5 of the Most Common Hiring Mistakes Startups Make

According to Career Builder, 74% of companies that admit they’ve hired the wrong person for an open position lost an average of $14,900 for each bad hire.

What’s more, according to the US Department of Labor, the cost of a bad hire can reach up to 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings.

These stats show you just how important it is to hire right the first time. To assist you, let’s look at five of the most common hiring mistakes startups make.

#1: Hiring People You Know

While in some instances hiring people you know is a good idea, generally speaking it’s something you want to stay away from, especially if they’re your friends.

The only time you want to hire a friend is if he or she is absolutely perfect for the job. And, they should be perfect for your company as well.

You never want to hire someone just because they’re your friend.

Hiring a friend can lead to complicated dynamics both for your startup and your friendship, so it’s best to avoid this when possible.

#2: Hiring Because You Can

You’ve done the work, and you’ve got investment money in hand. Does this mean you should hire a full team? Not necessarily.

Just because you have the capital, doesn’t mean you should start randomly hiring people.

Once you have the money, you want to start creating job descriptions. Establish what you’re looking for in each of these staff positions.

Then look at the mix. For example, you want to hire leaders and followers. It does you no good to have some without the other.

When beginning your hiring, have a strategy and job descriptions. Look at the big picture.

Set your priorities as well. Do you need someone in a leadership position first, or do you need someone to answer the phones? Make a list and work your way through it.

Then, when you’re interviewing candidates consider how your potential group will work together.

#3: Hiring Without a Company Culture

Do you know what you want the culture of your company to look like? Is it a place where people have flexible schedules, have fun at work, and are highly productive? Or, is it strict schedules, no flexibility, and high productivity? Maybe a mix of the two?

Are you looking for creative people, or are you looking for business types?

You decide your company culture. You decide what you’ll tolerate, and what you want.

Because you are in the first years of your business, you are in a unique position to set the company culture from the very beginning. It’s very hard to change it once it’s been set.

You must know your culture before you start hiring. This will ensure you don’t make the mistake of hiring people who will fight with your company culture.

#4: Hiring People to Train Them

It can be tempting to hire people so you can train them the way you want them to be. But, let’s face it, you are extremely busy, and you won’t have time to train them properly.

It’s best to hire the most experienced people for the beginning team at your startup. Leave the interns for later on.

Not only will hiring the best team upfront save you money, but it will also save you time.

#5: Hiring Only on the Resume

Anyone can spruce up their resume. While the resume is important, there are so many other variables to look at.

You can also focus on the candidate’s cover letter, check out their references (calling those they list and those they don’t), and ask them for work samples.

Bottom line – you want to know if your new hire can do just what their resume says they can. Do everything you can to see that they can prove it to you.

To Conclude

As you’re going through your hiring process, you want to take your time. Invest in your startup by writing job descriptions, mapping out your company culture, and devising a hiring strategy.

You’ll reap the benefits by avoiding some of these common hiring mistakes, so you can set your startup on the path of growth.

Your team is vital to your success. Happy employees are productive employees, so you want to hire right from the very beginning.

Are you a new startup ready to succeed? Are you looking to get your new business off the ground and watch it rise to success? We are here for you. We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process. Outsource your HR duties, finances, payroll and more to us. Contact Escalon today to get started.