Why One Bad Hire Can Cost You More Than You Think

Sometimes the cost of a bad hire is easy to see. Other times they go unnoticed for far too long, further perpetuating the problem. The costs can be separated into two types: tangible and intangible. Your tangible costs of a bad hire are easy to spot; they are what you directly spent money on. Examples are recruiting expenses, training investments (such as time and resources) and severance/re-hiring costs. All these explicitly cost your company money, and each time that you hire quickly you might be sacrificing these things. 

Intangible costs are harder to spot. They relate to relationships, company environment, and productivity. A bad hire can impact the success of your company’s working environment, or possibly your relationships with your clients. Your employees are a representation of your company, meaning that if the hire was rushed it’s possible you might not have found the best representative for your company. In addition, your company’s internal environment can become less productive, due to gaps in skill or performance, and overall team morale can decline due to frustration. Whether the costs of a bad hire are tangible or intangible, both can cause damage to your company internally, and should be avoided. So why do companies often find themselves with a bad hire?

Breaking Down the Root Causes of Bad Hires

Most bad hires aren’t bad people; they are just the wrong match for the role or the company. Bad hires happen when employers rush the hiring process, use vague job descriptions, have no structured interview process, don’t check references, or just simply overlook the cultural fit within your office. 

Rushing through the hiring process forces you to skip steps and settle with a candidate due to time constraints. Vague job descriptions bring in a larger pool of candidates, but they may be missing critical skills due to the description not listing them. Using detailed job descriptions allows you to pre-screen candidates and prevents underqualified people from applying.

The structure of the interview process is crucial to ensuring that candidates feel as though your company has structure. When interviewing is lackadaisical it makes candidates feel inclined to treat the job as such. The structure of the interviewing also sets a schedule and allows for a hiring timeline. 

When employers feel the need to rush into hiring someone, they often skip the reference checks and other crucial screenings. References exist so that employers can hear feedback about their new potential employee. When this step is overlooked, potential problems are as well. 

Lastly, you should ensure that candidates fit within your company’s culture and environment. If a hired candidate does not match the mission of your company they are not going to help you achieve it. Every person has their own culture they bring to the table. It’s important to note that companies should be hiring employees that fit within the company culture. Miscommunication throughout the hiring process can result in problems identified too late, thus leading to a bad hire.

Your Action Plan to Avoid Costly Hiring Mistakes

The ways to avoid making a bad hire can seem self-explanatory, especially after we’ve addressed why bad hires occur. The first way to avoid a bad hire is to slow down. As we said previously, rushing through the hiring process only makes things worse and thus further wasting your company’s time. To avoid a bad hire, slow down and take the time to define exactly what you are looking for, not just skillsets but also personality-wise. Using a structured interviewing process can help with time management. Following a step-by-step procedure for screening and interviewing candidates helps filter candidates though scheduled events, allowing for a productive hiring timeline. In addition, having set interview questions allows for interviews to flow easily, and for you to easily determine whether a candidate is going to be a good fit for you and your company. 

Working with a professional recruiting company such as Optimum RTS removes the stress of hiring and finding the perfect candidate. We handle that for you. We vet hundreds of candidates a week, specifically pinpointing what our clients are searching for, both skills-wise and personality-wise. Once we have located a candidate that we think will be a good fit on paper, we interview them prior to sending them to you. By interviewing candidates throughout the whole process, it allows us to ensure that you are only receiving candidates qualified for your job. We don’t just fill jobs; we find the right people for the right roles. 

Once we have submitted the candidates to your company, you interview them and then finally decide whether the candidate will become an employee. If you feel as though we did not find the right match, we start the entire process over and will continue until we have found your perfect candidate. We are only paid once, and that is when you have decided that the candidate is exactly what you’re looking for. In addition, if a recently hired Optimum RTS candidate doesn’t end up working out, we will start the search again without any added fee until you are satisfied. Our proven recruiting process helps clients avoid the costly mistake of a bad hire. Whether you’re hiring entry-level or executive-level, temp or perm, we are here to help. 

Bad hires are more common than they should be, especially when there are effective ways to avoid them. By learning how to identify and prevent bad hires, you can save your company both time and money. At Optimum RTS, we’re here to help you find the right person for the job. With our expertise, your company can avoid the costly consequences of a bad hire and stay focused on what you do best.

