The Cost of a Bad Hire in Analytics: $99,000
I have been amazed lately by how many of "the usual suspects" keep getting hired in important analytics roles around the country. It bothers me because I have seen the harm and the cost that hiring these folks caused past employers.
Who are "the usual suspects?" Analytics professionals that have all of the right words and phrases on their resumes, but the have been consistently unsuccessful. In some cases the elevator does not quite reach the top floor.
When Suzie from HR is reviewing resumes that came in from the LinkedIn ad, these folks enable her to check all of the boxes. They have experience - even certifications - with the right tools. They have worked for well-known companies in the past and they have well rehearsed stories about why they left each job after 3-9 months. They interview well because they never stop interviewing.
Whenever I look at a newly updated LI profile from one of the usual suspects I try to imagine how much this person has cost past employers and how much they will cost their current employer.
Here are some rough calculations:
- Total company hours wasted during the recruiting process: 150
- Hours wasted while bad hire struggles, pushes work around and finally leaves 6 months later: 1000
- Hours wasted by stakeholders, peers and superiors doing bad hire's work and coaching them: 500
- Loss in insights for the business, traction for the analytics group and credibility with clients (internal of external): Not sure how to calculate this.
If the average person in this circle is making $100,000 per year (plus 20% taxes and benefits), the cost seems to be about $99,000 + the losses in #4 above.
If you paid a placement fee to hire the candidate the loss grows.
The loss grows some more if it takes you longer to figure out that you made a bad hire.
That is the end of my analysis. The rest is going to be a sales pitch, so look away if you don't want to see me bring this home.
Given the high cost of bad hires in analytics, wouldn't you want to work with a recruiting firm that knows all of the usual suspects?
Wouldn't you want to work with a firm that knows the difference between a good candidate and a good resume?
By my calculations there are roughly 99,000 reasons to call IQ Workforce if you are trying to fill an analytics position.
