Anyone in charge of his
or her own business who is not familiar with the term ‘slow hire, quick fire’
needs to let it sink in right away. On the surface it seems rather
self-explanatory and just good common sense, but internalizing the mechanisms
behind why this practice is so fundamentally important can often be overlooked.
Below are a few key points to focus on when you may be forced to pull the
trigger on any major personnel decision as well as a brief examination behind
the rationale for each practice.
The Slow Hire
Every hiring decision is
an investment. The idea needs to be that the return from their productivity
exceeds the outlay to keep them on board – there is no point hiring someone who
doesn’t make your company more valuable than it already is. Like a poker player
sitting at the table, there is the old adage that you cannot lose what you
don’t put in the middle. Hiring someone should feel like putting chips in the
middle knowing that you can take down the hand. If you’re bluffing and praying
for your card to land on the river you’ll find yourself short-stacked in no
time.
Here are some points to
consider before hiring:
1) Don’t let yourself feel pressured by time – A savvy manager will
see the need coming down the road long before there is any urgency to actually
hire someone. If you’re hiring someone just because you need someone right away
there’s a strong possibility you’re not hiring the right fit for the position,
but someone who is comfortable being the company silver medal.
2) If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t – It can sometimes feel
like the only option available is hiring the least bad candidate. There is
nothing wrong with holding out for something better. The right person is out
there, and sometimes it’s just a matter of possessing enough resolve to wait it
out until they come along.
3) Can someone become the right candidate? – Sometimes you might find
yourself with candidates that don’t immediately possess the needed expertise or
experience required to fill a position, but may possess certain intangibles,
such as the right drive and motivation that can make them an asset to your
company. Always keep in mind that it’s easier to train someone how to complete
a particular task than it is to train him or her to care about what they’re
doing.
The Quick Fire
If someone is dead
weight, they’ve got to go. It’s fine to be patient with someone who is still
developing the requisite competencies to do their job, but if someone doesn’t
have the right attitude, or fails to demonstrate the proper level of motivation
that you demand from your employees, don’t wait around hoping they will change.
There are plenty of eager people who don’t need to constantly have carrots
dangled in front of them who would probably do a great job if given the chance.
Here are some points to
consider before firing:
1) Is it even a job that still needs doing? – It’s not uncommon for
employees, brought on to complete a particular task, to hang around long after
they’ve become redundant. It’s never easy, but explaining that their services
are no longer required can sometimes make long-term sense and might be in the
best interest of your company.
2) Are they spinning their wheels? – The guy who comes to work every
day, does nothing, and collects his pay just the same as the guy who works his
butt off, is an all too common occurrence in many work environments. It’s one
thing to streamline one’s workflow to optimize productivity allowing for more
free time, it’s another to create free time at the expense of productivity. And
as great as it is to come to work feeling relaxed, it’s a wholly other thing to
show up at work in order to relax.
3) Are they a vampire? – Sometimes what can hurt a company has little
to do with the specific competencies of its respective employees and can come
down to a single employee’s bad attitude. Nothing can be more damaging to team
morale than one person putting his or herself ahead of everyone else. There is
no place for someone who sucks the life out of your company.