February of 2025 marks Optimum RTS’s 11th anniversary as a company. Since the beginning, we have been dedicated to bringing quality services and candidates to companies across Florida and the nation. At our formation, Optimum RTS was built on three main pillars: Recruiting, Staffing, and Training. Now starting our 11th year, we are not only an award-winning employment agency and staffing company, but a locally and nationally sought-after sales training and consulting group. Whether you have interacted with us as an employee or an employer, we are so grateful for over a decade of support. Remember, it’s our job to understand your job, and all of you have made that mission a reality!

Fall in Love with Your Career: How to Find the Job That’s Right for You

    Every day millions of Americans and people worldwide wake up and get ready to head off to their jobs, but how many of them are looking forward to their day? Having the right job can determine whether your day is something you look forward to or dread. Just like a relationship, the right job should make you feel excited, appreciated, and valued; so it’s time for you to fall in love with your career.

Understand your needs and desires

To find that perfect match, you need to address your standards: what are you looking for? Think about your values, passions, and goals. Are these essential to your work environment? Are you able to be flexible with some of them? Once you have addressed what your requirements are for your job “partner” it’s time to determine what your motivators are. What aspects of your job make you feel excited to get up in the morning? Lastly, determine how happy you are in your current position and identify what aspects you like and dislike with that position/company. Knowing your desires can help you filter through the available jobs and find the perfect match for you.

Evaluate your skills and strengths

Once you have determined what you are looking for in your career, look inward and identify your skills and strengths: How will you make yourself attractive on the job market? First, identify what you are good at. What past job positions were your favorite and what did you excel at in them? Assess your talents by asking yourself, if I were an expert in a skill what would that skill be? Identify what paths you are interested in learning more about and align these with your strengths. Find a job that requires the skills you are strong in and translate those skills into a role that excites you.

Research and explore job opportunities

Now it’s time to put yourself out on the market. Use online sites such as LinkedIn and Indeed to see what is available and market yourself. In addition, you can visit the Optimum RTS website and click on the “Find Jobs” tab to see what current positions we are filling. Once you have identified a job you are interested in, send us your resume’ and we will match you with your dream job.

Trust the process: Recognizing a job that is right for you

Lastly, you know when you have found The One. Having a healthy relationship with your job means more than just finding the available job, it means feeling like you found the right fit. When you feel you fit in the position, you are energized and excited for the work you are there to complete. Follow your intuition and trust your gut; you will know when you’re in the right place.

Finding a career that truly excites and fulfills you is possible—it’s all about aligning your passions, skills, and values with the right opportunity. By taking the time to understand what you want, evaluate your strengths, research your options, and trust the process, you can pave the way toward a job you genuinely love.

Remember, career fulfillment doesn’t happen overnight, but each small step you take brings you closer to the job that’s right for you. So, whether you’re just starting your journey or rethinking your current path, don’t be afraid to pursue a career that makes your heart race with excitement. You deserve to fall in love with your work, and you can make it happen with the right mindset and actions.

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Embrace and growth mindset:

Understand the importance of the desire to learn and grow. This means challenging yourself and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and using criticism as feedback rather than failure. This allows you to shape yourself into the best version for both your job and employer.

Develop key skills:

Identify skills that are crucial to your career or position within your company and work continuously to strengthen them. Invest in both the hard skills your position requires and the soft skills that allow you to be a stronger team member.

Build a strong personal brand:

Define and communicate what sets you apart professionally. This can be done through enhancing skills, learning new techniques, and promoting a desire to always learn more. Using platforms such as LinkedIn not only allows you space to shine, but they can also draw attention to the work you and your company are doing.

Master time management:

Improve productivity by effectively managing your time and devoting your time to what matters most. Eliminating distractions and minimizing multitasking allows you to produce a higher quality of work in a more timely manner, leading to higher overall productivity. By analyzing what you are allocating time for, you can better schedule and shape your day-to-day, creating a higher yield of success.

Foster a collaborative spirit:

Build a positive and welcoming work environment that enhances both personal and team success. Achieve this by actively contributing to team goals and encouraging colleagues to meet their goals. By sharing knowledge and helping the team around you, success is both personal and shared.

