SurePayroll Main Street Insights: Small Business Owners Wasting Big Money on Hiring Mistakes
Survey finds that three out of four small business owners have made hiring mistakes, many of which cost upward of $10,000.
Glenview, IL (PRWEB) June 17, 2009
It's every business owner's nightmare. After spending time and money to fill a job opening, the candidate you hired turns out to be a dud - maybe even a danger to fellow employees and customer relations.
According to a recent survey from online payroll provider SurePayroll, this nightmare appears to be transforming into a reality often for many small business owners.
The survey reveals that three out of four surveyed business owners admitted to hiring at least one employee they later wished they never had, and many indicated that the mistake resulted in a significant financial loss - more than $10,000 a pop, according to 12 percent of respondents.
SurePayroll attributes the growing trend of hiring mistakes to difficult economic times that have placed a considerable number of highly competitive and eager job-seekers into the market.
"The businesses we talk to say they are seeing more individuals lying on their résumés or exaggerating their skill sets in order to get scarce jobs. In a down economy, small business owners must be especially vigilant when they bring on new employees," says SurePayroll President Michael Alter.
How Hiring Mistakes are Made:
According to the survey results, many small business owners are overlooking steps to reduce the likelihood of a hiring mistake. Most who admitted to bad hiring decisions said they resulted from a failure to accurately assess an employee's personality, character or skill set. Responses included:
--- "We hired an employee without doing a background check, and then I caught her stealing."
--- "We rely mainly on a strong 'gut feeling' to determine if the candidate seems qualified and references check out."
--- "Our hiring errors have been largely due to time constraints - we needed to fill a position fast and quickly chose what appeared to be the best applicant from resumes received."
So what do business owners do when they realize they've made a hiring mistake? The most common reaction is to give the employee extra training. Others cut right to the chase and fire the unsatisfactory employees. Either tactic produces the same result: more time and money spent in training or recruiting, not generating revenue for the business.
How Business Owners Can Avoid Hiring Mistakes:
According to Alter, the best way to avoid making a bad hire is conducting candidate research during the pre-employment phase. Rather than simply relying on gut feeling, he suggests using these proven, objective screening methods:
--- Perform Background Checks - Nearly half of all small business job applicants submit résumés with false information. A background check will help ensure that the candidates employers hire and entrust with their finances and proprietary information are who they claim to be.
--- Assess Personality Traits - Understanding candidates' underlying personalities and temperaments helps an employer determine whose work style will fit best in the company.
--- Conduct Skills Testing - Skills testing reveals what a candidate is truly capable of before even coming in for an interview. Tests are even available in highly specialized, technical areas including C++, Oracle and Java.
--- Deploy Drug Screening Tests - Experts in toxicology research state that 75 percent of illegal drug users are employed, and most work for small-and medium-sized businesses. Drug screening services help employers keep their workplaces safe and ensure the competency of the employees they trust every day.
"For small business owners, the psychological and economic strain of making a hiring mistake can be a massive burden on the company," says Alter. "What's more, these kinds of hiring mistakes can be reduced or avoided altogether by implementing proper precautionary measures. Investing in pre-employment screening services is worth the small upfront investment."
To assist small business owners with employment screening, SurePayroll recently rolled out a new suite of affordable pre-employment screening product offerings that specifically cater to small business needs. For more information, visit http://www. surepayroll. com/pes.
About SurePayroll:
SurePayroll is the online alternative to ADP and Paychex. SurePayroll's service and team members are dedicated to providing an easy, convenient online payroll service at a price small business owners can afford. Tens of thousands of customers rely on SurePayroll to process payroll wherever they want in as few as two minutes.
In addition, SurePayroll offers small businesses solutions for managing 401(k) plans, health insurance, workers' compensation, HR compliance and employee screening. For accountants and banking partners, SurePayroll provides private-label services that enable them to offer payroll processing to their small business clients.
Over the last decade, SurePayroll has received numerous prestigious awards for its innovative technology and outstanding customer service, including recognition from PC Magazine, Inc. 500, Accounting Today, the Stevie Awards and many others.
For more information, you can visit http://www. surepayroll. com, call 877.954.7873 or follow us on http://twitter. com/SurePayroll.
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