“I have participated in the hiring of maybe 5,000-plus people in my life. So I take it very seriously.” – Steve Jobs.

It is vital to show quite a lot of dedication with new employees, as they can be very sensitive to any lack of care or special attention. Poor orientation and on-boarding of new hires can cost you dearly. According to a study by Mellon Financial Corp., lost productivity resulting from the learning curve for new hires and transfers amounts to between 1% and 2.5% of total revenues. The time for new hires to achieve full productivity ranges from 8 weeks for clerical jobs to 20 weeks for professionals, to more than 26 weeks for executives.

After sending this businessman over 25 very qualified applicants for an executive position, I realized I had made a terrible mistake: I did not suggest that my client fire himself first, as the General Manager!

As a first reason for growing difficulties, HBR cites the lack of internal recruitment, which went from 90% in the seventies, down to 28% today. The instability or lack of loyalty amongst employees has made internal hiring a more challenging issue. Lack of leadership is probably to blame in the back of that, but few CEO’s want to recognize it. The famous slogan “People don’t quit their job, they quit their boss” has apparently never been so true as it is today.