First impressions count but it's wise to dig a little deeper before hiring, writes Kath Lockett.

Sometimes the CV is pristine and the interview performance is sparkling but, on the job, the perfect candidate can be anything but.

BIR Business Solutions has estimated the average cost of replacing an employee can be up to $15,000. Other studies show that bad recruitment decisions can result in project delays due to unfilled positions or existing staff having to let their responsibilities slide to train a new employee - not to mention lowered morale and poor performance.

Busy managers often mistakenly select the first person who seems acceptable or is someone they like. Lynn* works in the public sector and nearly came to blows with a manager who wanted to hire a candidate based on gut feel by the end of the day.

"She performed well in the panel interview and her qualifications were exactly what we needed," she says. "However, she seemed too young to have achieved so much and her referees sounded young, too."

Lynn knew colleagues who worked at the same organisation and contacted them. "It turned out that she was infamous for big-noting herself and had put many people offside with her know-it-all attitude and inability to finish tasks on time." She wasn't hired and Lynn's manager learnt that rushing the process without proper checks would have been disastrous.

While it is tempting to hire someone you'd like to share lunch with, it is vital to focus on what competencies and traits you really need. These steps will help make the right choice.

Be prepared

The general manager of the Human Resources Centre, Daryl Phillips, says it's better to make the effort upfront than waste time undoing a bad decision afterwards. "It's important to scope the role out properly first and be certain about the objectives, tasks and key performance indicators of the position," he says.

"Use this to create accurate selection criteria that candidates can be assessed against during the recruitment processes."

Soft skills

These relate to the social and personal traits that complement a candidate's professional skills. Managers should figure out which soft skills fit the position, such as coping with deadlines, working autonomously or with other team mates. There's no point putting an extrovert out in the back office working on filing, for example.

"More often than not, these soft skills are more important than qualifications and experience," Phillips says. "Employees can develop through organised training and on-the-job but it can be much more difficult to instil a positive attitude, self discipline and initiative," Phillips says.

Ask real questions

Candidates these days are a clever bunch and know how to answer the usual questions. Try developing specific scenarios that force the candidate to discuss how they'd deal with situations likely to be encountered. Avoid talking too much: you're there to find out about the candidate. Listen carefully.

Show and tell

Practical assignments are an effective tool. If the role requires a weekly report to be written, Phillips recommends the candidate be asked to develop a sample report. If teamwork is significant, applicants can be grouped to work through a scenario so recruiters can see how they participate.

Get the right team

Another common mistake is not including someone in the recruitment process who understands the skills involved. Having the chief executive is fine but if the role requires statistical analysis, ensure your resident expert is there to ask technical questions.

Be consistent

Providing the same exercises and questions for each candidate and having a standard ranking system is best. "You should be able to hold up a table or report that shows how you assessed each person and why you chose the person you did," Lynn says. "Be thorough with background checks. Verify that qualifications are real and give referees scenarios to discuss how they think the candidate would respond.

Be honest

If the workplace is overloaded it's unfair to let applicants believe the role is manageable.

Small-business owner Roger learnt the hard way after new staff didn't stay long. "We no longer say 'hit the ground running' in our ads; we need to make sure that staff get the training and support they need; not be dumped into the deep end. It's our responsibility to have them want to stay for the longer term."

* Some names have been changed.