Hiring an average employee or “warm body” to fill an opening in your company is never a good idea. Why? Companies need to hire the best candidates possible for their open jobs, not just someone to fill an open spot. When companies hire average candidates because they must fill an open job within a specific time frame, they are putting themselves at risk to bring in someone who will not perform well within the job. Hiring to simply hire is referred to as the “Warm Body Syndrome,” and your company needs to avoid it as much as possible.
Here’s how to avoid hiring an average employee:
Never Rush Things
One way to avoid hiring average candidates is by taking your time during the hiring process. You should never rush the hire of a new employee. Do not put a time limit on the hiring process, such as four weeks or 90 days because you are limiting your company in finding the right person for the job. When you give the human resource department enough time to fill an open job, the right person will be hired and onboarded.
Don’t Hire in a Silo
When hiring for open positions at your company, try to work with at least one other person or a team of people. If you can afford to form a hiring committee, then this might be a good idea for your company. A hiring committee makes it easier on everyone involved to vet a candidate, look into their background, come up with different questions and make educated decisions about who the company will hire.
Don’t Hire After One Interview
When it comes to hiring the right candidate, you must avoid doing so after just one interview. Interviewing a candidate just once and then making an offer of employment is never a good idea. You need to have a series of interviews to best gauge the candidate and how he or she will perform at your company. A series of interviews might not even be enough time to vet a candidate, which is when you can implement a trial work period, if necessary.
Investigate References
As you prepare to hire a candidate for an open spot at your company, you must investigate the references they provide. Take a long look at these references and have in-depth conversations in order to determine how the candidate fit in at previous jobs and how well they perform their work. Make sure you perform a background check and even conduct a drug test to make sure you are not hiring someone who will be a problem at the office after a few weeks on the job.
It is easy to take the simple route and hire an average candidate because you need to fill an open position. Do not let this happen at your company. Take the extra time to interview multiple candidates, use a lengthy interview process and check all references in order to avoid the average hire. It is also a good idea to partner with a staffing company like Venteon, which will vet all of your candidates and provide you with excellent workers.