This article is based on a Praxis42 webinar on the cost of a bad hire in HSEQ. The panel featured Adam Clarke, Managing Director (Consulting) at Praxis42; Jordan Harlow, Occupational Psychology Consultant at Shirley Parsons; and Emily Swindlehurst, Lead Careers Consultant for Environment & Sustainability at Shirley Parsons. Together, they shared insights from health and safety, psychology, and recruitment on how organisations can avoid the pitfalls of a wrong hire.
In the UK, the average cost of a bad hire is estimated at three to four times the employee’s annual salary, once training, onboarding, and turnover are considered.
This article explores how to recruit more effectively in HSEQ, drawing on occupational psychology, practical hiring techniques, and approaches that turn effective recruitment decisions into long-term success.
How occupational psychology improves hiring success
Occupational psychology looks at how people think, work together, and create psychologically safe, high-performing environments.
At Shirley Parsons, the team uses a profiling tool called MAP—Motivations, Aspirations, Personality, and Progression. MAP goes beyond standard interviews by exploring what drives an individual, what they value, their long-term goals, how they prefer to communicate, and how they see their career developing.
- Motivations – what energises a person day to day, such as problem-solving, teamwork, or autonomy.
- Aspirations – the ambitions and long-term goals they are working towards.
- Personality – their traits, behaviours, and preferred communication style.
- Progression – how they want their career to evolve and the support they may need to grow.
These insights reduce the risk of cultural misfit, make succession planning clearer, and show what kind of cognitive diversity a team genuinely needs.
Increasingly, businesses are turning to organisational psychologists for hiring and for team development. Even established teams that feel they know each other usually benefit, as structured MAP sessions reveal blind spots and strengthen everyday collaboration.
How profiling insights shape tailored development and coaching
Insights from profiling and assessments give organisations a clear picture of how individuals and teams work. They highlight strengths, gaps, and communication styles, making it easier to see where support is most needed (for example, building confidence, improving collaboration, or strengthening decision-making).
Results from profiling and assessments can then be combined with other workplace insights, such as:
- Engagement data which shows what drives motivation and resilience, where people feel connected, and where frustrations may exist.
- Safety culture assessments that reveal how teams view risk and responsibility, and whether safety is treated as a shared value or simply a compliance exercise.
- Employer brand insights add another perspective by showing how leaders and teams are perceived internally and externally, helping to align behaviours and leadership styles with organisational values.
Together, these insights create a rounded view of what a team needs to thrive. The findings are translated into tailored development programmes, usually running from three months to a year.
Coaching is often a key part of these programmes, providing personalised support that brings the insights to life. For some, this might mean a structured leadership pathway, for others, targeted workshops or one-to-one sessions.
Whatever the format, the focus is on developing the soft skills that HSEQ roles demand: being confident but empathetic, influencing without formal authority, and embedding everyday behaviours that create psychologically safe, supportive, and high-performing teams.
Traits of successful HSEQ professionals
Drawing on a benchmark built with client data, Shirley Parsons has identified traits often seen in successful HSEQ professionals (those who make a positive impact on safety, sustainability, and quality while working effectively with all colleagues).
Flexible assertiveness
HSEQ professionals need to speak up when they see poor practice, but if they come across as too rigid or confrontational they risk losing trust and buy-in. Flexible assertiveness is about striking the right balance: challenging unsafe behaviour firmly while keeping conversations constructive and solutions focused.
Cooperation and influence
As HSEQ roles cut across many departments, professionals rarely have direct authority over the people whose behaviours they are trying to influence. Success depends on building relationships, listening, and persuading others to see the benefits of safe and sustainable practices.
Values alignment
Many HSEQ practitioners are driven by a genuine commitment to protecting people and the planet. This intrinsic motivation is especially strong in sustainability-related roles, where alignment between personal values and organisational purpose can make the difference between someone who simply does the job and someone who inspires others.
It is important to remember that while benchmarks are useful for spotting patterns, they should never replace judgement. The right hire depends on culture fit and the specific context of the role, not just a checklist of traits.
Hiring today: balancing candidate expectations and employer needs
In HSEQ, particularly senior, specialist, and cross-functional roles, employers need to act quickly and provide a professional, candidate-centred experience to secure the right people.
A recruitment process that drags on with too many stages, vague role descriptions, or outdated application systems (including overly long forms or awkward upload requirements) deters strong candidates and raises the risk of recruiting a poor fit.
A structured approach helps avoid these mistakes. It starts with a clear and accurate role description, followed by two or three focused interview stages and, when useful, a short video screening to test early suitability. Application tracking systems can still add value by streamlining the process, provided they are easy for candidates to use.
The recruitment format should also match the role. Where close on-site collaboration is essential, in-person meetings give a better sense of cultural and team fit. For many other positions, virtual early stages save time while still providing quality insight.
Assessments strengthen decision-making further. Personality profiling highlights communication and working styles, while cognitive tasks such as numerical or problem-solving exercises add objective data. Delivered through online platforms, these tools give employers the evidence needed to reduce guesswork and avoid costly hiring mistakes.
