Rethinking Hiring Strategies To Minimise The Risk Of Attracting Misfits

Hiring skilled or competent candidates is essential for any organisation. However, even with multiple levels and careful assessment, selected candidates may not always be the perfect fit for the role or the company due to various reasons, such as they do not align with the organisation's culture, values, or the specific requirements of the role or competencies, and they may struggle to succeed, regardless of their talents. This inconsistency can result in decreased productivity and increased turnover rates, posing company challenges. A study also highlights that 84% of Indian companies acknowledged the significant impact of poor hiring choices.

Understanding a Misfit

When a hire doesn't work out, it's critical to understand that it does not necessarily reflect the individual's competence. A mismatch between a candidate's attributes and the specific needs of the role or organisation can also be a reason. Framing it as a "misfit" or "mismatch" allows for a more constructive approach, focusing on understanding what went wrong and what can be done to correct it. Sometimes, the employee with all the checkboxes ticked may also be a mismatch due to disengagement during the onboarding process, talent mismatch, or the employee's skills or abilities don't match the specific needs of the role. In other instances, there are also possibilities of role misalignment, where the organisation hires a high-potential individual but is unable to provide the environment for the said employee to perform due to many factors such as systems, processes, or manager mismatch where the individual is not at fault. But a surprising fact is that, as of 2021, 75% of the Indian youth workforce have no experience sending emails and 90% cannot handle simple tasks on a spreadsheet.

The recruitment team has to evaluate their approaches to address these risks moving forward. By understanding the exact job requirements and skills/competencies required by refining job descriptions where necessary, improving candidate assessments by including cultural fitment evaluation, and enhancing onboarding and support processes to ensure the hire is engaged and adequate training provided to succeed, organisations can better align talent with the role and company culture, reducing the likelihood of hiring mismatches and promoting long-term success. Another approach is to shift the hire into a more suitable role, providing additional support, or the company’s hiring practices can be adjusted to better match candidates with the right opportunities. By reframing the issue in these terms, organisations can develop a more open-minded, solution-oriented approach to talent management, ultimately benefiting employees and the business.

Alleviating the risk of having Misfits

While the immediate financial costs associated with a misfit hire include increased recruitment costs, lost productivity, and potential severance, the non-financial costs are more far-reaching, impacting the team morale, culture, customer relationships, and company reputation or brand image. These costs can also lead to a greater turnover rate, compounding the problem over time. The true impact of a misfit hire can't be quantified, and organisations should recognize that these costs can significantly affect long-term success. India ranks fourth globally for making poor hiring decisions, with a survey revealing that 29% of Indian companies reported bad hire costing them over INR 20 lakhs on average. By investing in careful recruitment, thorough onboarding, and ongoing employee development, companies can minimise the risks of misfits and create a more sustainable, engaged, high-performing workforce.

Here are some of the ways how HR can work to reduce mismatched hires:

1.    With constant technological evolution, job descriptions should be checked for relevancy to a vacancy, and having an employee referral policy adds to gaining credibility over the candidate. 
2.    Behavioural interviewing techniques are underestimated and hold great potential when looking for a candidate who needs to fit into the organisation’s culture. 
3.    It is always better to make sure a reference and background check is done for each potential candidate to avoid risks. 
4.    To make the orientation process effective, one could appoint a buddy for the new hire and give them a sense of belonging while instilling cultural ideologies and workplace morals in them.
5.     Finally, I suggest having 30-90-180 days of check-in to see how the recruit is settling down in the role and gaps; that way, corrective actions can be taken if any unfavourable attributes are identified.

Looking at the big picture

There would be some situations where the company recruits a candidate to bring about change and, in such cases, the recruit cannot be termed as a mismatch or misfit. It is essential to understand the root cause, take corrective actions, and, in this case, assess the competencies of the reporting hierarchy and replace them, if required.

In conclusion, it is essential for companies to focus on finding a good fit between the person and the role. Organisations can enhance their hiring and onboarding practices by understanding the reason for a misalignment - such as differing values, unclear job expectations, or insufficient support. Establishing structured onboarding, frequent check-ins, and a buddy program can help new employees adjust more effectively. These methods conserve time and resources while cultivating a more united, motivated team, paving the way for lasting success.

(The article above has been created exclusively for BW People publication by Anuradha Zingade, CHRO at Metal Power Analytical)