Hiring in the engineering sector is a high-stakes task. When done right, it can elevate projects, drive innovation, and boost team morale. But making the wrong hire doesn’t just cost money—it can disrupt project timelines, harm team dynamics, and even damage your reputation. But what is the true cost of a bad hire in engineering and why does partnering with a specialised recruiter, like Energi People, can make all the difference.

The Financial Impact of a Bad Hire

In engineering, where expertise and accuracy are essential, a bad hire is a costly mistake. According to studies, the additional financial cost of a poor hire can be as high as 30% of the employee’s first-year salary. In the UK, this figure can reach up to £132,000 for a mid-level salary, factoring in recruitment, training, and lost productivity. Here’s how the costs stack up:

• Recruitment & Onboarding Costs: Advertising, interview time, and recruitment fees add up quickly. If the hire fails, these resources are essentially wasted.
• Training Expenses: Training a new engineer is an investment in both time and money. If the individual isn’t a fit, these efforts go down the drain, and additional resources are needed to train a replacement.
• Lost Productivity: When a new hire doesn’t perform, it disrupts team efficiency and delays progress. For engineering projects, even small setbacks can lead to costly downtime and delays.

In engineering, a bad hire isn’t just a line item on a budget—it can be a liability for the entire project. Hiring someone without the right skills or certifications can jeopardise quality, safety, and compliance, creating ripple effects that impact your entire organisation:

• Engineering demands precision, and a hire without the right expertise can produce subpar work, leading to project flaws or even costly rework.
• In regulated industries, a failure to meet safety standards can lead to penalties, reputation damage, or even project shutdowns.
• Engineering projects often rely on tight collaboration. An unsuitable hire can disrupt communication, lower morale, and create friction within the team, making projects harder to manage and complete.

Lessons from Common Hiring Mistakes

Several recurring mistakes lead to a bad hire, especially in the engineering field. By recognising and addressing these, companies can avoid potential setbacks:

1. Under pressure to fill a role, it’s tempting to rush and offer the first reasonable candidate on paper to come through.. But this often results in a mismatch that affects the entire team. A good working relationship with your recruiter should help alleviate some of this as you should not be seeing CV’s of anyone that would not be a fit.
2. Clearly defined role requirements are essential in engineering. Unclear job descriptions can lead to candidates with the wrong qualifications or expectations.
3. For technical roles, it’s important to go beyond basic screenings. Technical and situational interviews with the direct hiring Manager help ensure the candidate meets your needs.
4. Engineers work closely together, so it’s crucial to consider how a candidate’s work style will mesh with the existing team.

Why Partnering with a Specialised Recruiter Matters

Avoiding these common pitfalls is much easier with a specialised recruitment consultancy, like Energi People. Here’s how we can help

• As engineering recruitment experts, we understand the specific skills, certifications, and experience needed to succeed in engineering roles.
• We go beyond the basics, using assessments and situational questions to identify candidates with the right expertise.
• We take the time to understand your company’s culture, ensuring that every candidate we recommend is not only skilled but also a great team fit.

Ensuring Accurate Role Matches: Proven Strategies

Preventing a bad hire starts with proactive hiring strategies. Here’s what we recommend to improve hiring accuracy:

• Working with a recruiter who understands engineering gives you access to quality  talent that’s been vetted specifically for your industry.
• Robust referencing and technical interviews for engineers, are  invaluable for validating technical skills
• Behavioural questions reveal how candidates handle challenges and interact with teams, helping ensure they’re a long-term fit.

Why Every Hire Counts

In engineering, a well-matched hire does more than fill a vacancy. The right person with the right skills? projects are likely to be completed on time, on budget, and to exact specifications. A cohesive team works more efficiently and with greater innovation helping attract future clients and talent.

Hiring in engineering is a critical task that demands precision. Working with a recruitment consultancy like Energi People, you can improve hiring accuracy, and build a strong foundation for project success. Let’s ensure every hire is the right one—for your team, your culture, and ultimately your bottom line.

Further Reading

• Engineering Talent Trends 2024 Update

• Engineering Skills: A Critical Demand in Today’s Job Market