Adopt a results-oriented approach:

Focus on delivering tangible, impactful outcomes that align with the company’s objectives. Assess how you contribute to the success of the organization. Take the initiative and propose solutions to challenges that the company may face, increasing productivity.

Network and build relationships:

Expand your web of people both inside and outside the company. By increasing your number of connections you are also increasing the resources you have at your disposal. Participate in industry events to build professional relationships. Regularly check in with peers and mentors to build a strong network, and lastly offer to help and support others, leading to mutual success amongst team members.

The path to achieving your ideal outcome in 2025 is not set in stone, you must take active steps to ensure that this goal becomes a reality. Through an effort to hone new and old skills, network, support, and challenge yourself, you can truly grow into the best version of yourself. The actions you take today will shape the professional you become tomorrow, and it’s our job at Optimum RTS to help you through that process. Whether it is finding your dream job or the perfect candidate, our services can help ensure that 2025 is your best year yet for both you and your team.

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Let’s start off by defining who your customer is. Immediately, you envision the person currently utilizing your service or products. Typically, these people would be called your prospect, patient, client, shopper, patron, etc. Other people fall into this category as well, however, when you examine this a little closer. A customer is not always only the person using your services. It could be the parents of a child in school, the family members of a parent using your services. It could be the candidate you’re attempting to hire or the employees in your organization, or even your manager or one of the company’s vendors. In brief, it is everyone you come into contact with during the course of your work day. Beyond your work day, the term “customer service” can be substituted for just being polite in your interactions with everyone you meet. 

Now that we have defined who a customer is, let’s dig deeper into why understanding their emotional state might be important to a successful and positive interaction. To do this, think of a child and his or her parents going back-to-school shopping. In this scenario, there are two clients you will be faced with, and both may have very different emotional states. The child may be excited about going back to school, buying their new binders, pencils, and backpacks, whereas the parent is cranky about all the money they are spending, and trying to corral their children, the traffic, or crowds in the stores and malls. In both cases, how they are feeling has a direct relation to the way you or your employee will need to interact with them. For the child you will need to show that same excitement, and for the parent you might need to just be courteous and efficient. Now let’s look at a new patient being referred to a Home Health Agency. What could be the mental state of this customer? They could be scared, feeling vulnerable, tired of being sick and within the healthcare system, ready to be home, and concerned for the potential financial burden they might incur. Initially, the patient is not your only customer in this case, and each one of those involved may have one or more of the aforementioned emotions going on. As an example, when speaking to Mr. Smith and his wife, your ideal customer service would lead with empathy, reassurance, competence, and the timely nature of nursing, therapies, and caregivers. Whereas, when dealing with Mr. Smith’s daughter or son, you may want to switch the focus of your customer service to being efficient, actively listening, and providing concise descriptions of services and cost. This sounds easy, like basic information, but honestly, in most interactions, everyone is only thinking of themselves. For instance, the cashier at the office supply store in the first example might only see a grumpy lady and an obnoxious kid, or the staffing coordinator at the home health agency might be put off by the curt conversation Mr. Smith’s son is having with her. In both cases, the person who should be providing customer service has focused on themselves rather than the customer.

As you begin to read this list of best practices, think about your customer and their emotional state and how you would need to modify these best practices to be most effective.

Top 7 Customer Service Best Practices:

1. First Impressions: How your client initially interacts with you has nothing to do with you. Do not personalize a person’s attitude or behavior.
2. Observe and Drive: In face-to-face interactions, look your client in the eye, and all interactions use active listening skills to determine what the needs are and the driving force behind their need or question.
3. Be the fixer: Be concise in your response and only promise or solve issues that can be done at that time. Apologize and explain how you will get the information to answer the question or solve that problem. Be as specific as you can about the expected resolution time frame.
4. The Follow-up: Follow up on what was promised by keeping your client aware of your progress, should the timeframe you set move.
5. Make it personal: Personalize your customer service by introducing yourself and using your customer’s name when appropriate.
6. Smile: Smile. Really, it’s that simple. This applies when you are face to face or talking to someone on the phone. A smile can be heard as loudly as it can be seen.
7. Remove yourself: Remember, this interaction is not about you.

