The Real Cost of Hiring Wrong in Construction

Summary

What’s One Bad Hire Really Costing You?

You bring someone on. Seemed solid in the interview. Week one, late. Week two, causing friction. Month three? They’re gone.

Sound familiar?

In the UK, a bad hire for a mid-management role can cost up to £100,000, factoring in recruitment, training, lost productivity, and team disruption. Read more here.

In the US, estimates vary: a CareerBuilder survey cites an average cost of $17,000, primarily accounting for direct expenses, while the Department of Labor suggests that a bad hire can cost up to 30% of the employee's first-year salary, which includes both direct and indirect costs. See Apollo Technical's report.

While methodologies differ, the consensus is clear: bad hires are costly, and their impact extends beyond immediate financial losses.

And that’s just the ones who leave. The ones who stick around but can’t do the job? They’re even more expensive.

Where You’re Losing Money

Here’s where poor hiring is hitting your business:

• Delays on site. One weak link slows the entire crew.
• Mistakes that need fixing. Rework = time + money.
• Low morale. A bad attitude can turn good teams sour.
• Client trust. One underperformer makes your whole outfit look bad.
• Wasted recruitment time. You’re back to square one… again.



Hiring isn’t just about filling a gap; it’s about protecting your margins.

The Hidden Impacts No One Talks About

Bad hires don’t just cost money, they create ripple effects:

• You lose trust with the crew who are pulling their weight.
• Senior staff spend time managing instead of building.
• You create a reputation for “churn” and that puts off good people.



Think of it like using a bent scaffold pole. It might hold for a while. But sooner or later, it’s going to buckle and someone’s going to pay for it.

This is paragraph text. Click it or hit the Manage Text button to change the font, color, size, format, and more. To set up site-wide paragraph and title styles, go to Site Theme.

Why It’s Getting Harder in 2025

The construction labour market isn’t what it was.

We’re seeing:

• A smaller skilled pool (thanks to retirement, Brexit, and burnout).
• Higher candidate expectations (pay, culture, growth).
• More job-hopping, especially in Gen Z and early-career trades.



If your hiring process hasn’t evolved in the last 5 years, you’re probably bleeding talent and cash.

So, What Does Good Hiring Actually Look Like?

It’s not about hiring fast. It’s about hiring smart.

Here’s what the best-performing firms are doing:



• Using specialist recruiters who know the industry (not generalists Googling “dryliner” the night before).
• Investing in onboarding so good hires hit the ground running.
• Screening for attitude and fit, not just resumes.
• Backing up their recruitment with retention plans (more on that in the Gen Z blog).

Final Take: You Can’t Afford to Keep Getting It Wrong

If you’re still hiring like it’s 2012, don’t be surprised when it starts costing you like it’s 2030.

Hiring right isn’t just about getting the job done. It’s about protecting your reputation, your profit, and your team’s sanity.

Get it right, and you don’t just fill jobs. You build crews that stick around and deliver.

Struggling to find the right tradespeople and keep them?

We help construction firms hire smarter, not faster. Because one great hire is worth five bad ones.

Book a Consultation here.