98% of Singapore CFOs say they have hired the wrong person

Some 98% of chief financial officers (CFO) in Singapore have admitted to being bad at hiring, according to a survey done by recruiter Robert Half.

A quarter (24%) of them say it took them two weeks to realise their mistake.

They are not alone when it comes to hiring the wrong person. CFOs from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Britain all reported the same issue.

The reasons for bad hires included a misalignment in skills (43%), being underqualified (37%) or overqualified (35%), as well as a mismatch in attitudes (34%).

This comes at a cost to companies, as some of the negative consequences of bad hiring decisions are increased workload for colleagues (43%), increased stress on managers (43%), and increased stress on colleagues (41%).

Although companies acknowledge the financial burden of bad hires, they find it difficult to determine the exact costs it entails.

Mr Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Robert Half Singapore managing director, admitted to the difficulty of “determining an applicant’s suitability for a role”, but advises that “hiring managers have clear hiring criteria in mind, come to the interview prepared and implement a rigorous process in order to identify the ‘best fit’ candidate.”

The survey involved some 150 CFOs in Singapore, and more than 2,000 CFOs from around the world.