DDI Survey Sheds Light on Common Hiring Practices and Mistakes

DDI, a global human resource consulting firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, found that, above all else, hiring managers are looking for employees able to work well within a team setting. Seventy-five percent of the 1,515 managers polled demanded such a quality, whereas only 20% look for employees who display ambition.

“In today’s working environment, very little is accomplished without strong collaboration,” Scott Erker, DDI’s vice president of selection solutions, stated in a press release. “Overly ambitious hires will often only look out for themselves, which can harm team productivity and morale.” DDI’s survey also found that nearly 60% of employers would be turned off by inarticulateness, while only 15% would be turned off by a potential employee who was late to an interview or who lacked knowledge of the company.

Erker also stressed that that survey’s results show common mistakes made by employers in a rush to fill a position. Hiring managers need to be thorough in their search, not so much relying on their gut feeling as on questions asked of the candidate in order to discover their motivations for wanting such a job. “The cost of a bad hire is much higher than the cost of leaving the role open for a few more weeks,” stated Erker. “Develop and follow a consistent hiring procedure. Don’t rely solely on your gut, which hiring managers often do when they are in a hurry. You can accelerate the process to save time, but don’t skip steps.” Asking difficult questions now, it seems, is more productive in the long-term than skipping over important steps and deliberations in the hiring process.

-Kip McDaniel