According to a study by Leadership IQ, 46% of new hires will fail within the first 18 months. Their companies will then spend the equivalent of six to nine months of the position’s salary finding and training replacements. The costs of a bad fit are staggering, and they prevent businesses from building better products, growing sales, and increasing profits.

What’s at the root of this failure? It seems that while interviewers are busy confirming technical competence because it’s easy to assess, they aren’t paying attention to factors like coach-ability, emotional intelligence, motivation, and attitude. These factors actually have a much larger impact on success than technical knowledge.

In most cases, employees who were terminated, left under pressure, received disciplinary action, or had significantly negative performance appraisals had problems accepting and implementing feedback from managers and colleagues. Many of them also had trouble understanding and managing their own emotions or those of their colleagues. They typically lacked the drive to be successful in the position, and their attitude didn’t fit the job or work environment.

The big takeaways are that interviewing is a skill and accessing a fit is complex. Investing in training for your hiring managers and using third-party testing can help you make better hiring decisions, and this will save you money in the long run.

Quote of the Week: “The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.” — Steve Jobs