You don’t have to look very far to find someone who is not very happy in their place of employment or chosen occupation. Maybe that someone is you! If you aren’t sure, ask yourself this question, “Do I get up in the morning looking forward to whatever challenges and opportunities my job presents?” Or “Do I get up in the morning dreading the same old thing?” I don’t know what the latest statistics are related to job dissatisfaction, but I do know one thing; they are far too high!

There are all kinds of reasons for such pain, but usually those reasons boil down to this; there simply is not a very good fit between the person’s talent (including their behaviors, motivators, acumen and personal skills) and the position that they have been hired to fulfill. Now if you have the behaviors of an accountant (detailed, factual, introverted, etc.) it is not likely that you woke up one day and suddenly found yourself doing door to door sales. What IS more likely is that you are working in the accounting field, but find yourself at odds with your boss or at odds with the values that your company promotes. Or you may really like challenges and opportunities for growth and are stuck doing menial jobs; you are bored to tears.

If you are in charge of hiring and managing a group of people, no matter how large or small, it is your job to make sure that you make the very best talent decisions (i.e. hiring, promoting) possible. If you have people working for you like those I have described above, then you already know the kind of stress and turmoil that can cause.

Have you ever tried to figure out how much it costs you and your company when you hire the wrong person? Some of those costs are fairly easy to determine, like recruiting, training, etc. Some of the other ‘hidden’ costs have to do with the emotional toll the disgruntled employee imposes on those around them. Many times their whining and complaining spreads like cancer infecting those around them.

I have been using talent assessments in the hiring and development process for almost 30 years. Almost every year improvements are made to them that allow us to help companies make the very best personnel decisions possible. I’ve helped countless employers avoid making bad hires and helped even more to confirm candidates that were really good fits.

Do those assessments and our analysis of the results cost money? You bet. But you can be assured that what you invest in them and our expertise will be far less than the cost of hiring the wrong person.