GLENVIEW, IL — June 16, 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 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:
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 employee. 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:
"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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