Bad Hires - When It's You, Not Them

Bernadette Hill

February 12, 2025

You’ve read the first two blog posts about bad hires, think you have things locked down, made the hire of your dreams and then everything begins to go wrong. Employees aren’t motivated, the work is beginning to suffer and what was once a well-oiled machine becomes something akin to the Titanic.


Time to follow up on my second post about what to do with a bad hire? Maybe. It could be the new person that you introduced into your tightly controlled world or, and I say this with all due respect: It could be you.


It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that a toxic environment can be created from the top down in an organization. Here are just a few things that you should be aware of; consider them warning signs:

  • You’re sending out emails in all caps
  • Staff turnover is at an all-time high
  • Everyone shuts up when you walk into the room
  • Enjoying the job has become just surviving the job


A few of those get your heart racing a bit? It’s ok, I promise. Just take a step back and realize that everything is correctable if you catch it in time. 


As HR professionals we recognize that even the greatest of hires can be tainted by a work environment that is, for lack of a better word, hostile. If you find yourself inadvertently breeding one of those types of places, here are a few things that will help pull your hind parts out of the fire.


Perform A Cultural Audit

Translation: Now is the time to step back and evaluate the culture that you are creating. Are you aiming for professional? Competent but relaxed? Open? Closed door, hush hush and all that? You need to know what you want and be objective in reviewing what you see before you.


Ask Your Employees

   This one is a bit tricky because you’re putting yourself on the line and your employees on the spot. Ensure that this can be done anonymously if they so choose. Find out why they work there, what makes them tick, what they like and what they detest…leave nothing in the shadows.


Hire An Outside HR Rep For A Consultation (Hi!) 

An objective third party is likely going to have an easier time looking at your organization and recognizing challenges that need to be addressed than you are. Don’t be offended, it’s just the way of things.


More often than not, employees will actually relish the chance contribute to change and respect you even more for recognizing the need for it. Be genuine in your actions and reasons and you’ll be that much closer to creating a workplace where people want to perform to the best of their ability.



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Grow Faster. Hire Better. Stress Less.

By Bernadette Hill • May 29, 2025
Let’s face it—hiring top talent these days is like finding a parking spot at a concert. It’s stressful, time-consuming, and just when you think you’ve found "The One", someone else swoops in and takes them. That’s why more companies—scrappy startups to corporate giants—are handing off recruiting to the pros. Here's why outsourcing your recruiting might be your next power move: 1. They Know What They’re Doing (Like, Really Know) Recruiters are the matchmakers of the working world. They eat, sleep, and breathe screening calls, resume red flags, and the fine art of the follow-up. So let them do what they do best, while you focus on growing your business. 2. Save Time. Save Money. Save Your Sanity. Between chasing references and ghosted interviews, hiring feels like a second full-time job. Outsourcing clears your plate—speeding up time-to-hire, slashing hiring costs, and preserving your team’s focus (and patience). 3. Flex Like a Hiring Ninja Need to fill one role this week and 20 next month? No problem. Outsourcing lets you scale your recruiting efforts up or down faster than you can say “urgent headcount request.” 4. Access to a Bigger (and Better) Candidate Pool Recruitment agencies have a secret weapon: massive networks. They know people. Good people. People who aren’t even looking... until the right opportunity comes along. You probably won’t find those folks by just tossing a job on LinkedIn and hoping for the best. 5. A+ Candidate Experience First impressions matter. A great recruiter knows how to keep candidates informed, engaged, and not completely ghosted halfway through the process. Even if someone doesn’t land the role, they’ll walk away thinking your company is classy—and that goodwill can go a long way. Final Thoughts: Outsourcing your recruiting isn’t admitting defeat—it’s playing smart. It's about hiring better, faster, and with fewer headaches. In today’s ever-changing job market, that kind of edge can be a game-changer. Plus, it means fewer awkward interviews with people who still list “Microsoft Word” under special skills.

Retaining Talent When It Matters Most

By Bernadette Hill • May 22, 2025
There’s never a dull day in recruiting, especially when you’ve been doing it a while. I’m constantly chatting with people who are gainfully employed but thinking about switching things up — for all sorts of reasons. 2025 is already feeling like a wild ride for a lot of workers. Gen Z hasn’t really experienced a recession in their careers yet, while Millennials and Gen X are kind of exhausted, thinking, “Not this again,” after living through a few tough economic stretches already. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Work in America survey, more than half of U.S. workers are seriously stressed about job security. Out of 2,017 employed adults who responded online, 54% said worrying about their workplace stability is really taking a toll on their professional and personal lives. As a business owner, it’s more important than ever to hold onto your top talent during these uncertain economic times. Losing a star employee isn’t just expensive when it comes to hiring and training someone new — it can also seriously shake up your team’s morale, their quality of work and the overall vibe of your company. Here are three defensive moves to prevent that dreaded resignation letter: 1. Don’t sugarcoat business challenges during company meetings. Being upfront builds trust. Share the big picture — where the company stands financially, including monthly, quarterly, and yearly projections, plus year-to-date results. Let your team know what steps are being taken to turn things around and bring your key people into the conversation to help brainstorm new strategies. If you’ve only been meeting quarterly, now’s the time to bump that up to monthly — keep everyone in the loop, track progress, and celebrate the wins, big or small. 2. Leadership means making sacrifices first. Executives and owners should hold off on bonuses and raises before making tough calls like cutting benefits, freezing pay, or laying people off. It goes without saying that this is not the time to roll up to the office in a new Mercedes S-Class. 3. Double-down on professional development. Staff — especially Millennials — really value opportunities like lunch-and-learns, industry events, and workshops to keep growing. Most leaders see training as an easy place to cut when budgets get tight, but that would be a bad move. Employees want to feel valued and involved. Investing in professional development, however modest, pays big dividends.  Getting through tough times as a team is like strengthening iron in a fire — it’s tough, but it makes you stronger. These challenges can actually help build a more resilient, united company in the long run. While you're dealing with today’s obstacles, don’t lose sight of the bigger picture.
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