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Identifying a Bad Hire and What to Do Next

03-03-2020
Employer advice

No matter how rigorous your hiring process is, there’s always a chance that a bad hire will slip through the net and end up getting the job. 

There’s no doubt that making a bad hire can cause big headache and, if left unaddressed can spiral and have a number of negative effects on the wider business, including low productivity and impacting team morale.

Identifying that things aren’t working out with the employee and taking action quickly is best for everyone. 

Firstly, let’s look at some key things that indicate you may have made a bad hire:

High absence rate

Low morale within that department

Negative customer feedback

A bad attitude

They produce a poor standard of work

Little or no relationships with other colleagues

Unable to handle every day challenges

It’s important that before you take any action you have a clear idea as to why the employee isn’t working as well as you’d hoped in their new role. Maybe the job description wasn’t as accurate to the day to day job as it could have been and they don’t possess the right skills or perhaps they’re not a good fit for the company culture.  Whatever the reason, you need to be absolutely certain that it isn’t working out before you take any further steps.

Making a Decision

Once you’ve established the issue you need to tackle it head on because if the problem is left to fester, it will only worsen.

It’s best to weigh up the options between keeping them with a view to mentor and support them if the issues are potentially fixable or letting them go and going through the costly and timely recruitment process again.

Unfortunately, there is no easy option but there are some key things to consider:

Can they be upskilled to succeed in the role?

Do they need more coaching?

Is there another role within the company they’d be better suited to?

Do you see them with the company in a year from now?

If you answered most of those questions with a no, it’s probably time to cut your losses.

Taking Action

Once you’ve made your decision you need to speak to the employee directly. Ask them for feedback on their experience so that you can understand where the problem lies and learn from this during the next recruitment drive.

It’s important that you follow statutory procedures when sacking an employee. The best scenario would be to make this decision before the end of their probation period to ensure the smoothest process possible. For this reason it is always wise to have a clearly defined probation period in any employment contract.

Recognising that you have made a bad hiring choice is a learning experience and a chance to relook at your recruitment processes as a whole to reduce the chances of this happening again.

If you need to replace a bad hire or are looking for new staff, Perfect Placement are the UK’s leading Automotive recruiters.

Get in touch with our experienced team today to discuss your recruitment requirements.