When you collect resumes and begin sifting through a pool of candidates to staff an open position, you’re probably looking for a perfect match. Most employers search for a candidate with all the necessary training, experience, and credentials they need in order to step immediately into the job, take the wheel, and thrive. Employers often assume that it’s the candidate’s responsibility to procure these credentials, and they don’t concern themselves with when and how this gets done.

But if you’re following this model, think twice. There are plenty of reasons to take responsibility for training your own candidates, and plenty of ways this move can pay off for you in the long run.

Hiring untrained employees.

Face the facts: at the entry level, most candidates learn the ropes of the job while on the job. If you take full responsibility for training your candidates and bringing them up to speed, you’ll be able to cut payroll costs by bringing on slightly underqualified employees. And as a bonus, you’ll be helping these newbies adapt to your own operations and procedures; they won’t have to unlearn the habits they’ve picked up elsewhere.

Offer ongoing training.

After bringing on untrained team members and getting them up to speed, continue to invest in their education and growth. Offer tuition reimbursement, mentoring, in-house training, or offsite training and courses through local universities and trade schools. If you raise your base salaries by about five percent per year, you’re still saving money on these employees years down the road—and they’re profiting too. Their skills, expertise, AND salaries are all increasing at a steady rate, thanks to your investment and tutelage.

Demonstrate self-reliance.

Too often, employers glance over a college educated candidate pool and sigh with despair, or worse, cry out in petulant frustration because “today’s graduates don’t have the skills” that they need. These employers expect these skills and capabilities to simply appear in the candidate population as if by magic through the actions of universities and the public school system. Avoid this sense of entitlement and take responsibility for your own success. Hire smart, ambitious candidates with high potential, and then teach them what they need to know in order to thrive in your industry. Your investments will pay off as your employees grow and learn. Ideally, a sense of gratitude and commitment will keep them on board as the years go by and their value increases.

For more on how to identify and hire the high potential candidates you need, and then retain them as they grow, reach out to the expert staffing team at Personnel Services Unlimited.