In my organization we’re having a problem hiring people who fit. Too often we bring in someone who seems to meet our criteria only to have to dismiss them later, or have them resign, because they’re just not working out. This is expensive, not to mention hard on morale. Clearly we’re doing something wrong, but I don’t know what it is. Where should we look?

Here’s an all too familiar situation. Despite following procedures, your recruiting process ends up bringing the wrong people in the door. Something in the process is broken, but you believe you’re doing everything you should.

Here are some common examples of where recruiting processes may be broken.

1. The job description needs to be updated, but hasn’t been.

Working with out of date job descriptions can result in posting for one job and interviewing for another. As a rule of thumb, review your job descriptions every three years. Things change quickly these days, and job responsibilities are no exception.

2. Someone is trying to hire on the cheap.

There are people who won’t buy anything unless they think it’s a steal. Bargains do exist, but as a rule you get what you pay for. This is especially true with people.

3. The people who need to agree on what the job is about have a false consensus.

It’s essential that the hiring manager, the recruiter, and anyone else who’s going to have input into the hiring decision agree on the scope and duties of the position, and on the qualifications and experience of the person who’ll be hired. Without a solid shared agreement on the position, people will just talk past each other, and the chances that the wrong person will be hired will multiply.

4. Someone has oversold the job.

Some supervisors (and some recruiters), in order to get a certain individual in the door, make promises that they can’t keep. It’s only a matter of time until the new employee realizes that what she was told about career development or training just isn’t going to happen. She’s as good as gone.

5. Co-workers were left out of the process.

It’s important to involve the future peers of the chosen candidate in checking out the manager’s choice. Dropping a new person among employees who are meeting him for the first time is asking for ‘fit’ issues.

Employees who feel that their views have been considered in the hiring decision will perceive that they have a stake in the new hire’s success.

6. The job was advertised in the wrong places.

If you’re looking for specialists, the generic job boards probably won’t bring you the right candidates. Learn what the professional sites are and pinpoint your postings.

7. The hiring process was rushed.

It’s often the case with inexperienced supervisors that an empty workstation makes them nervous, and they try to put someone into it as quickly as possible. It’s been said many times that a bad hire is worse than no hire. Managers need to reel supervisors in if they’re hiring under self-imposed time pressure.

8. The position didn’t need to be filled in the first place.

When someone resigns or retires it’s an opportunity to review how the department is organized and staffed, and what the workflow looks like. Changes may be required.

It’s not unusual for a long-service employee to have accumulated responsibilities over the years because of the individual’s personal skills and interests. In other cases, new responsibilities have been added to a person’s job rather than creating a new position. Finding this person’s clone will be impossible.

When you’re looking to replace someone who’s been with you for a long time check to see if her job hasn’t been inadvertently turned into a job and a half or even two jobs. Then see how the functions really need to be carried out before starting the replacement process.

9. The job title is inflated.

Occasionally organizations reward individuals with a grander sounding title without changing the duties of the position. This produces the phenomenon known as ‘compression’: jobs differentiated by title but by little or nothing else.

Here’s where you find ‘Junior Programmer’, ‘Intermediate Programmer’, ‘Senior Programmer’ – positions with different titles but the same skill set. Or a ‘Manager’ position may be relabelled ‘Director’ with no change in duties or qualifications.

In cases like this, the wrong people are almost guaranteed to apply.

10. Covert criteria are driving the selection process.

You’ve probably seen ads for vacancies that use phrases that mask a desire to circumvent human rights legislation. Phrases like ‘high energy’ or ‘able to grow with the company’ stand in for ‘young’. ‘A clear and accurate communicator, both orally and in writing’ is a proxy for ‘native English (or French) speaker’.

I once knew a supervisor who made it clear that she wasn’t comfortable supervising people who were older than her. She was in her mid thirties. The jobs that reported to her were junior positions. They were highly reactive and constrained. And there was no career path. The jobs were perfect for older people who were returning to the workforce after having been out for a while. But she was never going to hire them. She hired brand new university grads. And then she replaced them over and over again, sailing along on a 20% turnover rate.

In fast paced workplaces, it’s easy to see the need to hire as just one more darned thing to do. But investing the time to get the right person pays off month after month, year after year. When you’re buying clothes and you grab the first thing off the rack because you’re in a hurry, you’re begging for a poor fit. The same applies to hiring people. Putting in the time up front will make your ‘fit’ problems distant memories.

To submit a question for a future column, or to comment on a previous one, please contact editor@charityvillage.com. No identifying information will appear in this column. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Tim directly.

Tim Rutledge, Ph.D., is a veteran human resources consultant and publisher of Mattanie Press. You can contact him at tim_rutledge@sympatico.ca or visit www.gettingengaged.ca.

Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.