Hired the wrong person? Don’t panic. Here’s how to make it the right decision.

As an employer, there may come a time when you believe you’ve made the wrong hiring decision. But shifting your mindset may change your thinking. You might need to dig a little deeper to discover that your new employee is exactly what your team needs. 

People are unpredictable, and when it comes to recruitment, you can’t control everything. 

There’s only so much screening and process that will help you establish whether someone is a good fit for a role. 

Accept that you might need to be flexible and change your plan in order to achieve the best outcome. With an open mind, you can turn a wrong hire into the right choice.

How to make a wrong decision the right one

Don’t rule someone out before you’ve taken a step back to reassess. Use a different approach, and your initial perceptions may change. Here are a few suggestions to get started.

Job crafting: Play to their strengths

Find out what your new employee achieved in previous roles and what they love doing. Playing to their strengths with unspoken experience or skills could be key to their success at your organisation.

Learn more about them

Use an aptitude, personality and skills test to determine your employee’s personal, approach and attributes. Use this information to work with them and get the best from them. 

Find out why they chose you

Recruitment is a two-way street. It’s as much about your decision to hire as it is about an employee’s decision to choose you over another employer. Their reason for choosing you may be their motivating factor. Tap into that and your employee may demonstrate the attributes you are looking for. 

Take a holistic approach

People are not one-dimensional. Adding a new person to your team is not just about skills or experience. It’s about personality and how they fit with the culture, values and ethics of your organisation. If you discover that your new employee lacks the necessary capabilities, consider their approach to work challenges. They may offer more value than you think.

Provide learning and development opportunities

If your new employee’s skills don’t reach the requirements of the role, offer learning and development opportunities to get them there. Knowledge is power. Increased learning may help your employee align with your organisation. Onboarding your team member in a way that suits your structure and culture.

Never compare new talent to former employees

Avoid recruiting for where your organisation is today. Recruit for where you’re going and what you want to achieve.  The dynamic nature of business means that what was valuable in an employee in the past may not be as valuable in the future. Start thinking ahead!

Manage your own expectations

Waiting for the perfect candidate could be detrimental. Unicorns don’t exist. It’s rare to find someone who meets every item on your wish list. Be flexible, open-minded and efficient with your processes and decision-making. If in doubt, hire for attitude and potential, skills can be taught.

An authentic employer brand will attract the right talent

Attracting the right talent starts with articulating an authentic employer brand. Appeal to the right people who align with your organisation. 

When you think about it, the idea that recruitment is marketing makes perfect sense. It’s not hard to make the connection between attracting customers and attracting potential employees. After all, they’re both people, right?

We don’t expect customers to walk through the shop door and buy something straight away. Consumers look at their options and work out which offers them the best value. Attracting someone to a job is no different. 

Draw talent into the employee experience you offer. Share your story and what you stand for (your employer brand). Invite great people to be part of your team.

The era of recruitment marketing

At Heart Talent, we understand that engaging, retaining and attracting talent takes more than traditional recruitment methods. 

Recruiting is complex, and it doesn’t always go smoothly. There are many common mistakes you can learn to avoid to make your recruitment process better and increase your chances of engaging the best talent for your organisation.

Our modern, marketing-led approach allows us the flexibility to tailor our recruitment process to our clients to help them make the right hiring decisions.

Visit the Heart Talent blog to discover the five things we believe an effective recruitment process should have and other tips and tricks.