Hiring is a Challenge - A High Percentage of New Hires Are the Wrong Ones

10 Hiring Traps to Avoid

Hiring is a Challenge - A High Percentage of New Hires Are the Wrong Ones - Far too many IT hires  simply don't work out. According to industry research, 46% of  entry level hires do not make it past their first 18 months of employment, and 22% of turnover occurs within the first 45 days on the job. These failures come at a high price: The cost of a bad hire can range from 1.5 to 3.5 times the salary of the job in question. Clearly, this is something you'd like to avoid.

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But too many CIOs fall into the same, classic traps that keep them from making good recruitment decisions, according to Janco Associates. These mistakes demonstrate that optimal hiring practices require managers to walk a fine line. You can't do it all on your own in interviewing and evaluating, for example. And, yet, over-delegating will hurt too. You want to come up with a system of measurables. But, then again, many necessary qualities are purely subjective calls. To help lend guidance, here's Janco's list of ten common mistakes made - and how to avoid them:

• You're Too Dependent upon HR - HR doesn't understand your department and/or hiring needs like you do.
•  You Make Your Designated Department Hiring Manager Autonomous - No one person - even a trusted supervisor with a strong IT background - should call “all the shots” in who gets the job.
•  You Fall into the “Pretty Face” Trap - Whether men or women, attractive people are associated with professional competence. But it ain't necessarily so.
•  You're Easily Swayed by the Gift of Glib - Slick talkers will ace interviews. But charm alone won't bring your IT projects in on time and within budget.
•  You Accept Hypotheticals During Interviews - In discussing a candidate's work, push them to come up with real challenges/solutions they've conquered.
•  You Go on Interview Autopilot - Even if there are many applicants to bring in, you must conduct each conversation with an in-depth approach.
•  You Fail to Make the Grade - Instead of simply jotting down overall impressions, give each interviewee a numerical rating or letter grade to establish a sense of rank.
•  You Fore-go Collaboration - Group interviews and exchanging notes after one-on-ones is a sure way to gain a consensus of perspectives.
•  You Try to Quantify Everything - Metrics alone can't measure the total value of a potential employee. You need to cultivate a “good gut” that makes the right call after thorough screening, interviewing and reference checking.
•  You Never Look Back - Instead of hiring people and moving on, evaluate how well your department has hired in the past to assess how to improve.