Bad Hires can Break up Great Teams

Even one bad hire can have a huge impact.  A friend recently shared the story of a “nightmare” she once worked with at a small Midwest company. At the time, small teams interviewed each potential hire, and the boss made the final decision based on the group’s evaluation. In the case of the “nightmare,” everyone liked and recommended her. Except my friend.

Turned out she was right. The candidate looked perfect on paper and interviewed extremely well, but proved to be a dividing force with a biting personality. No one could work with her and the boss stood by his decision for far too long. She wasn’t dealt with until several long-term employees had already resigned—but by then she had nearly destroyed the entire company.

It’s very easy to be deluded by a perfect-sounding resume and a charismatic interviewee.  The trouble starts when those factors alone make up the hiring decision. In my friend’s case, the employment offer was made before proper reference checks were performed. Oops!  Finally, my friend did some sleuthing into the “nightmare’s” background, and found she overstated her education and understated her experience.  Phone calls were made to former employers, who said they wouldn’t recommend or rehire her.  But by then, it was too late—the good people had already left.

The story sounded unbelievable, but was 100% true—and it happens every day. It proves how overlooked policies—in this case, checking all references—can lead to real disaster. 

An easy way to avoid bad hires is to require background checks on all applicants. You can verify education, previous employment, military service, even credit—in one easy step.  And in my friend’s case, the “nightmare” with the false credentials probably wouldn’t have agreed to the pre employment screening—a big red flag in itself!

Don’t risk your company’s security to a single bad hire. Make pre employment background checks a standard policy for every single hiring decision!