It is common knowledge that the wrong employee team member in the wrong "seat" on the "bus" has the potential to cost an organization dearly. Yet few organizations actually do anything about it.
Why do few organizations actually do anything to counter their Job Mismatch Problem? From my experience of over a decade of working with small to large organizations, few organizations have a rational understanding of the costs of their Job Mismatch Problem. I also believe organizations feel that they can work around low performers or perhaps change them.
Following are five costs of the Job Mismatch Problem that I have identified...
Job Mismatch Cost One - Employee Turnover 
Traditionally, the cost of employee turnover has been the focal point of human resources and management for many years. I think many organizations have gone too far in their reduction of employee turnover - to the point that low performers are staying rather than moving on to something more suitable for them.
The cost of employee turnover is quite signficant. Different schools of thought have come up with figures of 1.5 to several times annual salary as the cost of employee turnover.
Job Mismatch Cost Two - Management Time
Low performing employee team members require considerably more management time to address their low performance. The management costs are truly twofold in nature.
The actual management time itself is expensive. The inherent amount of time a manager spends micro-managing a low performer is time that is easy to identify the cost of. One can literally take the amount of time times the compensated amount per hour that the manager is spending over-managing the low performer to arrive at the management cost of managing low performers.
The opportunity costs of management time can be considerably more expensive than just the cost of management time itself. Time spent micro-managing low performers could be better utilized identifying new opportunities, coaching higher performers, and developing new strategies.
Job Mismatch Cost Three - Low Employee Engagement or Employee Morale
Low Performers destroy employee engagement and employee morale in many ways.
Low performers rarely leave. Instead - high performers who have viable alternatives for employment leave.
The net impact of reduced employee morale and engagement leads to a greater realization of all of the costs shared in this article.
Job Mismatch Cost Four - Damaged Customer Experience
Low performers often destroy Customer Experience Value by mistreating the Customer or Patient. By "mistreating" I mean treating the Customer or Patient in a way that is inconsistent with the branding and vision of the organization.
Unhappy Customers or Patients often do not return for future business. They also share their horror stories with others. Therefore, it is very important that the Customer and Patient Experience be measured to understand if the employee team member is adding or destroying value.
Job Mismatch Cost Five - Reduced Employee Productivity
Employee productivity costs are the "big one". In my analysis of working with all types of positions, I have come to understand the significant productivity cost of a low performing employee team member who cannot do the job decently or at all. It is common to see a "top 20% high performer" perform at a level that is 3 to 10 times that of a "bottom 20% low performer". This productivity cost is a severe drain on the financial resources of any organization.
Every organization has some level of productivity cost associated with a Job Mismatch Problem. The question really is:
What is being done to proactively decrease the Job Mismatch Problem? 
Following are five strategies one can put into place to reduce the Job Mismatch Problem.
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Benchmark the Job and Match the Best Possible Talent to the Position.
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Employee Job Expectations - Ensure the employee team member knows what is expected of them.
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Employee Performance Accountability - Hold the employee team member accountable for meeting and exceed Job Expectations.
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Employee Coaching - Coach for improved performance.
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Talent Management - Succession Plan - Understand what the employee team member is capable of and build their skills for future talent needs.
Now go Maximize Possibility!
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Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention. Bring Chris in today!
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