Would You Hire "Fred" Again

Would You Hire "Fred" Again by Chris E Young

You've been there before… You need to hire a new team member, so you do what you have always done – what everyone else does, You play Russian Roulette with the resume, conduct an interview with a person who just read "Knock'em Dead" by Martin Yate, and utter a prayer that sounds like…

"Lord… Please, please help me hire the best person I can. The last person in this position was horrible. It took them three years to finally figure out what I realized in the first three weeks but couldn't bring myself to help them leave… Give me wisdom…"

You make your final decision and hire "Fred". After all, the interview went well, and the references checked out; you should be good to go.

The first couple of weeks were good, but in your gut, you didn't feel like the connection between the job and Fred was really there. The honeymoon is now over.

It's now a year later and your optimism has long ago been replaced by foreboding. It seems that you have once again hired the wrong person and that the vicious cycle is repeating itself all over again.

"When will this madness end?" you ask yourself as you bang your head on your desk in frustration.

You aren't alone. You wouldn't believe how often this happens. The resulting stress for both you and "Fred" soon precipitates into an increasingly uncomfortable situation, yet you still don't do anything about it. This discomfort typically turns into some type of outright hostility on the part of you and Fred, the employee you wish you had never hired.

You find yourself daydreaming about quantum physics and begin to fantasize, "If only I could go back in time and hire that other candidate…"

Don't be too hard on yourself – it's not entirely your fault.

You just did what you've always done – what everyone else does. You probably didn't know that there is a scientifically-accurate job benchmarking process that could have saved you from this entire mess.

Now you just want the torture of looking into the eyes of the person you know you shouldn't have hired to go away.

That's the perverse "beauty" of your poor hiring decision. Your hiring mistake is now being rubbed in your face every day and every time you see that job could be performed at a much higher level. That is until you decide to actually do something about it.

What can you do about this problem? The answer is actually quite simple.

Step One. Help Fred out the door.

It will be good for both Fred and you. Consider it an organizational cleansing. Do it now. Seriously, I can wait. Come back when you are done…

You didn't help Fred nor yourself did you? Why is that? Too close to Christmas? President's Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Columbus Day, or maybe Thanksgiving?

I understand. I've seen it before – way too often actually.

The typical manager won't help Fred find his true calling until the pain is so great that they have no other choice. Invariably, this is where our consulting services are brought in.

We always know what to do in these situations. Deep down, we know when we have done all that we can to help "Fred" work out. We also know when we have hit the limits of what we can realistically do.

People never want to hear this. They want the ultimate answer – the magic wand. This is the point where I say, "We are The Rainmaker Group, not the Miracle Maker Group."

Help Fred out the door. That is the only answer.

Why haven't you helped Fred to find his true calling? Probably for the same exact reason our clients don't initially do so either. Just about every client initially believes that we can break out the magic wand and bless Fred with boundless potential to fit any job one can imagine. Sorry, not going to happen!

I typically hear the following, "But Fred has a family… And he really is a nice guy. Why should Fred pay for my hiring mistake?"

My response… "Isn't it Fred's family that pays for your hiring mistake when Fred goes home, and is upset about how lousy his job is? What about Fred's wife? His kids? Do they deserve the stress Fred brings home?"

Stop the insanity! Do yourself a favor and ask yourself the following… "Given what I know now, would I hire Fred again?" If the answer is "no", then stop thinking about it and let that person go. Stop reading this and do what you know you should have already done. Go ahead.

Did you do it? Good for you!

Actually, Who am I kidding? Our clients rarely follow this advice until we have worked with them for a period of time, Yet they always come back later saying, "I should have listened to you." My reply is, "You don't need to listen to me. Listen to your gut." Your gut always knows when you have made a poor hiring decision. The problem is we over-rationalize all the reasons why we should give this person a shot at turning into a winner. The reality is they probably won't.

How do you avoid this problem in the first place?

• Benchmark the job.
  
• Compare the candidate/team member to the benchmark.
  
• Refrain from hiring those that don't fit the benchmark and your experience/education requirements.

Question for you… What is your "Fred" hiring mistake costing you in terms of lost productivity, lower morale, and emotional distress to you and Fred alike? Stop the madness.

Step Two – Implement a Job Benchmarking program immediately.

The definition of insanity – doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results. Einstein was correct.

The key to learning the lesson of hiring the wrong person and paying for it both financially and emotionally is to not repeat that mistake. The only way you are going to ensure you don't hire "Fred" again is by implementing a statistically reliable job benchmark process to understand what unique combination of Behaviors, Values, and Attributes are really necessary to do the job well.

Step Three – Never hire another team member without comparing their personality profile with the Job Benchmark.

Now go Maximize Your Possibility

Chris Young is founder of The Rainmaker Group. From the Fortune 50 to small business, The Rainmaker Group guarantees lasting change via a unique blend of energy, insight, and science to maximize talent, transform organizational culture, and provide strategic intervention. Give Chris a call today at 1-866-988-7246 The Rainmaker Group

Article Directory: Article Dashboard