HR Myth #13: "Let's hire fast, we can fix later if it doesn't work out."

Employee Perspective

“I wasn’t ready and they weren’t either.”

“Applied, got called in the next day, interview lasted 15 minutes"

“By the end of the week, I was hired. No JD, no intro, just ‘start ASAP’.”

“There was no briefing, no clear expectations, manager kept saying, ‘Just figure it out.’”

“Within a month, I was told I wasn’t performing and didn’t even know what the target was.”

“I was thrown into the deep end and blamed for not swimming fast enough.”

Guess what, I left and they started hiring again… just as quickly.

Employer Perspective

“We need someone now just get them in.”

“We’re short-handed, can't wait for the ‘perfect’ candidate.”

“Anyone with experience should be able to do the job.”

“If they don’t work out, we’ll just replace them.”

This mindset leads to

> A hire → fire → hire again cycle (fire means fire at work not termination)

> Wasted recruitment costs (vicious cycle)

> Lost time, lost productivity

> Team morale drops every time a new person “doesn’t work out”

The Truth :

Hiring fast may fill a seat but hiring wrong creates a hole.

The hidden cost of bad hires in any business

> They frustrate your existing team

> Managers waste time correcting avoidable mistakes

> Spends more time, money, efforts rehiring than if you did it right the first time

What businesses can do to balance speed and equality

1️⃣Define the job clearly before posting it, even a 1-page JD helps with clarity & expectations

2️⃣Focus on fit, not just skills & attitude, ask will this person thrive in our culture? Can they adapt to how we work?

3️⃣Test before you commit, give small task, case study or skills test before offering the job

4️⃣Involve the team, let future teammates meet the candidate they often spot red flags faster

5️⃣Onboard properly, even basic onboarding (welcome email, training plan, buddy system) increases new hire success by 50%

I encountered this
A software company rushed to hire a salesperson just before launching a new product.
Didn’t check cultural fit & just grabbed someone with “good industry contacts.”

Three months later
💥No sales
💥Clients were confused
💥Internal team was frustrated
💥Warning letters & PIP
Wasted so much time & energy, had to let the probationer go, restarted the hiring

I made sure a clear JD, better interview process & team involvement.
The next hire stayed, is delivering results & built trust.

Final Thought

Fast hiring may ease short-term pain but poor hiring creates long tem damage.
Don’t just fill the seat, fill with the right person.

One wrong match can set the whole team back.

I am Kevin Goh, Empowering People & Businesses | Building Modern HR for the Evolving Workplace

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn by Kevin Goh – Director. You can read the full post here. Adapted and shared with permission.