In my 26 years in recruiting, sales management, and national sales as a trainer and now a business owner, I have seen communication and customer service lead to unbelievable successes and an equal amount of failures. The primary causes of those failures occur when the person providing the service did not fully understand the “why” behind an attitude or question of a client. Without that understanding, even the best customer service plan will fail.

About the Author: John Dalton is the owner of Optimum RTS, a medical employment and consultant company. He has taught and consulted for clients that have just opened their doors to Fortune 100 companies. He can be reached at jdalton@optimumrts.com and you can visit his website at www.optimumrts.com

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Happy New Year! I trust this message finds you well and that you had a joyful holiday season. As we step into a new year, I want to extend my warmest wishes for an excellent and prosperous 2024. At Optimum RTS, we value the relationship we’ve built, and as always, we remain committed to supporting your hiring needs. If you find yourself in need of talented professionals to join your team, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team is ready to assist you in finding the right candidates to drive success in the coming year.

Thank you for your continued partnership, and we look forward to contributing to your success in 2024!

Best regards,

Daniela Giraldo

Manager of Staffing Services

New Year New Goals!

Start 2024 strong, by setting clear intentions for your career.

As we stand at the threshold of a new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on our professional journey and set forth on a path of self-discovery and growth. Creating new career goals and intentions allows us to redefine our aspirations, chart a course for success, and ultimately cultivate a more fulfilling and purposeful professional life.

Here are some easy ways to fulfill your 2024 career goals.

Break your goals down into smaller steps: By breaking your large goal into smaller, more easily achievable actions, you can proactively work towards the big picture.

Create specific but flexible goals: Understand that you are not going to be able to achieve everything in one day, being successful is all about being adaptable. Not everything goes as planned. We may have to change our course, but we must maintain our focus.

Make your goals challenging: To grow we must push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Your goals should push you to achieve the things you desire.

Hold yourself accountable: Remind yourself daily of what your goals are. Each of your daily goals should push you towards your main goal. You can hold yourself accountable by creating reminders or expressing your desires to a non-judgmental third party that will help motivate you towards personal success.

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In Today’s business climate, business owners face many challenges on their road to success.

Containing costs while increasing profits is the formula for growth.

Developing a competitive edge takes a willingness to react to market conditions, modify business plans, and adapt to change.

Why then if the method is this simple, do so many businesses fail?

Employers spend up to 30% of their time and resources on the non-revenue aspects of their business, primarily in the area of employee administration and government compliance.

How would you like to have the advantage of your employees without having the headaches of employee administration!

Outsourcing your employee administration to a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), will relieve your company from the increasing liability associated with state and federal employment compliance regulations and you will be able to provide your employees expanded benefits that will increase your ability to hire and retain productive and dedicated personnel.

When working with a PEO, your company enters into a Co-Employer relationship. The PEO becomes the employer of record and is responsible for payroll and payroll tax compliance, workers compensation insurance, benefits administration, unemployment claims processing and other related administrative tasks. Your company remains the worksite employer and continues to retain day-to-day control and direction of the worksite employees, and you can focus more of your time on the bottom line. 

Working with a PEO becomes a one stop shop for your employee administration and the PEO will take care of your Payroll, Workers Comp Insurance, Benefits, Human Resources, Regulatory Compliance and ACA reporting. So what do they do for you in every area of your administration?

PAYROLL TAXES

Payroll has become a complex process which requires up to date knowledge of tax laws. Human Capital has both the technical expertise and advanced technology to meet your needs and reduce your overhead by relieving you of the unproductive burden of payroll. Human Capital will eliminate the hidden cost of compliance and the risks created by ever-changing regulation.

The PEO will prepare, file and pay your payroll taxes, issue payroll checks and direct deposits, provide unlimited reports, issue annual W-2’s, file new hire reports, process Garnishments and maintain compliance, track PTO and sick and vacation time. Provide 24/7 online access to payroll and HR data including insurance, 401K and PTO benefits. When it comes to time and attendance tracking, we can use your current system or set up a new system to streamline your payroll process and use this data to import your payroll and saving you time and money!

WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE

Human Capital has a comprehensive workers compensation program, which includes Workers compensation insurance, claims administration and loss control. Included within our loss control services, we can provide onsite inspections, develop and implement safety programs, as well as provide assistance with federal and state OSHA compliance.

