Managing a Wrong Hire
Photo credits: Forbes
A short guide on managing a wrong hire
It’s every startup founder’s nightmare: you find the perfect candidate but once they join, they just are not fitting in. Their performance may not be up to mark, they may be a wrong cultural fit or they were just hired at the wrong time. Whatever it is, it just isn’t working out. At this point, it may feel like you are the first startup founder who needs to let someone go.
A startup cannot escape the pain of learning how to let employees go. This is a step that teaches maturity to a founder and lays the foundation of building a strong team. While it is a decision that should be executed quickly, it is not a decision that should be approached thoughtlessly. Some founders may choose to avoid the confrontation but ultimately, this just slows the startup’s growth. Instead, startup founders should familiarize themselves with the process of letting someone go. These four principles can help manage a wrong hire and lessen the impact on your startup.
“When it starts to bother you, it is time to initiate the hard conversation and be prepared for eventual letting go. Trust your gut.”
Prepare Well
Don’t procrastinate. Start gathering the facts when it starts to bother you. They could either be low performing employees or the wrong cultural fit. Sometimes, they could have just been hired at the wrong time, and there isn’t much for them to do!
Interview relevant internal and external stakeholders (such as their manager, team members, and even customers) to identify any issues.
As you gather the facts, ensure that they are specific with clear examples. For e.g. You have missed the sales target by an average 50% in the last 6 months or I noticed that you have missed the deadline for the last 3 presentations”.
Document them so that you can have a productive and meaningful conversation with the employee later.
Check the local laws to ensure that your plan complies with the legal requirements of the country.
Give them a chance
Letting go of someone should never be an ambush. The only acceptable scenario to fire someone on the spot is when they have done something illegal. An employee should always be made aware that their low performance, negative attitude or lack of fit can lead to their departure. If they are no longer relevant as there was a pivot in the business, consider whether there are other roles for them in the company. If they were hired at the wrong time, admit your mistake and offer to help smoothen the transition. Once you have gathered all the facts as above,
Schedule a 1:1 with the employee
Discuss the issue with the employee with the specific facts that you have gathered.
Listen to their feedback
Give them a chance to improve if it is related to performance or to cultural fit. It is typical to put the employee on a review period for 1-6* months with a few measurable, specific goals and clear timelines. Allow them to input and finetune it. Commit to helping them.
Document the action plan and follow-up diligently on the implementation.
* In larger companies, this can stretch to 9 months but for startups a more realistic period would be 1-3 months depending on the stage of growth.
During the Dismissal Meeting
If the action plans are still not met, make the decision fast and have the dismissal meeting as soon as possible. If they have to be let go because of wrong timing, adopt the same attitude. During the meeting, keep these steps in mind:
Prepare for the meeting. It’s natural to feel nervous as this is could be an emotional conversation.
Stay focused. The meeting’s objective is to inform the employee about the decision, not to negotiate their performance.
Deliver the news directly and professionally. Skip the small talk - while it may make you feel at ease, it will send confusing signals. State the reasons in a few specific sentences and be clear that they have to be let go. If they wish to argue, listen, stay calm but be firm.
Have a checklist. These can include issues such as severance pay, policies on unused vacation time, access to company information, explanations to coworkers, ongoing projects and if possible, outplacement to help them transition to a new job.
Ensure you have one other senior or mature team member in the room to be a neutral witness. If your startup is big enough, it is ideal to have someone from HR or legal to be present. If you are a gentleman dealing with a lady, have another lady present at the meeting.
Be kind and compassionate…within reason.
Nobody wants to be the bad guy so many founders end up sending mixed signals in their bid to be empathetic. Keep in mind that by enabling a low-performing employee, you are hurting your startup and making the team work harder to make up for the low performance.
Remember the employee is still a person who is answerable to his family and with responsibilities and bills. Listen to their concerns and patiently answer any questions they may have. Listening to their reaction closely will also help you respond more effectively.
Be considerate of the little things. For example, schedule the meeting at the end of the workday so they don’t have to awkwardly leave in the afternoon with everyone there. If you genuinely believe they have talent that could be useful, offer to be a reference or connect them with a recruiter.
Don’t leave the team in the dark
When someone is let go in a reasonable and well-executed way, it sends positive signals about the company culture. It reinforces that the company rewards talent and enthusiasm. While the affected employee will find it difficult, do also bear in mind that their team had to put up with their poor performance. Engage the team and answer their questions as reasonably as possible.
Have a plan on how to fill the role, whether by promoting internally or by subtly looking for potential external candidates during the probation phase.
Be honest with the team. This is not an opportunity to fuel gossip. Be brief and make the reason for the clear (e.g. low performance or a hiring mistake). Reassure the team about the process, and explain why you think this is the right and fair outcome for everyone.
Outline how losing a member impacts the team. While most employees would be relieved that they don’t have to pick up the pieces anymore, it is important to let them know about the changes in workload as they may have to share the extra burden for a while. Recognize their efforts by considering an internal promotion or a lateral move.
As a founder, keep in mind that letting go of employees is part of a startup’s growth curve. The best hiring strategy is not a fool-proof guarantee for a perfect employee fit. However, if your startup seems to have frequent turnovers, it is also worth examining whether your hiring strategy is sound.