Hire Slowly, Fire Fast

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“Hire slowly, fire fast” is a line almost every entrepreneur has heard at some point. Plenty of people follow it without question. Others side with Liz Ryan and her Forbes piece that basically calls it the worst advice ever given.

So why write an article about the recruitment process, and why give it that title? Because, as always, my analysis goes past the headline. Regular readers of this blog already know that. It is about looking past the words and examining the process from both the recruiter’s side and the candidate’s side.

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1- Hire slowly

If you think that means you should take forever to choose between candidates, you are wrong. Candidates are on the job market because they need to work now. They have lives, bills, and needs. You cannot make them wait indefinitely or they will leave for the competition.

Let me share a bit about how I hire my people. It takes time and money, but nobody else is left waiting.

Hire slowly means three things:

  1. Hire for quality
  2. Make sure your choice is the right one
  3. Take the time so you never regret skipping options you never explored

In my case, depending on how critical the role is, we look in different places. More basic roles with fewer responsibilities go on job boards. For the more important ones, we have three options:

  1. Headhunters: These are agencies that target specific profiles based on the requirements we give them. They search however they want, usually inside competing companies, run psychological assessments, and if they believe the person fits, they send them over for a first introductory interview.
    The process is relatively fast because most of the work is already done by the agency we hire.
  2. Referrals: Sometimes it is worth using your online presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on) to promote an opening through referrals. That means you offer cash to the person who brings you a candidate who matches the requirements. If you hire that person, you pay whoever made the introduction. Depending on your company, budget, and how important the role is, you can offer anywhere from 1,000 USD to 20k+.
    It is far cheaper than option 1.
  3. Hiring from the competition: Over the years I have become an expert at spotting the big players in the industries where I operate. I am not talking about the owners of competing companies. I mean their executives, top salespeople, marketing geniuses, and more. If you take this route, it will take time for two reasons: 1) you have to find a way to convince the person to leave their job and join you, and 2) you must do it without starting a conflict with the company you are pulling them from.

In my business philosophy, hire slowly does not mean rushing through a list of 500 candidates, putting them through every test imaginable, reference checks, background checks, and so on, while making those 500 people wait weeks or months for an answer. It means I personally invest those months looking for one or two serious options, and with those people I know extremely quickly whether we click or not.

2- Fire fast

Fire fast also has its gray area. When you hire someone, they will not magically deliver results just because they are now on your team. It takes a certain amount of time to adapt to your systems, your way of doing things, and more. The right question here is: “How much time should I give my new employee?”

The answer is not simple. It depends on several factors:

  • What is the role?
  • What are the expectations for the role?
  • How long can the company afford to wait for the new hire to start delivering results without hurting the business?

The standard most companies use is a three-month probation period. In some cases that can be too short. In others it can be too long. As the boss, it is your job to decide how much time you are willing to give a new employee.

In my view, the idea behind “fire fast” involves more than just results. For me it includes:

  • Results
  • Personality
  • Professionalism
  • Punctuality
  • Commitment
  • A team-oriented mindset versus a divisive one

If I start seeing red flags, probation period or not, I prefer not to waste time and let the person go right away.

Remember that one of the biggest investments any business makes is in human resources: the staff, the employees.
And of all of them, what costs you the most is not the employees you hire, but the ones you fail to fire.

A strong recruitment process helps you avoid ever reaching point 2. When it becomes necessary, though, you have to do it as soon as possible and go back to point 1. If you are not sure when to fire someone, read this article and always remember: the happier an employee feels, the longer they will stay with you.

 

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