The Hidden Costs of Hiring the Wrong Dynamics 365 Talent
When organisations invest in Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365), they’re making a strategic decision to modernise operations, centralise their data, and enhance business scalability. But while much attention is often given to choosing the right modules, customising workflows, or integrating third-party systems, one critical component is frequently overlooked: hiring the right people to get the job done right!
Hiring the wrong talent for a D365 implementation or ongoing project isn’t just a hiring mistake, it’s a huge risk for the whole business. It can quietly burn your timeline, budget, and even long-term ROI…
Let’s unpack why hiring missteps in this area are so costly and what you can do to avoid them.
1. Delayed Timelines and Missed Opportunities
D365 implementations are complex projects with many moving parts to consider… customisation, data migration, user adoption, change management, and integrations with other platforms all have to be taken into account. A team member who lacks the right skills or experience can quickly become a sandbag for progress.
For example, a D365 Functional Consultant who doesn't fully understand business processes can misconfigure workflows or overlook dependencies within the team, leading to project delays. Similarly, hiring a developer who’s unfamiliar with Power Platform or Azure DevOps might slow down sprints, struggle with debugging, or fail to meet deadlines.
The result of this?
You miss key milestones, lose momentum, and risk stakeholder confidence.
2. Budget Overruns Due to Rework
A poorly qualified hire may initially seem like a cost-saving move, especially if they’re less expensive or available immediately. But in practice, their lack of expertise can lead to costly rework.
Say your new D365 Developer misbuilds a custom plugin or uses unsupported methods that break during an update. Now you’re paying someone else to fix it at a higher rate and under tighter deadlines. Redesigning these systems can take weeks, chewing through project budgets and internal resources at the same time.
The result?
In many cases, a bad hire ends up costing 2x what a strong hire would have, if not more.
3. Technical Debt and Future Constraints
Dynamics 365 is built for scalability, but poor implementation decisions made by underqualified hires can create long-term issues. This is often called technical debt, shortcuts taken now that will require more time and money to fix later.
This could include:
• Customisations built without following Microsoft best practices
• Poorly structured data models
• Hard-coded workflows instead of using Power Automate
• Overly complex or undocumented configurations
The result of that?
Over time, these decisions can make it difficult (or even impossible) to upgrade D365, add new features, or integrate with other systems. Suddenly, your new modern platform starts to feel very outdated very quickly.
4. Low User Adoption and Internal Friction
Dynamics 365 projects are as much about people as they are about technology. If your team lacks consultants, trainers, or project leads who can clearly communicate with end users, your adoption rates will suffer.
Poor hires may:
• Struggle to translate business needs into system design
• Deliver confusing or inadequate training sessions
• Fail to document processes in a user-friendly way
• Overlook the change management process entirely
What is the result of that?
This results in frustrated end users, underutilised features, and a drop in productivity. Worse still, it can lead to resistance that derails your entire transformation altogether.
5. Team Morale and Turnover
One underperforming hire can bring down an entire project team. Skilled professionals don’t want to pick up the slack for someone who’s not pulling their weight. Tensions rise, collaboration falters, and top talent may leave.
This kind of attrition mid-implementation can be devastating for your entire company. Not only do you lose a valuable resource, but you also lose their project knowledge. This puts your timelines and delivery at even greater risk.
The result?
Delays, replacement hiring costs, extended budgets and stakeholder trust drops through the floor.
6. Reputation Risk (Internally and Externally)
Finally, there's the reputational damage. Internally, stakeholders may become wary of future transformation proposals if your D365 project falters. Externally, if your implementation impacts customer experience… say, through faulty CRM processes or order delays… you may damage customer trust and brand perception.
Hiring the wrong people doesn’t just hurt project delivery, it can hurt your company’s reputation, too.
How to Hire the Right D365 Talent
So how do you avoid these costly pitfalls? Here are a few strategic recommendations:
• Define Roles and Responsibilities Clearly
Too many companies hire "a D365 consultant" without specifying what they actually need - ERP or CRM? Finance or Field Service? Functional or Technical? Get crystal clear on the job description from the start.
• Hire for Both Technical Skill and Business Knowledge
Look for candidates who not only understand D365 but also how it applies to your business processes. Great hires will bridge any gaps between IT and operations to ensure a smooth implementation.
• Leverage Niche Recruitment Specialists
Generalist recruiters will not understand the nuances of D365 roles. Partnering with a specialist recruitment agency helps you tap into pre-vetted, role-specific talent that can hit the ground running.
• Prioritise Culture Fit and Communication
In cross-functional projects, communication is key. Make sure candidates can engage with business stakeholders, not just developers or project managers.
• Test Their Knowledge, Don’t Just Rely on Certifications
Certifications can help, but they don’t guarantee applied skill. Use scenario-based interviews or hands-on tests to validate their capability to minimise risk for the business post hire.
Implementing Dynamics 365 is a big move, and one that promises huge ROI when done right.
The road to success is paved not just with good technology, but with great people.
Hiring the wrong D365 talent isn’t just a setback, it’s a risk to your entire investment.
Get your hiring strategy right, and the rest of your project will be in a much stronger position to succeed.
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