Recruiting a new employee is a job that is sometimes long and complex. Despite the best of intentions, it is possible to make mistakes and choose a candidate who turns out not to be the right one. Imagine discovering, following a hiring process, that the person you have chosen is engaging in harmful behaviors on social media or has been involved in fraud. In light of this information, you may be forced to fire them—a decision that will not be without consequences, considering all the efforts made to get to that point. How can this unfortunate and costly situation be avoided?
The Cost of a Bad Hire
Naming an exact number is not easy, as there are many factors to consider in this calculation. The costs of bad hiring are not just monetary. It can affect morale and reduce the overall productivity of the organization. Indeed, all the steps require the involvement of several team members and a considerable investment of time on their part.
Prior to a new hire, the search for potential candidates and the recruitment process are made up of many steps:
- Writing of the job posting
- Job posting
- Resume analysis
- Interview preparation
- Telephone interviews
- Face-to-face interviews
- Analysis of files
- Internal discussions
- Reference checks
- Selection tests
- etc.
Following the recruitment process and the choice of the candidate, there is still a lot of work to be done. Think of all the tasks necessary to offer them an unforgettable onboarding experience:
- Creation of the employee’s file
- Drafting of the employment contract
- Creation of access and identifiers for the different tools
- Adding the person to the payroll system
- Presentation of work spaces and services offered
- Meetings with the different members of the departments
- Employee training
- etc.
All this investment in time, energy and money will unfortunately be lost should the successful candidate have to leave the organization. In addition, the recruitment process will have to be completely or partially redone in order to select a new person to fill the position.
According to a study of 400 Canadian companies conducted by Robert Half [1], it takes an average of seven weeks to find a replacement and for them to be fully in place and comfortable with the job.
What can be done to avoid these losses?
Improve Your Recruitment Processes With Technology
Digital transformation brings its share of challenges, but also opportunities. Among other things, all-in-on HR software enables the automation of processes and tasks, the centralization of documentation, resources and tools, and the ease of searching, discovering and sharing information.
Several of these possibilities are very useful for HR projects, including recruitment, because by transforming traditional ways of working, they allow for significant time savings.
As a specific example, an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) helps recruiters and managers optimize their hiring processes and daily tasks in several ways:
- The ATS and its numerous functionalities can be used by several members of the same organization, thus facilitating collaboration.
- Integration with a company’s job sites and career page allows for the automatic transfer of applications to the ATS.
- The complete customization of the hiring process makes it possible to match the reality of each organization.
- The ability to take notes in the digital files of current and past candidates facilitates information sharing between recruiters and allows keeping track for future reference.
- Sending personalized emails from the platform facilitates communication with candidates at all stages of the process.
These are just a few examples of the possibilities offered by a ATS. Discover all the features of the Canadian ATS Folks here!
Artificial Intelligence to Optimize Online Searches
Reference checks are often part of the steps in a company’s recruitment process. It can also be interesting and revealing to check information related to an individual’s misconduct available on the Internet: harassment, discrimination, fraud, etc. This information is all the more relevant if the organization is dealing with sensitive data, but also to protect the company’s culture and reputation.
Here’s how artificial intelligence can contribute to recruitment: it now makes it possible to do this type of search in a fraction of the time it takes to do it manually, while reducing the risk of missing a crucial element, without any confidentiality issues.
This is what Valital, a platform powered by artificial intelligence, offers. Valital’s platform immediately analyzes, detects and classifies millions of pieces of data. It is therefore possible to automate the verification of information available online about a potential candidate, which will help you make an informed decision.
Following this verification, you can add a note to the candidate’s digital file. Should the candidate apply in the future, you will have easy access to the results. This will help you avoid spending time analyzing the candidate’s file, knowing that it is not recommended that this person be part of your team. This is how you can use AI for hiring!
The sooner you carry out such a verification, the less likely you are to make a hiring error, lose money and suffer headaches, which is why it is recommended that you do it before you begin your employee integration process, and even before going to the face-to-face interviews.
In Conclusion
The recruitment and the onboarding process of a new employee require many resources, both human and financial. It is important to be aware of the potential negative behaviours of the candidates you want to hire, sooner rather than later, because a bad hire can cost your organization a lot of money. Take advantage of the opportunities offered by HR software and artificial intelligence, recruit smarter and avoid these unpleasant surprises.
You can contact us at any time for more information on our HR software solutions!
