The Cost of Choosing the Wrong IT Candidate in Toronto

One of the reasons companies choose to enlist the services of a tech talent recruiting agency is the cost of NOT choosing the right candidate is quite high – in both time and money, not to mention the fact that you have to start the hiring process all over again.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates the cost of a bad hire can be equal to about 30% of their first year’s earnings. Your search needs to start by first determining the pros and cons of insourcing versus outsourcing, full time vs part time and more through our Outcome Driven Job Description process. Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s a matter of choosing the right candidate.

Getting it right the first time is paramount to the success of your business, and PolyTech Talent’s recruiting agents are constantly seeking the most talented IT talent in the market to make sure that you do.

As a matter of fact, this strong talent pool can make it particularly hard to choose between two strong candidates – but it won’t matter because with our help, whomever you choose, will be the best candidate. Poly Tech Talent knows how to hire tech talent. We find people that will fit perfectly within your organization, and screen them very carefully to you avoid the pitfalls of a bad hire.

 

What Happens to Morale When You Choose the Wrong Candidate?

According to an article in Forbes, aside from costing you time and money, a bad hire can have an extremely detrimental effect on employee morale. Chief financial officers report that a “bad apple spoils the bunch” in a sense, and one unhappy employee can spread disengagement throughout the organization.

Aside from disengagement, good employees become burnt out picking up the slack for the said bad apple, leaving a bitter taste in their mouth. This eventually turns into resentment and extreme job dissatisfaction. Even after the problem is identified and removed, it can take some time and team building to get back to where you were and regain organizational trust.

 

Costs Associated With Hiring Mistakes

Bad employees cost money, especially when you try to throw good money after bad by trying to work with an employee that isn’t working out. You invest more time and energy on coaching activities and invest extra money in additional training hours – all to come to the final conclusion that this person isn’t the right fit. This extra time ultimately results in lost productivity. Managing bad employees is time that can’t be returned.

A bad hire has the potential to damage your business’s reputation – both with customers who may feel dissatisfied with the service they’ve received from said employee, and potential future recruits when word gets around that your newest recruit employee isn’t happy.

So, you’ve invested time, money, and energy into this person, and now as a reward, you potentially have to pay out severance pay and do damage control to your reputation.

 

Tips for Choosing the Right Candidate

For all of these reasons and more, you want to get it right the first time. Here are a few things to keep in mind during the selection process to help you find your next hire and build that winning team.

Don’t Go With Your Gut – Go with a Hiring Process

We know from experience that going fully with your gut is wrong. You should actually be using a data-driven approach to hiring. Bias creeps in and you often hire people because you like them and/or because they are great at interviewing.

A structured process where you remain objective throughout is key to making sure you get the right person. Someone who is right for the job not, someone who can pass an interview. Sure, check your gut when making the decision, but go with the data.

Ask for Examples of Real World, Real Work Problems

The absolute best way to assess candidate skills is the direct way. Ask for work product. Ask candidates to show you examples of their work – programmers to show you code, copywriters to show you copy, designers to show you designs etc. Look at the work and forget the abstractions.

If your interviewing a technical support agent, design questions from real customers they would be responsible for handling. You might want to role play a real live call and ask them questions from end-users like: My printer is broken and I have a proposal I need to deliver in 10 minutes.  What do you do?

Design your interview process to provide you with real world examples of their skills.

Check Their References

Actually check their references, and ask questions that will help you determine if the candidate will fit in with your work culture like:

  • Did they work better alone, or in a team?

  • How do they respond in high-pressure situations?

  • Did they get along well with their peers?

We believe getting to the right candidate starts with a solid plan like our Outcome-Driven Job Description process. Let us help you get off to a strong start with your IT search. Connect with us today!