Call Us: 1.800.STAFFING |

Newsletter

Warning Signs: Why That New Hire Might Fail

Make sure the candidate you hire will fit, stay, and perform for you.

New hires offer potential ... but that potential goes both ways. A new hire has the potential to thrive with your organization. They also have the potential to struggle, even to fail.

Unfortunately, the numbers indicate that new hires fail more often than they succeed. According to a Leadership IQ study, 46% of new hires fail within 18 months, while only 19% become a true success.

Why do new hires fail? Here's what hiring managers need to know.

It's not a lack of technical skill.

Most new hires don't fail because they lack the technical skills required for the job. Thanks to a new emphasis on post-secondary education and job skills training, candidates are more likely to be better educated and trained than ever before. Technical skills can often be assessed effectively during the interview process, and many hiring managers are skilled at assessing these abilities.

Only about one in ten of new hires fail because of a lack of skills required to do the technical aspects of the job. The rest face failure due to a lack of interpersonal skills or the wrong attitude toward work.

Coachability matters.

Approximately one in every four new hires fails on the job because they aren't coachable. These new hires struggle to accept and implement feedback, whether from a supervisor, co-worker, or another source.

Examining workers' coachability during the interview is essential. Behavioral interview questions, like "Tell us about a time you were given feedback about your work," can shed some light on whether a new hire will be able to accept the guidance they'll need to learn the ropes and do the job well.

Emotional intelligence sinks more new hires than technical intelligence.

Lack of emotional intelligence also plays a significant role in why new hires fail. When a worker struggles to understand and manage their own emotions, they'll also struggle to understand and navigate the emotional states of others. As a result, the new hire spends more energy on their own and others' emotional dramas than they do focused on the work.

Not every new hire needs to be an emotional superstar. However, exploring how candidates manage interpersonal conflict can help hiring managers assess whether the worker can separate the issues and goals at hand from their feelings about the situation.

Some new hires fail because hiring managers set them up to fail.

Hiring managers don't set up new hires to fail on purpose. Yet, in one study, 82% of hiring managers admitted to seeing signs of potential failure during the interview stage -- only to go on and hire the candidate anyway.

Common interview signs that a new hire will struggle if placed in the job role include:

  • Negative language, including remarks about current or former employers, bosses, co-workers, and customers.
  • Answers that seem self-absorbed, power-hungry, or arrogant.
  • Comments that indicate a lack of motivation for the work or an attitude or personality unsuited to the job and work environment.

When hiring managers are in a hurry to fill a role, it's easy to overlook these warning signs or chalk them up to the stress of the interview. Other factors can inadvertently influence a hiring manager's view of a candidate as well. For example, an answer that stood out as negative during the interview itself may be forgotten or seem less important when the hiring manager reflects on the candidate a few days later.

To help candidates succeed on the job, focus on the interpersonal skills and attitude toward the work, learning new skills, and integrating into a new team. Assess candidates immediately after each interview so that the impressions they made are still fresh in your mind. When in doubt, consult a colleague or reach out to a staffing partner for help in making better hiring decisions.