The bad hire cost is significant, with estimates showing that hiring the wrong employee can cost at least 30 percent of their first-year earnings. However, the true impact goes beyond just financial loss. A bad hire can lead to measurable costs such as lost productivity and reduced efficiency, but the collateral damage—damaged morale, lack of employee engagement, and disruptions to team dynamics—is often immeasurable.
What is a bad hire?
A bad hire is an employee who is unfit for the position for which he is hired. It could be because she lied about her qualifications, has a relevant criminal background, is a cultural misfit, or worse still, causes health and safety concerns resulting from substance abuse.
Hiring the wrong individual — whatever the reason — can result in theft, embezzlement, sexual harassment, violence, lost productivity and absences. And, of course, your other employees are affected too.
When you discover you hired the wrong person, the stress and disruption of the situation affects your own well-being. Termination is no fun, and then you have to hire and replace — and then train the replacement.
The more you do to vet a new hire, the lower your chances of making a mistake.
Substance Abuse and Workplace Risks
Many problems can be avoided by not hiring drug abusers
Consider these alarming numbers regarding substance abuse and the workplace:
- Failed workplace drug tests are at a twelve year high.
- 9% of illicit drug users are employed and active in the workplace.
- The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) finds that drug abuse costs employers an estimated $81 billion a year. $81 BILLION!
Some signs of possible substance abuse:
- Consistently poor performance
- Frequent absences and tardiness
- Frequent small accidents that result in injuries or damage
- Health problems that your health plan may get to pay for
These all cost companies money. And the stakes are even higher if your business is subject to mandated drug-testing requirements – such as those regulated by the U. S. Department of Transportation.
If you hire a truck driver, for example, not only are you required to perform a pre-employment drug test, but you are also required to inquire about that driver’s drug testing history.
If you hire a regulated employee who failed a drug or alcohol test in the past, and has not completed the return-to-duty process, you are responsible for making sure he completes that process, or you could face DOT fines of tens of thousands of dollars.
How Employers Can Reduce Hiring Risks
Many employers reduce risk with background checks and drug tests
Background checks and pre-employment drug testing are the standard for most employers. Employers can mitigate the risks and costs of substance abuse in the workplace, and achieve compliance with industry regulations, by conducting drug testing as part of their employment screening process.
By partnering with an experienced drug testing provider, employers benefit from professional expertise and resources to help them effectively implement the screening process and promote non-discriminatory random testing.
Finally
Bad hiring decisions adversely affect morale and infect company culture. And workers comp claims, injuries, and fatalities are expensive in many ways.
Being safe is better AND CHEAPER than being sorry. The cost of pre-employment screening is significantly lower than the cost, damage and repercussions of a bad hire.
For information on how to conduct your pre-employment screening with InOut Labs, send us an email, or schedule a short call.
