A bad recruitment results in a waste of time, a waste of money but also a waste (or lost) of team spirit.
A recruitment error is a breach of contract during the trial period or during an employee’s first year. According to DARES, 36% of permanent contracts are terminated during the 12 months following the arrival of the new recruit.
Why the candidate has not corresponded to the company? It is often a problem of adaptation, of required skills or of human qualities. But never forget, it may as well occur that the company has not corresponded to the candidate!
According to a recent study in startups involved in Artificial Intelligence, startup founders consider at 52% that they committed mistakes in recruitment of senior or CxO positions the first year of their Series A funding. Thrilling when you know that people is the first success factor during the first 3-year stress period of a startup.
Quantum Computing and AI share the same recruitment issue: talent shortage. So we can imagine the recruitment mistake rates are similar.
For startups with small teams, each recruitment is of great importance. In addition to a financial loss, a casting error leads to a cost and additional time to relaunch the recruitment process. But also a drop in team productivity, high turnover. The brand image can also be negatively impacted.
The job description is often not adapted to the real missions and projects. The new employee may have to carry out missions that were not indicated on the job description or, conversely, not have to carry out certain missions that were noted, or even not participate in the projects mentioned during the interviews. To avoid any expectation disappointment, the job description must be accurate, fair and descriptive.
Interviewing process takes a lot of time and energy. It can also lead to confusion after seeing a lot of candidates. Consider selecting a dozen CVs max that correspond to the job position and the company, then spend time with the candidates and affine your recruitment scenario. Use a 360° approach : don’t trust yourself only, whoever you are (HR person or CxO), but arrange meetings with the direct manager and with one direct future colleague. If the candidate is solid and motivated, he/she will be pleased to have 3 or 4 interviews.
Soft skills and human skills are important during the phase of integration and adaptation to the company, then for the proper operating of the teams. Taking soft skills into account is a major part of the recruitment process. It is essential that the candidate fits easily with the culture of the company.
According to a study by Leadership IQ, 46% of new hired people leave the company or are fired within the first 18 months. For 89% of them, it is for issues directly related to behavior.
Last but not the least, always validate the candidate resume and check the track record and the references. 46% of the candidates are told to embellish their CV, not to mention forge it.
Finally you can be the best HR manager of the world but screw up a recruitment because of fatigue, emotional concerns, huge stacks of resumes, time-to-market emergency, etc. Sometimes, hiring a headhunting agency specialized in your field (Quantum Computing!) is the best and more efficient move.
