Costs of Making a Bad Hire

Whether a new employee is too lazy to meet deadlines, too incompetent to fulfill his job duties or too combative to work well with other team members, this bad hire could cost your organization in more ways than one. The consequences of a bad hiring decision can have a far-reaching effect on the company, so avoid getting saddled with a less-than-stellar employee.

A Drop in Morale

When you bring a bad hire on board, other employees become discouraged. Whether this poor employee starts workplace drama, provides awful customer service or doesn't carry his own workload, it affects co-workers within the same department. The decrease in morale caused by just one bad hire can infect the culture throughout the entire organization and even cause quality workers to seek employment elsewhere.

Questionable Judgment

If you're the hiring manager who chose to bring on a poor employee, your reputation could become damaged quickly. Human resource officers may question your judgment in the future, and employees who are forced to work side by side with the bad hire might resent you as a result of your problematic decision making.

Financial Burdens

The monetary costs of making a poor hiring decision can add up in an instant. First, consider the money spent advertising the vacant position, interviewing potential candidates, conducting background checks, obtaining clearances and training the new employee. These costs are doubled when your organization has to replace a bad hire, and the company might be forced to provide a severance package. Finally, imagine the costs involved if the employee files a wrongful termination lawsuit upon being let go from your organization.

Decreased Productivity

One bad new hire has the opportunity to stunt productivity in a big way. While the employee isn't carrying his own workload sufficiently, he may also become a burden to quality workers who are constantly saddled with questions or required to pick up the slack. The lowered morale that results from a troublesome employee can also cause a drop in productivity as your veteran workers become discouraged.

Increased HR Issues

Bad employees can quickly become trouble for their supervisors and human resource officers. The HR department may have to deal with complaints or grievances from other employees who take issue with the bad hire, and supervisors might find themselves trying to resolve issues or mediate conflicts on a regular basis.

Whether HR managers have to mediate conflicts, supervisors are forced to clean up mistakes or co-workers end up carrying an extra workload, a bad hire negatively affects many players within your organization. Make sure a bad hire doesn't cost your organization by conducting interviews and doing thorough background checks before bringing on a new employee. The extra time you take now can save you money, time and headaches in the future.

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