The Full Cost of a Bad Hire, It's More Than You Might Think
Understanding the true cost of a bad hire can be a very complicated prospect. In most cases even veteran HR professionals and hiring managers drastically underestimate the financial cost, they estimate it is in the thousands. Some studies show that the price of a new hire can be as much as 30% of their first year’s salary. Other estimates can get as high as $240,000 in the first 18 months with a “bad” new hire. This really shows just how detrimental a bad hire can be in any company, and it takes most hiring professional by complete surprise, blowing their assumed “thousands” out of the water.
It is incredibly important that you realize that the real cost of a bad hire goes much deeper than just the initial financial ramifications. While it is possible to calculate and quantify the financial losses, these “costs” are much harder to calculate, but there is no doubt that they just as costly to the company in the long run both financially and in terms the dynamic within your company. We are of course talking about the negative impact that a bad hire can have on morale and productivity of other members of the team, we have all heard that one bad apple can spoil the bunch.
This is true in any workplace, but it is especially true in building products supply. This industry requires a special type of person to really thrive and be successful. We all know the hours are long and the customers are difficult sometimes. When you are hiring sales reps or any other position within your company it is imperative that you find the right person, someone who is going to fit well into the dynamic of your sales team and someone that is going to bolster the morale of the team and boost the efficiency and productivity within the team. Someone who understands that in this industry you have to put in staggering amounts of effort to really be successful. Having the wrong attitude or outlook among your team of professionals is going to do nothing but hurt the company in the long run. You can see how it is important to make sure you find the right person.
The wrong person can have such a negative effect on not only the morale of the team, but it can also have a very negative effect on your customers. Making sure that the person you hire is going to really be good at engaging your customers in a manner that makes them want to buy from your is equally important. Nothing is worse for a customer than a sales rep who has all the information but is not an easy or enjoyable person to deal with daily. Your sales reps need to make the customers feel appreciated and valued.
They need to understand the importance of taking the time with each customer to make each one feel like they are the “most important” customer that you have. This is not an easy task and it truly takes a special kind of person to be able to pull it off in a genuine and convincing manner. Hiring someone who makes your customers feel unwanted or unappreciated is one cost of a bad hire that you cannot afford. Whether you are a company spanning multiple states with thousands of employees or a one location company with a handful of employees you cannot afford to push customers away.
The question is then how do you go about finding the right person? The person who is going to check all the boxes, someone who is going to bring the A-game every single day for you and your company. There is no easy answer unfortunately. Maybe you have painstakingly revised and adapted your screening process. Updated your interview process, maybe you have revitalized your training program, but nothing seems to make the difference. No matter what you do though, you just cannot get the right people to fill the openings in your company.
The problem may be just a simple matter of looking in all the wrong places. Working with a Building Materials Executive Search firm may be just what you need. They understand what you really need, and they have the network of industry tested professionals. The type of people that you need for your company, the type of people that are going to go the distance and help you to increase your markets share.
So why are you waiting? Visit www.buildinggurus.com/discovery and schedule your no obligation discovery session with their recruiting professionals. Don’t take another chance with your next new hire sales rep, stop settling for anything but the best, there are truly great people out there. Let Building Gurus find them for you. Make the choice to trust the professionals.
