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Stuart Gentle Publisher at Onrec

Compromise culture puts GDP growth at risk as 9 out of 10 companies recruitment badly

New study reveals a psychology of second-best for time poor employers

A study carried out by Hiring Hub, a tech company devoted to making recruitment faster and easier, has identified that almost all UK businesses have appointed the wrong person for a job. As a result of time and market pressures, UK businesses have adopted a ‘culture of compromise’, with 91% stating that they have compromised on quality of a candidate.

Costs of a compromise culture

With one in three appointments in the last 12 months described as less than ideal for the role, this presents huge problems for British businesses and the UK economy as a whole. Acknowledging this, 74% of respondents recognise a culture of recruitment compromise is not healthy as they continue to make hires. The survey indicated the top three negative implications of hiring the wrong person for the role are:

  • The need to invest further required in developing new recruits (54%)
  • An impact on company performance (47%)
  • A requirement for line managers to invest additional time into new hires into supporting new recruits (35%)


“Appointing the wrong candidate for the job is a costly mistake if you run a business,” says Simon Swan, co-founder and CEO of Hiring Hub. “However, HR professionals and business owners compromise on recruitment quality almost as a matter of routine. This is a Catch-22 for UK businesses that waste the little time they do have in finding a candidate they then have to replace, or dedicate more time line-managing in the long run. It’s ineffective and a huge drain on the company’s resources.”

Recruitment time pressures

Allocation of time in the recruitment process is the biggest pressure respondents face. Over half (52%) said they spend more time vetting CVs and briefing recruitment agencies than interviewing candidates (48%). That adds up to over 8 million hours of time spent recruiting for roles.

Nevertheless, business owners and HR departments recognise the importance in dedicating more time to getting to know candidates. More than two thirds (66%) surveyed said that their business would benefit from investing more time in interviewing, and subsequently selecting the right candidate for the job.

Improvisation to innovation

Swan concludes: “The emphasis for employers should be placed squarely on their approach to recruitment and talent sourcing. Currently the recruitment process in UK businesses is convoluted, inefficient, and unsustainable. We’re living in a digital age where innovative tools and techniques that enable us to be more efficient and competitive are at our disposal. By replacing improvisation with innovation, companies can reduce the time spent reviewing CVs and managing agencies, in order to focus on interviewing and selecting the right candidates to grow their business.”