Interview techniques that benefit employers and candidates
Hiring managers get the best results when interview questions are tied to real outcomes.
Behavioural questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) give structure and help candidates stay focused. The STAR approach works by asking candidates to describe the situation they faced, the task they needed to complete, the actions they took, and the results they achieved. Scenario-based questions are also valuable for testing how candidates manage stakeholders and influence others.
For candidates, preparation is key. They should research the organisation’s values, prepare evidence-based examples linked to the role, and manage their virtual body language. They should treat the interview as a two-way conversation, checking whether the role fits their career goals and lifestyle.
Employers, meanwhile, should stay alert to red flags like insincerity, inconsistent stories, or unnecessary negativity about past employers.
Avoiding rushed or “desperation” hires
Avoiding rushed decisions is the key to minimising the cost of a bad hire. Bringing the wrong person into a role is costly, not only in money but also in time, morale, and team culture. It is also unfair on the candidate, who may struggle in a role that doesn’t match their strengths, expectations, or career goals. A poor fit can leave them frustrated and disengaged, leading to an early exit that benefits no one.
The best safeguard is to plan carefully. Start by defining the key outcomes the role must deliver, then separate the skills that are essential on day one from those that can be developed with the right support and training.
If genuine doubts remain, it is better to keep the search open a little longer. Using MAP profiling during recruitment has shown strong results here, helping organisations achieve better culture fit and lowering the risk of early turnover.
When you realise a hire isn’t working out
Managing a new hire who turns out not to be the right fit is never easy, but approaching the situation with fairness and care helps protect the organisation and the individual.
Address concerns early
If a new hire is not the right fit, act early but fairly. Begin with an open conversation: explain the specific concerns and invite the individual’s perspective. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employers must follow a fair process when addressing performance issues, so it is important to keep records of meetings and agreed actions.
Offer support
Offer support such as training, mentoring, or a buddy system. Where appropriate, put in place a performance improvement plan with clear goals, measures, and timelines. This shows that reasonable steps have been taken to help the employee succeed, which is essential if later action is needed.
Explore redeployment or exit
If the person’s strengths are better suited to another team, consider redeployment. But if it becomes clear the role isn’t right, any exit must follow fair dismissal procedures under the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. This helps protect team morale and the individual’s dignity, while reducing the risk of claims for unfair dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996 or discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
Learn and improve
Finally, treat the experience as a learning opportunity. Review where the hiring process broke down, whether in the job description, assessments, or decision-making. Track practical measures such as employee engagement survey scores, new-hire feedback, how long it takes recruits to reach full productivity, retention rates in the first 12 months, and safety incidents linked to inexperience.
By learning from past mistakes and improving processes organisations can reduce the average cost of a bad hire and build safer, more resilient teams.
Onboarding that drives retention
A recruitment decision only adds value when a new hire settles and succeeds. In the UK, around 30% of new hires leave within the first 90 days, often due to poor onboarding or mismatched expectations. Effective onboarding protects the organisation’s investment by setting clear expectations around culture, performance standards, and available resources from the start.
Pairing new starters with a buddy or mentor helps them integrate faster, gives them a safe point of contact for questions, and eases the anxiety that often comes with a new role. Early check-ins with managers build trust, while simple team-bonding rituals help people feel part of the team. Making it clear that questions are welcome sends a signal that curiosity and feedback are valued.
In hybrid or remote settings, sending written follow-ups after virtual meetings helps reflective thinkers share ideas that emerge later and keeps key points from being lost.
Harnessing cognitive diversity
Different ways of thinking make teams stronger, improving problem-solving and risk management, but only if those differences are supported. Leaders play a key role by creating psychologically safe norms where challenge is encouraged and by facilitating discussions so that no single voice dominates.
Using a mix of communication styles (live, written, and asynchronous) helps everyone contribute in ways that suit them. In hybrid teams, combining the efficiency of virtual work with the connection of in-person time works best, supported by clear ground rules for how the team debates, decides, and disagrees.
Avoid the cost of a bad hire with practical HR training
The cost of a bad hire includes financial loss as well as impacts on culture, morale, and long-term performance. Providing managers with the skills to recruit fairly, resolve issues early, and manage people confidently helps reduce risk and strengthen teams.
Our HR courses cover every stage of the employee journey, from preventing issues to resolving them effectively:
- Workplace Neurodiversity Training – build inclusive teams and unlock diverse talent.
- Grievance Training for Managers – handle concerns fairly and protect team morale.
- Disciplinary Training for Managers – manage conduct issues with confidence and compliance.
- HR Investigation Training – carry out investigations that are thorough, fair, and legally sound.
With practical tools and real-world guidance, our courses help organisations build workplaces where people thrive.
Adam Clarke
Managing Director (Consulting)
Emily Swindlehurst
Lead Careers Consultant | Shirley Parsons
Jordan Harlow
Organisational Psychology Consultant | Shirley Parsons
