What if it isn’t the Hire?

You’ve read the first two blog posts about bad hires, think you have things locked down, make the hire of your dreams and then everything begins to go wrong.  Employees aren’t motivated, the work is beginning to suffer and what was once a well-oiled machine becomes something akin to the Titanic.

Time to follow up on the second post about what to do with a bad hire?  Maybe.  It could be the new person that you introduced into your tightly controlled world or, and I say this with all due respect: it could be you.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that a toxic environment can be created from the top down in an organization.  Here are just a few things that you should be aware of; consider them warning signs:

-          You’re sending out emails in all caps

-          Staff turnover is at an all-time high

-          Morale is at an all-time low

-          Emails at 3am are becoming common

-          Everyone shuts up when you walk into a room

-          Enjoying the job has become just surviving the job

A few of those get your heart racing a bit?  It’s o.k., I promise.  Just take a step back and realize that everything is correctable if you catch it in time. 

As HR professionals we recognize that even the greatest of hires can be tainted by a work environment that is, for lack of a better word, hostile.  If you find yourself inadvertently breeding one of those types of places, here are a few things that will help pull your hind parts out of the fire.

• Perform a Cultural Audit.  Translation: Now is the time to step back and evaluate the culture that you are creating.  Are you aiming for professional? Competent but relaxed?  Open?  Closed door, hush hush and all that?  You need to know what you want and be objective in reviewing what you see in your work environment.

• Ask your employees.  This one is a bit tricky because you’re putting yourself on the line and your employees on the spot.  Ensure that this can be done anonymously if they so choose.  Find out why they work there, what makes them tick, what they like and what they deplore…leave nothing in the shadows.

• Hire an outside HR rep for a consultation (hi!).  An objective third party is likely going to have an easier time looking at your organization and recognizing challenges that need to be addressed than you are.  Don’t be offended, it’s just the way of things.

In almost every case of it being “you and not them”,  I think you’ll find that your employees will actually relish the chance contribute to change and respect you even more for recognizing the need for it.  Be genuine in your actions. You’ll be that much closer to creating a workplace where people want to perform to the best of their ability.

Dealing with a Bad Hire

Let’s imagine a world where you missed out on Talent Tap’s last blog post, “Avoiding a Bad Hire”.  I know, such a place would be truly scary, but let’s just say that it happened and well, you’ve ended up with a less than desirable employee.

Fear not!  We’re here to help.

The light at the end of the tunnel isn’t really an on-coming train.  There is good news to be had: a bad hire is just one dimension of a business.  Look at it this way - there are a myriad of choices that you make as a professional that can go pear-shaped and if that happens, people have still stuck it out.  Consider “New Coke”.  That stuff was crap and while Coke took a little heat for it, they soldiered on.  You’ll do the same.

Like many disaster recovery plans, the first step is to admit that you have a problem.  Fall on the grenade and get it over with.  Why?  Numerous studies have shown that sweeping the issue under the rug is only going to result in more pain later down the line.  Once you are ok with saying “I hired incorrectly” out loud, you can figure out what kind of bad hire you’re dealing with, which usually falls into the following buckets:

1)     The new guy starts of strong and makes an immediate positive impact…for about six months.  After that you’ll start to have an “ok” employee that falls short of initial expectations.

2)     The newbie proves to be a disaster from the get go for any number of reasons – personal baggage, rude, no respect for deadlines or time or just flat out dangerously incompetent. 

3)     The new hire is pretty much in the wrong position in terms of competencies, experience or cultural fit.  This one can be realized by both the hire and the company.

Now what?  Well, that’s up to you.  Let’s skip over #1 for now and move right to #2.  Typical wisdom is going to tell you to sever the relationship ASAP.  And typical wisdom is right.  Don’t let some new person ruin what you’ve worked to build.  Harsh, but true.

As for #3, this one is a bit interesting.  It may not be the employee’s fault here.  Sometimes things are just mismatched from day one.  Take the time to sit down with him or her and work out if there is a better position, in terms of fit, within the company.  These folks can turn into valuable employees if you take the time to align competencies with your needs.

Onto #1 we go.  This can have one of two outcomes, really.  First, a conversation about expectations and goals could correct the slipping and everyone will be happy.  Or… it turns out they really just don’t want to work there anymore and in that case, it’s time for you to end it and recover what you can.

How have you all handled bad hires in the past?  Any techniques that have worked out for you better than others?  Please, share with us in the comments below.

Up next:  What if it’s “you and not them”?

Avoiding A Bad Hire

It’s happened to every company at some point:  You hire who you think is going to be a rock star and help drive your business forward, but what you get instead is a poison pill that is threatening to self-destruct and wipe out your forward progress.

Now, depending on when you realized that this was an experiment in futility, this can be a huge financial blunder.  How much?  Well, CareerBuilder says that two-thirds of companies have hired the wrong person and 41% of those companies claim that it ended up costing them more than $25,000.  Worse yet, one in four of those said it cost more than $50,000.  These are make or break numbers, folks.

The kicker?  It almost always could have been avoided.  Sure, it’ll take a little more effort up front, but who doesn’t want to do that as opposed to losing $50k on a bad bet?  With a little bit of planning you can make sure that you avoid a cultural and financial disaster.  Here’s how:

• Profile your most successful employees.  Find out what makes them tick.  Then, after you’ve collected that info, ask them for input.  These are the people that will be working with new hires daily; you’ll be amazed at what they offer.

• Write a job description.  This is not optional.  If you’re just going to “wing it” then how in the world would an employee even know what to do?  If you can’t write one yourself, hire someone to do it.

• Interview, and do it right.  Be prepared, have questions prepped based on their resume and cover letter.  Take notes based on what your employees told you.  Oh, and be ready to spend 75% of the time with your mouth shut.  It’s all about listening.

• Don’t fall in love.  I don’t care if this is “the one”, you’ve got to meet several candidates for the gig.  This is a weird form of corporate speed dating and it’s tough to master, but if you settle for the first candidate to cross your path, well, just remember what a $50k mistake feels like.

• References are your friend.  If the candidate isn’t willing to cough them up, be wary.  These are the people you need to talk to in order to see how your potential employee handles pressure, workload and other people.

• Bring in your current rock stars.  Encourage key team members to participate and if they need to be trained on fundamental interview best practices, then offer it.  Think of it as an investment.

-          The first place to look for new employees is from candidate referrals from your existing staff and established advisers and peers.  It helps take the guesswork out of the process.

Now, without using names, I’d like to hear about some of your bad hire experiences and how you handled it.  And, if you’re wondering, “Dealing with a Bad Hire” will be featured soon!  Until next time!