Sometimes an applicant can have a great resume, spotless background, and interview well but still end up being a bad fit. How can HR managers deal with such hires, and where do the problems arise? Primarily, they emerge from lack of due diligence during the employee verification process or reference check, or in warning signs that you didn’t pick up on. Sometimes, expectations for a position are not clearly defined during the hiring process. While we provide some tips for avoiding nightmare-hires, entrusting your pre-screening to CNet Technologies is one of the best ways to take the stress out of screening your applicants!
Do Your Due Diligence
Did you know that people embellish or outright lie on a resume? Over half of candidates—53%—are willing to falsify documents. This makes discovering if the candidate is as good as they seem on paper is crucial to protecting your business.
- Perform thorough reference checks.
- Verify their previous employment record.
- When following up with references, ask legally allowed but probing questions find out the character and work ethic of the candidate.
- Partner with a reliable third-party screener to limit liability and reduce risk!
Reading the Warning Signs
Part of your job as the HR manager is to pick up on the signals being sent unintentionally by the candidate. During the hiring process, the potential employee is putting their best foot forward. Though you shouldn’t actively seek a reason not to hire someone, knowing how to spot warning signs could prevent you from choosing someone who won’t fit later! Get familiar with these five types of hires to watch out for.
Perform a Skills Assessment
Once the background checks and individual verifications are complete, consider including a practical task or assessment during interviews!
- Choose a task that is performed regularly by someone in the position of interest.
- Assessments can not only reveal any gaps in the candidate’s knowledge, but give the candidate a chance to see if they will enjoy doing the tasks expected of them each day.
- Include questions during the interview process that root out learning habits and reveal a potential hire’s drive to learn, their independence, and how they go about acquiring new skills.
- Knowing how a prospective employee learns is helpful for later training and the on-boarding process.
Beware of Bad Attitudes
Hiring someone with a consistently negative personality that toes the line into disrespectful territory is tough on your team’s morale and productivity. A poor outlook isn’t easy to assess initially, especially in an interview situation when a candidate is on their best behavior. One way you can anticipate a lousy attitude is by asking anyone outside of the interviewing staff how the candidate treated them: if the candidate was short with the receptionist over the phone or in person, this could indicate later acts of disrespect once they get settled in. Another is to listen for negativity in how they describe their previous employers or past job experience in general: If the person is ready to blame others for past issues, it’s likely they will continue to sidestep blame in their new role.
Look Inward
The main focus so far has been on what to watch out for with candidates, but now we’re going to flip the script. Ask yourself these questions:
- What have you done to prepare your candidates for what will be expected of them each day?
- Are your expectations out of sync with what can actually be accomplished?
- Are you presenting the duties of the job clearly and thoroughly?
Hiring the best candidate for your team should involve self-evaluation of what the needs of your company are, and should be somewhat flexible as goals are met or change. If you’re not reflecting on your own mistakes and adjusting accordingly, you’ll continue to hire ill-fitting candidates.
Finding Better Hires from the Start
According to HR DIVE, 74% of HR professionals say they’ve hired a bad employee during their career. Keep your HR team from joining that statistic by increasing diligence in your pre-screening, looking for warning signs during the interview and hiring process, keeping an eye out for negativity, assessing the skill level of new hires, and rigorously self-assessing. CNet Technologies wants to help you throughout the hiring process so you can avoid the stress of bad hires from the start. Contact us today and see how partnering with our team can build the best team for your company.
