A recent survey from Monster Worldwide, Inc. reveals that nine in 10 small business owners (89 percent) identify hiring the wrong person for a job as a risk to the company, with half (51 percent) saying it is a major risk.
Conducted by Braun Research on behalf of Monster, the Small Business, Big Hire survey shows that small business owners today are very mindful of how hiring the wrong person can put their business in jeopardy. Among small business owners who view hiring the wrong person as a risk to their business, top reasons include a negative impact on the company’s reputation (68 percent) and decreased productivity (62 percent).
The ‘Right’ Hire
While most small business owners consider talent to be the greatest asset to the success of their business (82 percent), the majority believe it can be time-consuming (89 percent) and expensive (70 percent) to find the right person for the job.
On average, small business owners spend $1,872 to hire someone new and up to four months searching for the right candidate, depending on the job level. Furthermore, about four in five owners are looking for a strong skill set for the industry (78 percent) and past job experience (77 percent) when hiring someone new, while half (52 percent) also look for something less tangible: grit.
Small business owners have unique needs and limited time, but without the necessary resources and data in place, the employee search can take a toll not only on them, but also on their business as a whole. As a result, more than half have settled for a candidate who was not as qualified as they would have liked (56 percent) or have previously made a wrong hire (62 percent). In addition:
- 58 percent of owners fear laziness more than any other quality of a new hire.
- 44 percent of owners fear the employee not getting along with customers, whereas 41 percent worry they do not have the right skills for the job.
- 78 percent of owners who made the wrong hiring decision realized their mistake within the first three weeks, and 30 percent were aware of it after only a few days.
Risking It All
In addition to being a financial burden, hiring the wrong person can have an emotional effect on small business owners. Owners who have hired the wrong person before feel frustrated (73 percent), stressed (47 percent) and discouraged (36 percent) as a result. The survey also found:
- Over half of those who have hired the wrong person before have experienced a loss of time (69 percent) and money (56 percent) due to wrong hires.
- Specifically, one-third or more of these owners estimate wasting over 50 hours of their time (34 percent) and over $1,000 (42 percent) due to their most recent wrong hire.
- Other issues caused by hiring the wrong person include product errors (51 percent) and loss of customers (24 percent).
Although nine in 10 (89 percent) small business owners find the hiring process time-consuming and three-fifths (61 percent) wish they had more help in finding the right person for the job, significantly fewer owners are currently hiring an outside service to help recruit (11 percent).
Source: Monster Worldwide, Inc.
