Recruiting Is A Primary Business Issue

Many view the hiring process as a necessary evil for their business. It’s just something that needs to get done. They make the mistake of just putting “butts in seats” as I have heard it called, and put little to no effort into finding the right employee for the position. Even HR professionals can get caught in the trap of just checking the box; especially when they are feeling pressure from the business to get the position filled. They go through the hiring checklist: post job, collect resumes, interview, and get someone hired. Hopefully the selected candidate works out. If not, they can just find someone else. Now the business can get back to the things that really matter like the bottom line, right? I would argue that this approach can have detrimental impacts on a business.

As I have learned from experience in the HR field, recruiting is one of the most important functions of a business. You might be thinking, I’m just an HR guy that wants to validate my profession, but I hope that you will keep reading. In this post, I will attempt to explain, in a common-sense way, why I believe recruiting is crucial to the success of your company and your bottom line.

Your people make up your business.

Think about it. Every person that is hired into your company will have an impact for the good or for the bad. There really are no neutral employees. Every business has rock star employees as well as average employees who just show up and get the minimum duties taken care of. We will discuss the other group (the bad apples) further down. Stop for a minute and think about the impact that both of these employees have on your business: the Rock Stars and the Average Employees.

The Rock Stars- These are your A player employees. They are the ones who get the job done, apply critical thinking skills, have a good attitude, demonstrate pride in their work, and go above and beyond. These employees are the ones that customers and other employees want to work with. Think about the level of productivity that businesses get out of these employees. Think about the impact that they have on your overall service and customer experience. Although it is not reasonable to think you will get the rock star every time you make a hire, this should be the goal.

The Average Employees – These are your employees who, generally speaking, get the job done. They do what they are told, punch in their 8 hours, and do nothing more. Every company has them, and ultimately they are necessary for the business. However, they are not as proactive as your rock star employees. This means that they are probably less productive and ultimately less enthusiastic about their work. This has a real impact on your business.

Imagine how productive your company would be if all of your employees operated at the highest level. Think about the impact it would have on the work atmosphere and the perception of your customers. This is why recruiting the right talent is imperative to business success.

If you have been in business and working with people for any amount of time, you have likely made a bad hiring decision. You know what I am talking about. That time when you compromised and made the hire just to get the position filled and almost immediately regretted the decision. These are the employees who have a lack luster approach to work. All they really care about is what the company can do for them. They push the boundaries, may or may not show up for work, are un-productive, and in the worst cases cause a lot of problems.

These hires have a profound impact on the business and ultimately the bottom line. How? Think about all of the extra time that you or your management team spend trying to manage these unproductive employees. Bad hires result in wasted hours spent between management and HR on employee relation issues. Lost time from your leadership can be extremely costly.

Bad hires tend to not be very productive and have no genuine care for the business. They are often the ones who create drama at work, or are just so unproductive that it begins to affect the employees around them. These are some of the less tangible ways they impact the bottom line. The effect on morale can impact the productivity of the entire team. As a result, your business is less productive. Decreased productivity can lead to unsatisfied customers which can be detrimental to your business as a whole.

In conclusion, hiring the right people is not an ancillary function of the business. It is essential for companies that want to perform at a higher level. Think about the impact that productive employees have on your business, your reputation, and your bottom line before you make your next hiring decision. Your hires will impact your business for the good or for the bad. There is no in between.