The Human Resource department is the backbone of any organization. Being an HR professional means understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a company better than anyone else and striving to fill these gaps. But oftentimes, it is hard to find the right people to fill those voids.

When recruiting to fill a position at your company, there are so many factors that need to be taken into consideration such as requirements, hiring process, expectations, and more. With all these factors at play, it is common for hiring companies to lose sight of the end goal and get caught up in some of these hiring mistakes. It has been observed that 80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions and over 39% of businesses report a deep decline in productivity due to the same.

As a recruitment firm that works with many different companies, we’ve seen all sorts of hiring processes and we can get direct feedback from candidates as they navigate the stages. We’ve compiled a list of 10 recruitment mistakes to avoid when searching for your next hire.

10 common hiring mistakes to avoid:

Not creating a comprehensive job description:

A job description is the foundation of the hiring process. It should be clear, concise, and accurate, and it should accurately reflect the duties and responsibilities of the position, as well as the skills and experience required. A poorly written job description will attract unqualified candidates and waste your time interviewing them.

Undervaluing Soft Skills:

While technical competencies are crucial, dismissing the importance of soft skills like communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence can lead to challenges in collaboration and teamwork.

Not having a clear hiring process:

It’s important to have a clear and consistent hiring process in place. This will help to ensure that all candidates are treated fairly and that the best person for the job is selected.

Not asking open-ended questions:

Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. They require the candidate to think and to provide a more detailed answer. This helps you to learn more about the candidate’s skills, experience, and personality.

Disregarding Employee Input:

Omitting input from team members who will work alongside the new hire can overlook crucial insights and hinder alignment with existing team dynamics.

Communication Lapses:

Ineffective communication regarding the hiring process timeline, feedback, and expectations can tarnish the candidate experience and your employer brand. Maintain transparent, timely, and clear communication at all stages.

Relying too heavily on the interview:

The interview is only one part of the hiring process. It’s important to also consider the candidate’s resume, references, and work samples. You should also use other tools, such as personality tests and skills assessments, to get a more complete picture of the candidate.

Using unconscious bias:

Unconscious bias is a real problem in the hiring process. It’s important to be aware of your own biases and to make an effort to overcome them. For example, you may be more likely to hire someone who looks like you or who has a similar background. To avoid this, make sure you have a diverse pool of candidates to interview and that you use objective criteria to make your decision.

Overlooking Future Potential:

Solely hiring for immediate needs and not considering a candidate’s potential to grow and take on greater responsibilities can limit your team’s long-term growth and adaptability.

Hasty Hiring Decisions:

Succumbing to time pressure and hastily making a hire can compromise the quality of your selection. Take your time in vetting applications, spend some time interviewing the candidates and checking whether their skillset aligns with the company. Go for a second round of interviews, if needed. This will foster a more informed and suitable decision . PwC’s 2017 survey reports that CEOs fear that the biggest threat to their company is the unavailability of talents and skills. However, the problem is not a shortage of talent, but the unwillingness to invest time and effort in finding the right talent and then investing in retaining the same. Take your time to find the right person. The cost of hiring the wrong person can be much higher than the cost of taking your time.

However, at ReposebayHr we can help you seamlessly and efficiently manage all your HR functions which will free up valuable time for your business to thrive through our HR tech solution. Our easy-to-use software is designed to ease recruitment, track attendance, manage performance and payroll with precision, while facilitating smooth and effective communication among your staff. Get started started with a demo session.