Six Mistakes Companies Make When Hiring—And What To Do Instead

By Jennifer Barnes, CEO of Optima Office, a firm that provides Fractional CFOs, COOs, Controllers and HR professionals for businesses.

Even the most successful business enterprises don’t always get it right when they’re hiring new talent. Given the fact that so much money has to be invested in recruiting new employees, the hiring process and the onboarding of these new hires, you need to make sure you don’t make costly mistakes. Below are some of the most common mistakes I’ve seen companies make during the hiring process and ways to avoid them.

Hiring One Person To Fill Several Roles

Companies may make the mistake of hiring a single person to perform too many job functions, many of which are not in their skill set. If you have several roles that don’t require a full-time position, consider outsourcing the job instead. For example, if you are hiring a bookkeeper but are also asking them to do controller work, you could consider outsourcing these roles. The same goes for hiring an entry-level IT person and trusting them to perform cybersecurity work. This sets them up to fail and could harm your business.

Rushing Through The Recruiting Process

Often when a key employee leaves the company, the planned protocols for hiring can get compromised in an effort to fill the vacancy as quickly as possible. Whenever someone vital to the company leaves, their workload falls on the remaining employees, who are then overburdened until a new person has been hired. There may also be a drop-off in overall productivity because things aren’t running as smoothly with a key individual gone. This sometimes causes hiring managers to overlook red flags or completely ignore some important components of the hiring process.

Even if it’s causing some hardships or inconvenience for your staff members, you should follow your company’s established routines and protocols for finding the right new hire. It will probably take longer to do a thorough job, but in the end, you’ll have a much better chance of finding an individual who fits nicely into your company culture and who has all the requisite skills and talent to be successful in your workplace.

Creating Vague Job Descriptions

Anytime you don’t clearly specify what the job duties and responsibilities are for a position, it can lead to misunderstandings, disappointed new hires and unrealistic expectations for everyone involved. If you fail to accurately describe the duties of the position, you may be misleading candidates—and costing your business time and money. You may also be attracting candidates who don’t have the necessary skill sets to do the work you have in mind. At the very least, this will bog down the recruitment and hiring process, because you’ll have to weed out those who lack the needed skills. This can lengthen the amount of time that your current employees have to cover the workload of a missing individual.

Make sure to write up a thorough and accurate job description so all potential candidates understand what skills and knowledge will be necessary. Be specific about any responsibilities you’ll require a new hire to fulfill. It’s a good idea to include the soft skills that a candidate will need on this job, such as leadership or communication styles. Talking about your culture and how the person can best fit into the company may also help you attract the right individual.

Failing To Check References

This can be a significant mistake because checking references allows you to find out how a candidate performed in other similar positions. Granted, most candidates will be providing references that are favorable to them, but once you start talking with a former supervisor or colleague, you can generally find out some important information about a person’s work habits, their personality and their ability to work with teammates. Be specific with the candidate about who at what company you want to talk to if the candidate is applying for an executive leadership role. You don’t necessarily only want to speak to the references they initially provide you with.

Consider reference checks to be a critical component of the hiring process. Take the time to contact each of the references provided, and ask the questions that are most important to your organization. For instance, if teamwork is vital to the open position, ask questions regarding the candidate’s ability to work well with others and accomplish required tasks.

Narrowing The Scope Of Your Search

You’ll get the most diverse group of candidates by conducting a broad search, and by contrast, a narrow search will limit the number of good candidates who apply. When you have an important position to fill, you should use several avenues to advertise the opening. Use job listings, agencies and any other approaches that will help you get the word out about an open position. Don’t overlook the possibility of finding a suitable candidate internally, but establish as broad a search as possible so you have the best chance of bringing in a candidate who adds diversity as well as the right attitude and skill sets.

Failing To Involve The Whole Team

There’s a good reason to involve team members in the hiring process—and not just executives. They’re the ones who perform the day-to-day work activities, and they often know best what a teammate will require to be successful. They might be aware of some skills or subtle talents that someone will need on the job.

Solicit the involvement of several team members who any new hire would be working with. They can have some valuable insights about a candidate’s ability to fit in with company culture and with other staff members. During interviews, they might also get a good feel for the kind of person who is applying for the job. This will give you a better chance of choosing the right person for the job and finding someone who can be successful in your organization for many years.