Hiring the wrong person for the job is a costly mistake in more ways than one. According to a study conducted by the recruiting industry, the true cost of onboarding an employee at the middle management level is $240,000. That is when everything goes well and the new hire is a good fit for the job. When he or she has the external qualifications but fails to be a good fit, that cost increases to $840,000.

The author of the report arrived at this figure by estimating the salary, benefits, and onboarding costs of a manager who stayed with the company for two and a half-years and was then fired or left voluntarily.…