Finding the right people for your organization can be a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. According to research, it costs approximately 20% of an employee’s salary to fill their post. In this article, we look at six mistakes that could cost your company top talent.

1. Failing to create an accurate job description

A vague job description will elicit a poor response and require recruiters to sift through hundreds of resumes before finding high-quality candidates.

The top-tier candidates have high expectations. They need to know what the expectations are in order to determine whether your role is going to be a good fit for them.

It is important to describe the role fully, accurately, and honestly. Recruiters who fall short will be less likely to attract candidates with the qualities that they want. An enticing job description is much more than a list of duties. It should describe the overall purpose of the role and identify key areas of responsibility.

While it is crucial to provide an adequate job description, it is also important not to take it too far. Including a list of desirable personality traits, specific degrees, computer skills, and background can prove pointless because nobody can fulfill all of the requirements.

You have little to gain from overselling a position. For example, there is no sense in implying that there is a likelihood of a quick promotion if this is not the case. Otherwise, an ambitious new employee may become disappointed and leave.

2. Rushing through the hiring process

While some recruiters make the mistake of dragging out the hiring process—and lose top talent in the process—rushing to hire can actually have the same consequences.

The first person you see in interview may well have relevant experience, but it is impossible to know whether they are the best fit without measuring them against other candidates. Therefore, it is vital to strike the right balance.

3. Rejecting overqualified candidates

In an interview with the New York Times, American entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki acknowledged that when A players hire, they select A+ players. However, when B players hire, they look beneath their skill set in order to make themselves look good and make the mistake of hiring C or D players.

Many managers are reluctant to take on someone who is too talented and confident because they fear that the candidate may outshine them. Nevertheless, a smart manager recognizes the need to bring the brightest and the best onboard in order to share their strengths and insights with the team.

Hiring individuals who are better than you are will not only help to drive your business forward, but it can also help you to improve your own skills. As Lee Iacocca, the renowned US automotive executive once said, a good businessperson always hires someone who is brighter than they are and then just gets out of the way.

4. Placing too much emphasis on the interview

Some recruiters evaluate potential candidates based purely on the interview alone. In his book, Google senior executive Laszlo Bock asserts that most interviews are actually a waste of time. Indeed, many interviewers make a snap judgment in the first 10 seconds, then spend the rest of the interview seeking to reinforce their decision.

A candidate may say anything to get the job, but watching what they do is a much more effective way of gauging their suitability. Giving candidates an exercise or test to determine how they might perform on the job can prove an effective way of assessing their ability to organize, prioritize, plan, and communicate.

5. Waiting for the perfect candidate

In the world of recruitment, the elusive “perfect” candidate is known as the “purple squirrel.” Like its namesake, the purple squirrel is extremely rare. It is essential to take a pragmatic approach to filling open vacancies and to select individuals who possess all of the key requirements, rather than holding out for the theoretically ideal candidate who checks all the boxes. After all, candidate training demonstrates to employees that you are invested in them and helps them to grow in their roles and to feel fulfilled, which promotes loyalty.

6. Adopting unconscious bias

From the moment we are born, we are bombarded with subliminal messages, stereotypes, and social norms that color our perception of the world, as well as everyone in it. While we often tend to seek out those with whom we share the most in common due to unconscious bias, diversity in any organization is crucial. The company Censia can help businesses by eliminating unconscious bias. Censia is a talent intelligence platform that leverages cutting-edge AI algorithms in order to identify the most promising candidate for a role. By accessing Censia’s exclusive database of highly qualified personnel, companies can save approximately 70% on the cost of recruitment, accessing a talent pool that is up to three times more diverse, hiring in half the time that it would ordinarily take to fill a role by processing job applications manually. Not only that, but by using Censia’s highly intuitive technology to model the ideal candidate, companies report a reduction in staff turnover of up to 60%. Censia aims to find the right person for the role, irrespective of gender, background, race, sexual orientation, disability, or religion. As a result, companies can increase diversity and, ultimately, profitability.