In the business world, you need many things to find success. Funding, a prime location, and excellent products all matter. However, you might need skilled, attentive employees more than anything else.
If you have workers who appreciate your company’s mission, that helps so much. A dedicated worker points out problems, tries to satisfy customers, and doesn’t miss much time. They can represent your business when you’re not around, and you needn’t worry they’ll do anything wrong or inappropriate.
There’s a flip side, though. When you hire bad employees, that virtually guarantees poor employee performance. Let’s discuss how poor employee performance and bad workers can damage your company’s reputation.
Bad Workers Alienate Your Potential Customers
Bad hires cost companies 3.5 times the employee’s salary in some instances. If you hire someone and they have a bad attitude, they might say something rude when a customer enters. They might say something that belittles them or otherwise makes them upset or angry.
If that happens, you’ve likely lost that customer. This hurts you because if that potential customer never buys something, they won’t know whether they like your products or not. They can’t become a repeat customer if they never buy from you even once.
Bad Workers Alienate Longtime Customers as Well
Even worse, some poor hires might say something rude when an established customer walks in. Maybe they say something that makes the longtime customer so angry that they decide they won’t frequent your establishment anymore.
If this happens, you might lose the hundreds or even thousands they’d typically spend in your establishment. An employee angering someone in your restaurant might cost you $100 they’d otherwise spend. A worker making a client angry that giving you million-dollar orders might completely derail your company.
Incompetent Employees Cause Accidents
You might have a surly or lazy worker, and that’s bad enough. Sometimes, though, incompetent workers can cause even more damage.
Maybe you have a worker who operates some machinery. They said they knew how and had the resume proving it. You took their word for it without seeing them in action, though.
That mistake might cause massive damage. The worker might drop some products on a pallet worth their entire year’s salary. They may also hurt someone severely or even kill them.
You can imagine how your company looks if that happens. OSHA will descend on you and ask why you didn’t have a qualified individual working for you. They might shut you down.
Even if that doesn’t happen, your other workers might despise you because you hired someone so recklessly. You didn’t do your due diligence, and the company suffered because of it.
Your customers may hear about accidents at your stores and decide they’d rather go elsewhere. You probably have some competitors, and mistakes you make when hiring could mean more business for your rivals.
Look Into Each Person You Hire
All this sounds dire, but you can often avoid these problems when you hire the right workers. Do that by asking them questions and judging their personality and their responses.
You want individuals with the necessary background, education, and skill set the position requires. You also need people who have the right mindset, though.
If you’re hiring for a customer service position, and you see this person has poor social skills, don’t hire them. That might seem cruel, but you must match each person and job opening you have. If you can see a candidate won’t work, politely thank them and move on. That’s how you can protect your business.
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