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There is an old but true saying: The best candidate doesn't always get the job. If you have ever made a bad hiring decision, don't worry - you are in good company. All leaders and managers select bad hires, even if they don't know it. The difference is that good leaders recognize their mistake and fire faster. All hiring managers are sure to make bad hiring decisions because they made a decision based on situational questions, content on a resume, emotions or a "gut feeling." Selecting a bad hire is understandable, but not doing anything about it can cost an organization greatly.
There are several beliefs and opinions on how to identify the best candidates and hire the right person. These range from interviewing skills and aptitude tests to situational scenarios. Leaders should take the following three steps to help ensure they add the right people to their team:
Managers should build their bench and not wait to hire until they have an opening. Instead, prepare for an opening. Many bad hiring decisions are made because of an urgent need to fill an opening and a lack of time to interview candidates properly to ensure the best one is chosen. Building the bench is also a great way to allow leaders to hold their current employees accountable to high achievement.
A leader owes it to the entire team to always be looking to add high-caliber employees, and staff should expect it. This is not a loyalty issue. Loyalty should not be based on tenure but on contribution. Everybody wants to be a part of a winning team, and leaders of great teams recruit to hire better people, not to replace those who left.
Action item: Regardless of your budget restraints, actual open head count or current success, conduct one interview per month for the rest of 2012 - and let your team know you are.
No skill or experience can outweigh the bad effects of hiring a victim. No matter the person's track record, years of experience, or how well the interview went, under no circumstances should a leader who desires to build top teams and hold employees accountable hire a person who plays the victim. These individuals believe it is always someone else's fault when they fail or run into obstacles. They often believe they work harder than everybody else and that their former managers and/or co-workers did things wrong. Keep in mind that this means their future manager and/or co-workers most likely will do everything wrong as well. This person never takes personal responsibility for failures and always has an excuse that points to something or someone else.
Leaders need to ask questions during the interview that will reveal potential victims, such as "Have you ever been part of a project that failed but it wasn't your fault?" Ask them to tell you about their least favorite and then favorite supervisor, including why they were their favorite or least favorite.
No one answer will indicate to the hiring manager that the applicant is a victim, but the feeling and energy the person gives while answering the questions usually will.
Action item: Prior to interviewing, know the attributes and skills you are looking for and more importantly what characteristics you want to avoid.
The only thing worse than a bad hire is keeping one, so fire faster. As stated, all leaders make bad hiring decisions. The key to not letting it destroy the success in your team is not always in the hiring but in the firing. This does not mean that you throw new hires to the wolves and see if they can survive. Give new hires the tools necessary to succeed and hold them accountable to the right attitude and activities. Many companies have probationary periods where the applicant can be terminated without all of the HR red tape. Leaders must work within the rules and laws to make sure all bad hires don't become long-term bad employees.
What is fast? That is up to the leader and organization to decide, but some would say that 30 days is pretty fast. Once leaders identify that a new employee is not doing the right activities or does not have the right attitude, they need to address it immediately with the employee. Be sure to ask for the employee's perspective and give clear expectations as to what it will take in the near future to remain in the organization. Remember that just because someone is a bad hire does not mean the individual is a bad person - sometimes a person is just not the right fit for a position or organization. Doing the right thing is rarely easy but always right - for all parties.
Action item: Spend time with new employees and pay attention to their activities, attitude and results. Then take the necessary action.
Not every hire is the right hire and not every job is the right job, but accepting a bad decision is wrong for everyone involved. A leader does a disservice to the team, the organization and the "bad hire" by not taking immediate action.
Nathan Jamail is president of the Jamail Development Group. An entrepreneur and corporate coach, he works with individuals and organizations to achieve maximum success. He can be contacted at http://www.nathanjamail.com/.
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