In our business, we regularly find ourselves in conversation with hiring managers and talent acquisition specialists looking to hire. As executive and technical search specialists, the positions we fulfil at North Search often sit between the executive and C-suite levels. In addition, we also fill niche and technically demanding positions that internal teams find difficult to complete.

We know the importance of hiring right, the first time around.

In a large proportion of the conversations we have, we notice an alarming emphasis on hiring efficiency rather than hiring accuracy. This is often fuelled by the need to fill a vacant position at speed, pressures from management and the desire to ‘tick the box’ as another job done. It’s not that simple.

Both pre-hire and post-hire costs can become insurmountable. Pre-hire costs include organising role specifics, engaging job boards, developing position descriptions and time. Post-hire costs can include salary, benefits, onboarding, training, supplies, culture initiatives etc…

In many cases, a bad hire may not even produce enough value to recoup the costs of having employed them.Hiring accuracy produces 15-20 times more ROI than hiring efficiency ever could. Hiring efficiently is useless if the placement is the wrong fit, and you eventually have to re-hire. When you must source a replacement, the efficiency of the original hire is erased at the expense of accuracy.

An accurate hire continues to present value to an organisation long after initial placement. The benefits of a good hire include:

1. Saves time – after you onboard a new hire, they should be adding to your organisations productivity output. Yet, the wrong person may do the opposite should they require frequent re-training.
2. Fosters business growth – hiring the right people will contribute to your overall success as a business and reduce the need to re-hire down the line.
3. Reduces turnover costs – turnover costs can amount to almost 25% of the salary for the role you’re filling. A bad hire may not even produce enough value to recoup the costs of having employed them.
4. Increases morale – bad hire's can cause tension where there never was before. Being a team player and having a good relationship with fellow colleagues should be as important as having the necessary skills to complete the role.
5. Protects your image as an employer – you don’t want to be a business that cannot seem to retain employees. A high turnover rate will damage your employer image when future prospective candidates research your organisation.
6. Maximises productivity – the productivity level of a good hire will increase over time, however, if the wrong person is placed in the role, their productivity may not even cover the expense of their placement.

89% of hiring failures are due to poor cultural fit. At North Search, we follow a rigorous approach to source, engage and place the right people for your mandate. When assessing candidates, we consider past performance and relevant or transferable experience. In addition, we ensure that the placements made are not just skill-qualified and accurately experienced but aligned culturally and morally to your organisation and team.

We hire accurately every time because our deep understanding of our clients stretches far beyond that of our competitors.

Hiring accuracy > Hiring efficiency.

This detailed approach takes time. If you require assistance with developing a job description, mapping the market, or developing a talent strategy, get in touch with a member of our team who will assess your requirements.