Hire Fast, Fire Fast: Part Two

Like the solid recruitment plan discussed last time, you also need a solid performance management process. You will spell it out in your employee policies manual so that there are no surprises when an employee fires herself. That's right--an employee fires himself when he doesn't use the tools you've provided to perform his job. Or when she does something that is considered gross misconduct.

We don't want applicants to linger and we don't want employees who are in the process of firing themselves to linger. An employee will linger when your organization doesn't take the time or put the effort into developing good performance management process.

Develop your iron clad process and then spell it out in your policy manual. Talk about how you manage performance, how you assist employees in their mission to improve their performance, how you investigate inappropriate behavior, and how you help employees terminate their employment relationship with you. Remember, you're just the facilitator. Employees fire themselves. There should be no surprises when someone comes to work for you--it's all spelled out. This is how you get a job here and this is how how you lose it. Simple as that.

When something occurs that needs to be investigated, investigate it. Make sure your investigative process is well spelled out. Never fire on the spot. Don't fire automatically. Even if you see one employee hit another--she may be defending herself. Always investigate and document. Create a timeline and document it. What did the employee do to fire herself? What was the incident? When did you learn of it, who may have witnessed it, and what did the employee have to say about it? What did witnesses have to say about it?

If the employee is firing himself because he's not doing his job, when did you first notice that he wasn't performing? What did you do about it, and did you provide appropriate tools designed to deliver the level of sophistication you are expecting? Has he made an effort? How has non performance affected the rest of the team? Did you give her the opportunity to do better? Did you outline her shortcomings in a Performance Improvement Plan outlining current behavior, timeline for change, and expected outcome? The need for a tight process and exceptional documentation cannot be overstated.

When it comes to employment termination, you are the facilitator and messenger. There is no reason why you would ever want to fire someone who is doing a good job, who you've spent valuable resources on to recruit, onboard, and train. Employees fire themselves and we assist them by using an iron clad process designed to facilitate the process for

employees to move on to a job that is a better fit.

Just like allowing applicants to linger is not good for your organization, neither is allowing non performing employees to linger. Do the right thing. Hire fast. Fire fast. That's the right answer.

If you need help developing iron clad processes, get in touch with us. It's what we do.