Monday, September 20, 2010

Resist the Temptation to Hire in Haste

If I could offer up one piece of advice for managers in regard to hiring, it would simply be this: When in doubt – keep looking.

The temptation to “settle” when hiring for a critical, but empty, position is very strong, and many managers resort to the Warm Body Syndrome of hiring. In other words, a breathing body (regardless of how well it actually “fits”) is better than nobody.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The amount of disruption that a bad hiring decision can cost your practice and organization can be tremendous. Add to that the financial costs of low productivity, the costs of training and retraining, and the cost in man-hours that it takes to wade through the clean up required when the bad employee finally leaves (and leave they must), and you can see that a simple hasty hiring decision must be paid for long after the decision was made.

Take the time to hire well. Your practice, your pocketbook and your blood pressure will thank you for doing so.