you’ve made a bad hire is a painful realisation; however, the sooner you realise, the sooner you can take the right actions to reduce the impact.