{"id":24176,"date":"2013-04-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-25T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:05:39","slug":"cost-of-a-wrong-hire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/","title":{"rendered":"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to the recruiting and hiring process, technical knowledge, education and experience, while important initial screening criteria, are not the elements that distinguish between average and superior performance. Behavioral attributes (defined competencies) are the characteristics that are directly associated with superior performance.<\/p>\n<p>The cost of a wrong hire can climb up to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars, depending on the complexity of the role. Because it isn\u2019t all about the cost of the hiring process, but also the training, coaching, and, more so, the execution of wrong decisions made by someone ill equipped for the job to begin with.<\/p>\n<p>Second-round hiring can be costly, but a Competency Model tailored to the employee hiring process can help you get it right the first time.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Starting over, again<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Aside from time and money wasted, beginning the hiring process again can also lead to a decline in employee morale, depending on how many people are affected by the situation and how long this search has lasted.<\/p>\n<p>According to recent studies, the typical costs of recruiting and hiring new talent are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$5,700 &#8211; $8,900: Average cost to recruit for entry-level positions (higher for executive level considering wider span recruiting and relocation costs).<\/li>\n<li>$1,000 &#8211; $1,500: Average cost to train a new employee (higher for entry-level considering less previous experience).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now add another:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$5,700 &#8211; $8,900: Average cost of second-round recruitment<\/li>\n<li>$1,000 &#8211; $1,500: Average cost of second-round training<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Getting it right the first time<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Considering these high costs, the ability for HR professionals to pinpoint characteristics differentiating the average worker from the superior worker is crucial.<\/p>\n<p>A competency-based system will help determine the list of characteristics the role you wish to fill requires, for example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Decision-making<\/li>\n<li>Teamwork<\/li>\n<li>Organizing<\/li>\n<li>Influence<\/li>\n<li>Stress tolerance<\/li>\n<li>Initiative<\/li>\n<li>Etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When used correctly, a Competency Model serves as the foundation for narrowing the right candidates down, once the initial screening process is complete. It will not only make your hiring process easier; it will help you build optimal teams.<\/p>\n<p>For a more in-depth analysis, please visit our webpage on <a href=\"https:\/\/workitect.com\/competency-models-consulting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Competency Management<\/a> and learn how to <a href=\"https:\/\/workitect.com\/building-competency-models-workshop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Build Competency Models<\/a>\u00a0that will help you to assess and select high performers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"The Cost Of A Wrong Hire: Competencies To The Rescue\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21694\" src=\"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png\" alt=\"Workitect\" width=\"200\" height=\"63\" \/>To learn more about our <a href=\"https:\/\/workitect.com\/\">products and services<\/a>, and how competencies and competency models can help your organization, call 800-870-9490, email\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:info@workitect.com\">info@workitect.com<\/a><br \/>\nor use the contact form at \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/workitect.com\/competency-based-talent-management-free-proposal\/\">Workitect.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a9\ufe0f2019, Workitect, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to the recruiting and hiring process, technical knowledge, education and experience, while important initial screening criteria, are not the elements that distinguish between average and superior performance. Behavioral attributes (defined competencies) are the characteristics that are directly associated with superior performance. The cost of a wrong hire can climb up to thousands,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[39,22,47,48,41,62,28],"class_list":["post-24176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-competency-assessment","tag-competencies","tag-competency-models","tag-employee-selection","tag-interviewing","tag-leadership-assessment-development","tag-performance","tag-talent-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A competency model serves as the foundation for narrowing the right candidates down, once the initial screening process is complete.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A competency model serves as the foundation for narrowing the right candidates down, once the initial screening process is complete.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Workitect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-04-25T04:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T23:05:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"63\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dev\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dev\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"dev\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7025b9b32bd54cc3945b6bba65906b18\"},\"headline\":\"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-25T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T23:05:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":400,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png\",\"keywords\":[\"competencies\",\"competency models\",\"employee selection\",\"interviewing\",\"leadership assessment development\",\"performance\",\"talent management\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Competency Assessment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/\",\"name\":\"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-25T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T23:05:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7025b9b32bd54cc3945b6bba65906b18\"},\"description\":\"A competency model serves as the foundation for narrowing the right candidates down, once the initial screening process is complete.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":63},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/\",\"name\":\"Workitect\",\"description\":\"Competency-Based Talent Solutions\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7025b9b32bd54cc3945b6bba65906b18\",\"name\":\"dev\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1af0af1aeb400cfad874c6d8551adb5ce3b013372f3a90642db178825cc9ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1af0af1aeb400cfad874c6d8551adb5ce3b013372f3a90642db178825cc9ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1af0af1aeb400cfad874c6d8551adb5ce3b013372f3a90642db178825cc9ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"dev\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\\\/client05\\\/author\\\/dev\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue","description":"A competency model serves as the foundation for narrowing the right candidates down, once the initial screening process is complete.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue","og_description":"A competency model serves as the foundation for narrowing the right candidates down, once the initial screening process is complete.","og_url":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/","og_site_name":"Workitect","article_published_time":"2013-04-25T04:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-17T23:05:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":200,"height":63,"url":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"dev","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"dev","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/"},"author":{"name":"dev","@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/#\/schema\/person\/7025b9b32bd54cc3945b6bba65906b18"},"headline":"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue","datePublished":"2013-04-25T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-17T23:05:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/"},"wordCount":400,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png","keywords":["competencies","competency models","employee selection","interviewing","leadership assessment development","performance","talent management"],"articleSection":["Competency Assessment"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/","url":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/","name":"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png","datePublished":"2013-04-25T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-17T23:05:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/#\/schema\/person\/7025b9b32bd54cc3945b6bba65906b18"},"description":"A competency model serves as the foundation for narrowing the right candidates down, once the initial screening process is complete.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Competence-at-work-XXXX-e1562249765825.png","width":200,"height":63},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/cost-of-a-wrong-hire\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The cost of a wrong hire: Competencies to the rescue"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/#website","url":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/","name":"Workitect","description":"Competency-Based Talent Solutions","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/#\/schema\/person\/7025b9b32bd54cc3945b6bba65906b18","name":"dev","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1af0af1aeb400cfad874c6d8551adb5ce3b013372f3a90642db178825cc9ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1af0af1aeb400cfad874c6d8551adb5ce3b013372f3a90642db178825cc9ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1af0af1aeb400cfad874c6d8551adb5ce3b013372f3a90642db178825cc9ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"dev"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05"],"url":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/author\/dev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24176"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24177,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24176\/revisions\/24177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}