Marketing Recruitment Lessons: The Cost of a Bad Hire
A key employee asks to speak to you privately.
You know before he or she says a word that they are going to give notice. They have accepted an offer of employment elsewhere. A number of thoughts race through your mind: Where are they going? How much notice are they giving? How long will it take to find a replacement?
It won’t be easy to find someone to fill the departing employee’s shoes. It will take time; almost certainly longer than the 2 weeks notice you are likely to receive.
What are your options? You can post the position on a Job Board immediately, and spread the word to your network of friends and professional colleagues. You can reach out to your local trade association.
You can engage the services of an executive recruiter. No, that’s too costly. Or is it?
I am an executive recruiter. I do understand that the expense of a professional recruitment fee can be daunting. Especially if you are not convinced that the recruiter is worth his/her salt. I wouldn’t want to pay a recruiter to post my opening on the Monster board. I’m sure you wouldn’t either.
But that’s not what a good recruiter does. A good recruiter has been cultivating a network of contacts in your industry, day in and day out, for years. In our case, 37 years. We have established relationships with direct and ecommerce marketing professionals, and, over time, their friends, colleagues, and in some cases, husbands, wives and grown children. We have seen candidates become clients, and clients become candidates. It takes time to develop a professional reputation, and trust, and a network the size of ours. That is our focus; it has not been, and need not be yours.
What is the cost of a bad hire anyway?
– Time. Once a hire is made, it takes some time to realize that the new employee is not working out. Even when it becomes apparent that the new employee is not working out, it is difficult for the hiring manager to digest the fact that he/she has made a mistake, and usually more time is invested in trying to work it out. Often this time involves others on the team, who assist in trying to turn a bad hire good.
– Morale. Nobody works in a vacuum. When a bad hire is made, many people suffer. Others on the team must help the new employee to master their job, and after a while, this drags down those around the new employee.
– Money. There is the salary paid to the new employee, and possibly a sign-on bonus, or relocation expenses were covered. Those are sunk costs. But there is also the “opportunity cost” of a bad hire. . . if that person does not have significant mastery of the skill sets required, they can cost you orders or renewals. They can do damage to your company’s reputation. Their ignorance of best practices or best business partners can result in unnecessary expenditures. If you hired the ideal candidate, who knows what would have been accomplished? They might have suggested a new way of doing things that would save your company more than the price of their salary…or implemented a procedure that would increase visitors to your website…or simply streamlined a process for an ongoing project that had been done the same way “forever”.
When purchasing bananas, seek out a bargain. When hiring for your company, think long term, and take whatever steps necessary to bring on the best.
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