Hiring on Gut Feeling? You Could Be 40% Wrong (Data Matters!) - Wisnio Newsletter #25

Wisnio

Hi there,

Are you truly aware of the real cost of a misstep in executive hiring? Research has shown that one bad executive hire can cost up to 200%+ of their annual salary.

200%+! That's not just hiring fees and severance packages. It's the ripple effect of:

• Lost Productivity: Strategies stall, innovation grinds to a halt, and teams lose momentum.
• Damaged Team Morale: Disruption, frustration, and increased turnover amongst your valuable employees.
• Missed Market Opportunities: Competitors gain ground while you're dealing with leadership gaps and setbacks.
• Reputational Harm: Confidence in your organisation can erode, impacting investor trust and future talent attraction.

Executive hiring is not just about filling vacancies – it's about strategically safeguarding your bottom line and future growth. And the statistics paint a clear picture: the stakes are higher than ever.

• The Gut Feeling Gamble
  Intuition and gut feeling can be a valuable leadership tool, but it has no place as the sole basis for hiring decisions. Research indicates that most hiring decisions are made intuitively in only four minutes, with 75% of those hires resulting in costly mis-hires.
• The CEO Turnover Reality
  In PE-backed businesses, 73% of CEOs are projected to be replaced during the investment lifecycle, with a staggering 58% of those replacements happening within the first two years. This underscores the immense pressure to get executive appointments right, fast. Are you making quick decisions that could backfire?
  
  

The challenges of executive hiring are significant, but they are not insurmountable. Adopting proven frameworks and a structured approach remains key to minimising risk and maximising your chances of success.

• Structured, behavioural interviews
  Studies show that structured interviews are twice as effective as unstructured ones in predicting job performance. And that behavioural interviews are considered to be 55% predictive of future on-the-job behaviour.
  
• Psychometric Assessments: Data for Deeper Candidate Insight
  Psychometric assessments reveal crucial insights into dimensions like personality and values alignment – a key predictor of engagement. After all, research shows employees with strong value alignment are 39% more likely to feel a sense of accomplishment and 70% more likely to recommend their workplace.

For those seeking further reading and a step-by-step exploration of best practices, the Practical Guide to Executive Hiring: Proven Frameworks for Business Leaders offers a comprehensive overview.

The eBook covers everything from initial position analysis through to effective onboarding, with the goal of supporting a more robust and data-driven hiring process. You can access the eBook here.