Having the right employees can either make or break a small business.
Industry research reports show that a bad hire can cost a company up to 3X of the employee's salary. For a small business this is at least $8000 before the prolem is corrected, and I know of one case where the bad hire put a ~$2M business out of business in less than 12 months.
Assessing the prospective employee before hiring can save more than just money. If a owner/manager has a spotty record of hiring, employees lose respect for the leader. This can impact the work, the clients, and start a negative attitude that is hard to reverse--ultimately leading to retention issues. Remember: A players attract other A players, and B player attract C players. A players can spot other A players, and want to work with them. Does your company have A players?
Most companies hire based on experience and skill, but they fire based on attitude or behavior. (See Assessments)
Employees come to companies and leave managers.