The fact is no one bats 1000. In baseball, this means the batter gets a hit every time he goes to the plate – an unrealistic expectation.
In business, it means every decision is spot on and every hire is great.
Unfortunately, we are human and with that humanity comes imperfection – which sometimes results in making a bad hiring decision.
There are many things you can do to increase your chances of making a good hire – a thorough screening and interviewing process.
But despite the best efforts, a bad hire will occasionally happen.
So what do you do when you realize that the person you hired just isn’t the right fit for the organization?
1. Confront the Obvious
The first and most important step is to come to terms with the fact that the hire simply isn’t going to work.
This can be a difficult thing to do because there is often so much emotion that goes into hiring a new employee and the personal energy that goes into the decision.
However, when you know that the employee isn’t going to work out, it is important to address it as soon as possible.
2. Evaluate The Onboarding Process
Before you let the employee go, reevaluate your onboarding process to make sure that there wasn’t something that got missed in the transition.
Ask yourself and your team a few questions:
- Did we adequately train this employee?
- Are the issues with this employee related to skill set or training?
- Is there something we could have done better to train them?
- Does the job description adequately describe job duties?
- Were expectations clearly made?
- Were there measures for success when explaining job expectations?
- Were internal policies communicated clearly?
- Was a mentor assigned to the employee?
- Did the employee know who to go to with questions?
3. Communicate Concerns With The Employee
No one likes surprises so it is important that the employee understands that they are not meeting expectations.
Communicate clearly and often about desired behaviors and outcomes.
The more clear you are with expectations the more likely the employee will understand their shortcomings.
4. Solicit Second Opinion
Talk to another second-tier manager and try to get their perspective.
Share your concerns and ask them if they have any ideas or suggestions for how to make it work or if there is something that they observed as a possible way to improve the employee’s performance.
5. Act Quickly
No one likes to let an employee go. Particularly when they were part of the interviewing and hiring process.
But there are times when the employee simply isn’t going to work out.
When you have done all that you can, and know that the employee needs to go, you need to act quickly.
Hiring church employees is an important aspect of managing church operations.
Doing your due diligence to identify, screen and hire the right candidate is the most important step in the process.
However, that doesn’t guarantee that the employment relationship with work out.
When it does, celebrate but when it doesn’t don’t hesitate to let the employee go.