Human Capital’s risk management program provides their PEO clients with a multitude of services designed to prevent or mitigate their exposure to workers comp losses, leading to lower cost to the client and improved employee well-being and satisfaction.

Claims management and adjusting oversight, accident investigation, modified or light duty return-to-work programs, Safety program development and implementation, On-site hazard assessments, safety committee coordination, OSHA regulation and compliance assistance, job task analysis, worksite hazard training, Annual experience modifier analysis and audit and quarterly review of loss runs.

Pay-as-you-go workers compensation payments, based on actual payroll, paid with every payroll, with a PEO you have No deposits, No annual audits and No surprise lumpsums at the end of the year.

BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

A competitive benefits program is crucial to attracting and retaining quality employees. Human Capital can provide a customized benefits program tailored to your specific needs at a competitive cost. Human Capital administers your benefits by collecting and remitting the insurance premium, coordinating enrollments and assisting co-employees with questions and concerns. Unlike other providers, our clients have the freedom to use their existing benefits, human capital sponsored benefits, or both.

Our benefit solutions include:

Medical/Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending account (FSA) & Medical and Dependent Care Reimbursement, 401K, Dental, Basic Life/AD&D, Vision, Short-Term Disability, Discount Dental & Vision, 24hour Accident Plan, Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness and universal life coverage.  

HUMAN RESOURCES SOLUTION’S

Human Capital’s HR solutions are designed with compliance and efficiency in mind. We can enhance your existing HR department or help fill any voids that you may have. Regulatory compliance can be overwhelming. Which laws apply to your company? How do you comply? Our staff can assist you in your decision-making process.

Human resource database and employee file maintenance. Assistance with immigration and Naturalization Service compliance (including Form I-9 and E-Verify). Assistance with independent contractor issues. Administer unemployment claims. Legal research and dispute resolution assistance. Compensation administration and compliance with FLSA and state wage and hour laws. Guidance with general employment situations and concerns, such as EEOC, ADAAA, ADEA, FMLA and CRA. Sexual Harassment and discrimination training (employee and managerial). Assist with the development of policies, procedures and documentation for employees. Access to experienced professionals who will identify possible government incentives for your business. Potentially resulting in real savings and tax credits.

ACA Compliant Programs, Products, Technology, Training and Support. Human Capital’s ACA solution provides a comprehensive and affordable solution for all your ACA requirements. We know that employers will have varying levels of understanding when it comes to ACA regulations. That is why our team of ACA experts can customize and tailor a solution based on your needs. Our solutions were designed to assist employers in mitigating the risk of IRS penalties, accurately file the required IRS tax forms and maintain access and control over your employee data.

Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) and Minimum Value Plan (MVP) health solutions options. E-File Services to IRS & Mail to employees. Eligibility Management. Real Time Risk Assessment reporting. Employee Hors and Status Tracking. 1095-C Offer Code & Safe Harbor Calculation. Dynamic Data Import.

Our Strategic Partner & author of this post this month is Michael Athmer !

Michael Athmer is multilingual with 35 years of International Sales and Marketing Management experience.

Born in Montreal, Canada and lived in Paris, France, Copenhagen, Denmark and The Hague, The Netherlands and moved to Florida in 2000.

Started an Insurance Agency in Florida in 2000 and later became Sales Manager for Southeast Employee Management Company. Worked as a Business Consultant for Progressive Employer Management Company and is currently Regional Manager for Human Capital Florida, providing Payroll, Workers Comp, Benefits and HR Services in Florida and 32 other states.

Michael is past President of BNI North Palm Beach, Past President of Toastmasters in Jupiter, Graduate of Leadership Palm Beach County Class 2006. Past Board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Palm Beach County, past Board Member of the Human Resource Association of Palm Beach County, past Chairman of the Board of The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and past Board member of The Beyond Blind Institute. Michael is President of the Leadership Business Council and currently serves on the Palm Beach Public School Strings Foundation board.

He is also active with the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Palm Beach County.

Michael is divorced, has a daughter Vivienne and lives in West Palm Beach.

Michael Athmer can be reached at 561-644-8315 or 888-736-9071.

Michael.athmer@human-capital.com