The true cost of making a bad hire could be greater than you think.
Our data shows that almost half (47%) of UK businesses intend to expand permanent headcount in H1 of 2026 as they race to grow revenue and transform operations, creating an incredibly competitive, talent-scarce market.
Employing someone who is fundamentally misaligned with company culture, team dynamics, or role requirements can have serious knock-on effects throughout the business, especially in the finance function. Here are the three main consequences of a poor-fit hire and how to avoid them.
Read more: How to evaluate interview answers and hire with confidence
Uncovering the ‘bad hire cost’
Consequence #1: lost productivity
There could be no worse time to take a hit to business productivity. According to our data, 56% of employers are concerned about keeping critical business projects on track.
Hiring for permanent roles and project-based support is ramping up, making one thing very clear - teams are stretched to their limit. A hire with performance issues won’t just delay or silo team output - other staff may begin picking up the slack, thereby missing their own deadlines and targets.
Read more: Conducting a reference check: the dos and don'ts
Consequence #2: damaged morale and culture
Company culture and staff morale take serious time and effort to cultivate.
A hire with poor workplace behaviour could be all it takes to topple years of careful effort. A defining factor of a ‘bad hire’ is the negative impact they can have on others, whether through their approach to work, temperament, or how they handle stress, change, and accountability.
With 63% of hiring managers concerned about their ability to retain top talent and 56% worried about keeping staff engaged and motivated, a poor-fit hire could see these fears realised.
Consequence #3: recruitment costs
The hiring market is slower, more costly, and more competitive than ever. Hiring budget constraints remain a top concern for 61% of hiring managers, and a shortage of skilled applicants is a worry for businesses of all sizes.
Re-recruiting is expensive and could impact long-term team productivity, your chances of securing rare talent, and your ability to retain existing talent.
Financial cost: poor-fit hires in the finance function
The finance department is quickly becoming one of the most critical functions in business. As well as traditional BAU tasks, finance has stepped up to take charge of new ESG reporting, the security, governance and controls around data and AI, and are now running real-time reporting and analysis to guide top-level business decisions.
Making a bad financial hire in the current market could lead to costly errors in reporting and compliance, increased cybersecurity risk, and may cause the business to make expensive mistakes based on bad financial information. Moreover, this period of intense change requires positivity, collaboration, and adaptability — something a poor-fit hire could jeopardise.
3 practical steps to avoid making a bad hire
1. Start with a strong job description
A well-developed job description, shaped not just by what the company needs now but also what they’ll need to support strategy in the future, can go a long way toward avoiding a bad hire.
Before advertising the opportunity, get clear on the role remit, where it fits within the team, the responsibilities and KPIs, and development pathways. This allows you to isolate must-have skills and set clear expectations for candidates, leading to a more successful interview.
2. Assess soft skills as well as technical skills
The temperament and personality of your hire are just as critical as the technical skills and experience.
As well as considering the dynamics of the team and the company's culture, define the soft skills your vacancy requires (collaboration, communication, resilience, etc.) and ensure you explore these in an interview setting, with situational examples.
Read more: AI-generated CVs are changing hiring: what UK employers need to know
3. Work with an expert recruitment company
When you hire employees through a trusted recruitment firm, you can reduce the chances of a bad hire by uncovering missing information, underdeveloped plans, and misaligned expectations.
Recruiters regularly deal with both clients and candidates, so they can better identify a poor fit before the process goes too far, while also offering access to a more exclusive pool of talent.
Read more: Why use a recruitment agency?
