It’s natural to make mistakes when we’re pressured or in a hurry. I’m sure you’ve experienced a time when you sent an email to the wrong person, or a time you didn’t see autocorrect change the word “shirt” to something inappropriate. Rushing never leads to good results. So why would you rush on hiring? We understand you may need an immediate hire because someone suddenly quit, or your business is expanding. Still, one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make at this time is taking on a bad hire.

Time is money and making a bad hire can be a huge waste of time. According to ITWorld, it now takes an average of 23 days to properly go through the hiring process. Rushing this process can lead to poor decisions negatively affecting the long-term investments that are your employees. The appropriate amount of time spent on a new hire is dependent on the role, and while the hiring process can be long and exhausting, that time investment could be a big money saver in the long run.

The cost of onboarding new employees can be large:

It may be easy to post a simple job listing online, find candidates, and make an immediate hire, but even for low-level positions, this strategy can be detrimental to your business. In many cases, these positions are the ones with the most customer interaction. You should spend time on your job listings to attract quality people who will properly act in your firm’s best interests. Company representation is important for expanding your business, retaining existing customers, and obtaining new customers. When you make a bad hire, you never know which aspects of your business they’ll jeopardize, or to what extent.

A good image with excellent service/products will lead to more business. A bad hire can lead to bad customer service, whether it’s because of their unprofessional interactions with customers, general incompetence, or willful misconduct. The customer experience will determine if they’ll continue doing business with you or if they’ll refer your business to others. One of the worst situations for firms nowadays is for a well-known influencer to share a bad experience with legions of followers on social media. A single post can make a painful dent in your business. A bad hire can lead to a bad reputation, which could make it harder to find a good hire in the future. Nobody wants to work at a company with a bad reputation.

The negative impact on your team is another worst-case scenario resulting from a bad hire. A toxic worker who doesn’t do their job, or causes altercations in the work environment, can lead to losing good employees. Internal relations can make or break a company, and a positive atmosphere can inspire hard work, dedication, and efficiency. There is a correlation between company culture and production. Bad hires who gossip, don’t listen, blame others, or break rules can deteriorate company culture.

A bad hire can negatively impact your business in so many other ways, we don’t have time or space to list them all in one article. The bottom line is that rushing the hiring process could cause long-term problems and lead to more bad hires in the future. To reiterate, time is money, and the time spent on a bad candidate is time that could be spent on a good, productive employee.

Significant damage can occur after making a bad hire, although it might not be immediately apparent, but there are huge benefits to getting the hiring process right the first time.

Don’t rush. Take a moment to breathe and review your hiring process. There are many options to assist you and your hiring needs. If time is an issue, you can always look to professional recruiters for help.