The cost of making the wrong hire

Let’s be honest, whenever we look to a recruiter to help secure that next executive for our business, at the same time we see a cost we don’t want to pay. “Seriously, 18-22% of their salary for what is a few weeks effort just feels wrong, do they deserve or really earn it? Couldn’t we just do this ourselves?”

Well the bottom line is yes, yes they do, if they do their job right, research correctly and find a strong fit candidate for the business then not only do they deserve the fee, but they have just saved your business tens of thousands of pounds by not  getting it wrong!

Traditional school of thought is that the cost of securing an exec is that fee, remember that fee we don’t want to pay, but its OK, if the new joiner doesn’t work out we get a free replacement, so at least I’m insured. Correct? No. this is not the insurance you want and need.

The true cost to your business of hiring the wrong candidate isn’t the lost fee, you have the insurance policy against that anyway so that’s covered. It’s the 3-6 months of change in business strategy, change of focus of your staff, ways and mediums in which we now engage with clients. All aspects of that exec role that we now have to reverse and unpick. Staff and clients to potentially re-energise. Not to mention the lost productivity or sales through the whole process.

That is the true cost of hiring the wrong exec. 

Right about now, I don’t know about you, but I am far less concerned with 20% of a salary, I’m concerned I have a team that’s running at 50% productivity, have key staff questioning their own futures, clients revisiting our PSL status, not to mention senior decisions I have to somehow review, unpick and projects pause and re-start.

Now that 18-22% cost at the start of the process, to avoid all this mess and upheaval in my business, in getting the right candidate first time seems like a price I would pay without question.

So, if the next time you look to secure a new exec, the question shouldn’t be “Can we post this on-line and save 20%” it should be “Who’s the best placed organisation that can understand us, our challenges, the type of person we need to ensure we secure the right fit and thus insure us against the wrong hire”.