Guest Post: Legal Considerations in Layoffs, Salary Reductions and Furloughs

Have you ever hired someone, only to turn around days or weeks later and wonder, “What in the world was I thinking?” Or worse, have you ever hired someone and then heard that employees are asking the same question?

According to global research about hiring trends published by Development Dimensions International (DDI), half of new employees report that they are experiencing buyer’s remorse after accepting a recent job offer.* But new employees aren’t the only ones rethinking their employment.

Many employers surveyed also reported that they are questioning whether they have made wise hiring decisions, with 1-in-8 new workers employed during a 12-month period having proved to be a “bad hire.”

When staffing directors were asked what the top reasons for hiring mistakes were, nearly one-third of respondents blamed an over-reliance on hiring manager evaluations, while only 21 percent pointed to candidates that had oversold their skills.

And because interviews are one of the best ways to determine how a potential candidate will perform in the role, bad interviews can be poisonous. But only 1-in-3 staffing directors feel that their hiring managers are skilled at conducting high-quality interviews, or are satisfied with their company’s training program for interviewers.

In better news, further research revealed that just over half of all new hires would rate themselves as confident in their decision. Delving deeper, many of those who reported a lack of confidence found that the hiring process had failed to paint a realistic picture of the job, department and company they are now employed by.

On the other hand, in companies where the hiring process yielded an accurate portrayal of the job, company, and department, new hires were far more confident in their decisions, less likely to immediately begin scanning job boards, and highly engaged with the job and their workplace.

So what’s the best way for a nonprofit to address these concerns?

Well-trained hiring managers, realistic portrayals of what the position is really like, and good interviews!

Read more about the research by DDI International at SHRM. And come back tomorrow for Part 2: Hiring Tips for Managers and Making Your Interviews Work.