Is your company struggling with employee retention? If so, you are probably making the following common hiring mistakes that most recruiters make. Hiring employees and retaining them is a big challenge countless companies face on a daily basis.
What they don’t know, however, is that the key to retaining your employees starts with who you hire. Even if the candidates have all the skills, experiences, and education they want, they will still leave if the job is not right for them. That is why you should pay attention to the hiring process on top of other strategies you have in place.
The following are the top 10 common hiring mistakes you should avoid if you want to hire the right people and retain them.
Related: 16 best employee retention strategies that work for 2022
1. Not knowing the exact job requirements
The first and most important task of the hiring manager or a recruiter is to understand the exact requirements of the job. Each task should be crystal clear and specific. Once this step is completed, you can then look for candidates who match those specific job requirements.
One of the most common hiring mistakes is that recruiters and hiring managers do not pay attention to these details. They make broader job descriptions which lead to a wide range of candidates. As a result, it becomes difficult to fill those roles. Sometimes, you end up hiring the wrong candidate due to these simple recruitment mistakes.
In order to hire the perfect candidate for the job, make it clear what the job is and who is qualified for the job. If you require specific qualifications or certifications, mention those in the application. This way, unqualified candidates will not apply for the job. Hence, saving you time and money.
2. Hiring too many people
Hiring mistakes come in many forms and sizes. One mistake that many companies make when hiring people is to hire more people than they need. As a result, they spend more money paying employees who should not be there.
Every extra employee will take a big chunk of your revenues and reduce your profitability. Those sales are made for expansion and business growth. Not for unnecessary wages.
In order to avoid these common hiring mistakes, make sure that you understand the job requirements and how many people can perform those specific tasks. When hiring, make sure that you hire that specific number of employees.
Another tip to not hire more people than you need is to update your systems. We are in a changing world where a small change can make a huge difference in your organization. So, before you hire extra employees, evaluate your systems for updates. If it is economically viable to make a small adjustment to the system than hiring a brand new person, then do it.
For example, you can automate some steps of the process. Hence, giving support to existing employees and increasing their output. This could increase your short-term expenses. But, it could be a smart decision in the long run.
3. Talking to candidates more than listening to what they say
The interview is a time to evaluate each candidate’s qualifications and where they stand compared to the job requirements. In addition, it is a time to see how well the candidate will fit into the existing team without compromising some values. In order to get this information from the candidates, you should list more than you talk to them.
Every word that comes out of the candidate’s mouth is very important to the job, the team, and the company, in general.
One of the hiring mistakes many recruiters make is to talk more than they listen to their interviewees. They talk about the company’s values, future projections, dreams, amazing teams, products, etc. Then, they forget that they are the judges.
If a person put in an application for a specific job, they already want to work there. Although you must show the candidate that the company is right for them, you are not there to convince them to work for you. Your job is to make sure that they match the job specifications. That means listening more than you talk. Do not miss anything. Give them a chance to talk and evaluate everything they say. That is how you get a needle from a haystack.
4. Focusing on what they have done rather than what they are willing to do
Having work experience is very important for every candidate. The experience shows that they have worked somewhere, and more importantly, they have done something similar to the job they are applying for. As a recruiter, you should pay attention to what the candidate has done and their behaviors toward those jobs. Yes, they are not lazy, they are willing to work, and they are aware of the skills and job requirements.
The past, however, cannot determine the future. You cannot tell if the person you are hiring is going to be great simply by focusing on past experiences. Maybe they had extra motivation or incentives that made them deliver more.
That is why you should pay attention to what a candidate is willing to do rather than what he/she has done. Focus on how much a candidate is willing to know instead of what he/she knows. I consider adaptation as one of the most important skills and abilities for every candidate.
If your employees cannot adapt to new changes, learn new systems, and come up with solutions, they are not good employees. You need people who can and are willing to adapt to changes. That is why you should focus on how far a candidate is willing to go rather than where they went.
5. Not checking references
One of the common hiring mistakes many companies make is to ignore references. Someone they think is perfect shows up at their doorsteps and they said, “This is it.” So, they hire the person.
There is no such thing as a perfect candidate.
