Mismatched | Inadequate soft skills are the biggest reason for worker mis-hiring

Small businesses are hiring on average three mismatched staff members every year, new research from Indeed reveals.

With most firms already facing challenging times in talent acquisition and retention, these findings hint at a systemic issue around the ability of UK firms to hire effectively. The most common reason for hiring unsuitable staff was a lack of employee soft skills (50%).

Soft skills include effective communication and interpersonal skills, adaptability, ability to critically think, problem solving and time management skills. Comparatively, hard skills are those technical skills associated with the job itself – 45% of businesses identified a lack of these skills as reason for mismatch.

Salary expectations (37%), expectations of the role (37%), visa requirements (36%) and a lack of flexible work options (35%) were also amongst the reasons for incorrect hires.