Everyday Canvas

Hiring the Wrong Person

Prompt: What can be the result or results of trusting a wrong person with an important enough task or hiring a family member who didn’t know enough about the job? Have you ever had such an experience?

----

I have never hired a friend or a family member for anything, (I know better!); although, I may have asked them to do something or other for me unofficially.

At times, however, I have trusted a wrong person with an important job, which didn’t fare our well. The thing is, you don’t know how capable a person is even if they have the credentials. Sometimes, the business owner, manager, or the person doing the hiring are desperate because there is no time left to search for the right person, and out of necessity, they hire just anyone even if something inside them tells them not to.

Fact is, no one wants to hire the wrong person for a job because a bad hire drains energy and time, costs money, and may even hurt the reputation of the business. Then, if nothing else, it may lower the morale of the other employees. The best thing to do under such circumstances is to try to reassign or train that employee just to give them another chance.

To avoid employing someone not suitable for the job, it is a good idea to talk it over with the others on the same level as the employer, meaning the triage team. Also, if the hire isn’t working right, an employer shouldn’t hesitate to talk to the others in his team even if it means lowering one’s personal pride.

A good future employee should be a person competent and experienced, and they should be offered what they are worth. Good employees know their stuff, are motivated, and are eager to learn new skills. To find or to recognize all this in a new applicant takes a lot of mental energy. No wonder, it is said that most burnouts in companies belong to the hiring managers!

---

Note for writing: A wrong person for a job could make a hilarious short story. Anyone?