If they were good, why did they leave their past jobs? Maybe they were good at doing their jobs but made it difficult for others to perform. You don’t know these details and the candidate is not going to tell you, “Hey, I was so good and fast at doing my job to a level where I started yelling and bullying slow coworkers.”
You cannot get these details from the interview.
That is why even if a candidate is good, you must check their references. Ask their past managers and supervisors why the employee left and what it was like to work with them. These answers will shine more light on what you learned from them during the interview.
6. Not understanding the candidate’s motivation
One of the top hiring mistakes you should avoid is not understanding your candidate’s motivations. Each employee is different and there is not a single work environment that fits them all. Some people perform better when they know they are safe others, however, do better in an environment where they feel they are making a difference.
Some employees get motivation from inclusion, an opportunity to grow, respect, etc. You need to know where each candidate stands when it comes to motivation. What motivates them to work and stay? Is it money? Figure that out.
Even if you have the perfect candidates for the job, they will still leave, if they are not motivated.
Once you figure this information out, you need to create an environment that offers these benefits. Create a business that offers value to its employees. Create safety standards, have rewards programs and diversity, and create opportunities for your employees to grow. Eventually, everyone will see themselves in those values and stay longer.
But if you go out there and say, “The salary is $15/hour and you will never have a raise.”, the person you just hired will take the job and start looking for another one. It is that simple. And this is one of the reasons many employers struggle with employee retention.
7. Avoiding phone interviews
If you eliminated a candidate during an in-person interview, the same person could have been eliminated from a simple phone interview.
If your company has a preliminary screening, take advantage of these benefits. Call each candidate and make sure that at least, they meet the job requirements. See where they stand and the chances of them getting hired. If the chance of meeting your requirements is higher, move to an in-person interview.
You don’t want to go through the in-person interview and end up eliminating them anyways. It could be much easier for both sides to eliminate a person on the phone without spending resources on interview scheduling.
8. Being emotional in your hiring process
Your hiring process is not the time to be carried away by emotions. Yes, some candidates have touching stories.
Some of the people who will walk in your doors will have lost their parents, lost their jobs, divorced, etc. These are all touching stories and you should be sympathetic.
However, you must not get carried away by their stories. There is still a job to do. You must look beyond those touching stories and evaluate the candidate’s qualifications and skill sets. At the end of the day, if they are not a good fit for the job, the list of their sorrows will go higher the moment you let them go. So, do them a favor and hire them only if they are qualified not because they have touching stories.
9. Hiring people because you know them
This is probably the biggest recruitment mistake that is common around the world. Hiring people because you know them is a very big mistake. It is possible that some of your friends will be in need of a job. But if you hire them simply because you know them, you will regret it later.
You don’t want to hire a person now only to be fired a few months later. The people you know still need to have the skills and the qualifications for the job before you hire them. Not the friendships. At the end of the day, the job you hired them for must be done no matter the cost. If they are not qualified for the job, you will still be the one firing them which will compromise the same friendship you were trying to protect.
So, why hire them in the first place if the end result is grim?
Also, be aware of potential candidates who try to build a preemptive friendship ahead of time in an effort to apply to your organization when a position opens up. There is nothing wrong with knowing that someone out there is interested in your organization. This is actually a good thing. But be aware of such a friendship and its intentions.
One of the biggest hiring mistakes many recruiters make is to take it one step further and build friendships with potential future candidates. Once this happens and those people apply, it becomes impossible to deny them. Why? Because once you deny them, that friendship will be compromised. So, they become emotional and let it slide.
10. Being too specific
Although you need an employee who meets your job descriptions, it might be difficult to fill the position if you are too specific. Yes, it is possible that someone out there has those specific skills. But, the chances of finding that someone may be slim.
If you are finding it difficult to fill the position, look for candidates with similar skills. They don’t have to be exact. If a person has what it takes to do the job and they are willing to do it, they will still get the job done no matter the challenge.
Being too specific can eliminate a lot of potential candidates who may be qualified for the job. Hence, making it very difficult to fill the opening. The longer you wait, the more money it costs you in meeting your customers’ demands.
