The 5 Common Mistakes Employers Make When Recruiting Talent (and How to Avoid Them)

Whether you run an established business or a growing concern, you will make the decision at some point to employ staff. Making mistakes during the recruitment process costs businesses time and money. Yet, many employers continue to make them. Here are five common mistakes employers make when recruiting talent, and how you can avoid them.

1. Having an Unclear Hiring Policy

Having an unclear hiring policy, or worse still, no policy at all, can lead to confusion and problems complying with employment law. Often, as businesses grow, they neglect to put clear policies in place due to time constraints.

Those responsible for shortlisting candidates, the interview and selection process should have clear directions on company policy, particularly regarding issues such as discrimination.

2. Being Too Narrow in Your Search

You should recruit from a diverse pool of candidates who are a range of different ages and have varying backgrounds and levels of experience. This will increase your chances of finding the right person.

In addition, there are benefits to having a diverse workforce for the company in general, but you won't get a diverse workforce if you don't recruit from a diverse pool of candidates.

A diverse workforce makes your company look more attractive to both customers and individuals who may wish to work for you in the future, particularly those who may not have otherwise applied.

3. Not Asking the Right Interview Questions

The first mistake employers make with the questions they ask during interviews is to wing it, i.e. not prepare the questions they want to ask.

Winging it can leave your company open to legal issues when the wrong (politically incorrect, or even illegal) questions are asked, as well as increasing the likelihood that you’ll forget to ask something important.

The second biggest mistake is to ask the interviewee closed questions. These are the types of questions that only require a yes or no response.

Your objective should be to get the interviewee talking as much as possible, so long as it is on topic and relevant. You will achieve this by asking open questions, i.e. questions that they have to expand on. Open questions can also very often demonstrate their ability to solve problems and think analytically.

4. Not Recruiting for a Cultural Fit

Just because a candidate is suitable for the job in terms of qualifications and experience doesn’t mean they will be a good fit for your company. Every company has a culture and team dynamic that the person you employ will need to fit into.

It is important you think about it and carefully consider whether someone is a good fit before offering them the job. For example, will they need to work independently, or is it more important for them to be a team player, in which case how will they fit in socially with your current members of staff?

5. Not Checking References

This can happen for several reasons, not least because those conducting the interview process might be too busy to follow up with reference checks, but also perhaps the candidate interviewed so well that employers feel little doubt that they are the best person for the job.

However, you can never tell what a person is really like from an interview. That is why references are a common feature of the recruitment process. In fact, they should be an essential part of the process in your organisation.

Following up on references will help prevent you from recruiting a bad fit, and conversely, could help you find individuals who will be a real asset to your company but are not very good at interviews!

Time limitations often tempt employers to cut corners when it comes to recruiting talent. We follow a tried and tested formula when finding the perfect person to fill your vacancy. This formula avoids the above recruitment mistakes.

Don't hesitate to contact us the next time you have a position to fill.