I Just Made a Bad Hire, Now What?

Choosing the right employee for the right job can be tough.

Maybe he or she looks great on paper and interviewed astoundingly, but then when they get in the position – it just doesn’t work. Now you need to figure out what to do. The good thing is, you’ve got some options and it may not be all bad news.

You can take some measures to rectify the hire and not just let this person go immediately.

Plus, it may be tricky sometimes and you should check with HR and perhaps an employment attorney if you decide to let them go after a short time. It could appear you’re firing for reasons other than what you are, and you don’t want to get in any legal trouble.

Another reason you may want to find a way to make this work is because it costs a lot to let someone go and find someone else.

According to TEKsystems, employee turnover can cost U.S. businesses around $300 billion a year and replacing an employee can cost from two to seven times that salary. Yikes – you may want to try to keep the employee you’ve just hired.

So let’s say you still want to keep your new hire around, but they’re not making it in the new position. What can you do?

First, look at just that – what you can do to help.

• Think about training and check that you are doing all you can to make sure this new hire is prepared for the position on your end. If you promised some in house training, make sure you are offering it.

• Check with others they are working with to make sure they are pulling their weight. Are they getting all the resources he or she needs and are questions and concerns from the new hire getting answered, not just by you but also by others around them?

• Are some policies being misconstrued that he or she is doing, but shouldn’t be, like taking long lunches or flexible time. Maybe they have seen others doing this who have seniority or different demands, and he or she thinks this is company policy. Make sure everything is clear and not being misunderstood.

• Give them a chance. Let the employee know what’s happening and see if it can be rectified. Whether they’re not getting reports in on time or coming in late to work, let them know these aren’t acceptable and need to be fixed. Maybe it’s as easy as letting them know.

If they’re still not performing in the set position, is there something else he or she could do, especially an open position? 

Are They Better Suited Elsewhere in the Company?

It’s not unusual to hire a person for one position and they end up better suited for another. Though this will take some time to rearrange, it won’t be as costly as letting them go.

Sometimes, however, it just doesn’t work. Cut your losses. If your extra help and attention aren’t helping out and there’s nowhere else for them to go within the company, let them go.

We’ve all made mistakes, and every so often, we hire the wrong person for the job.

You can’t just keep someone around because it’s easier and less costly than letting them go.

In the long run, you could end up losing money anyway with a bad hire.

Do what you can, but if it doesn’t work, you may need to terminate the employment.