Quick to Hire, Slow to Fire

When you’ve reached that point of being completely overwhelmed with too much to do, the temptation is to rush out and hire, hire, hire. Just hire someone to get the job off your hands!  But as most people have learned the hard way, it’s much easier to hire than to fire.

In my last article I talked the importance of having a role description in place before you hire.  By doing so, you will hopefully avoid the dreaded “you’re fired” situation.

However, things change, people change, so you will inevitably be faced with a situation where a team member just isn’t performing well, or worse.

Imagine attitude problems with your personal assistant, or lateness and sloppy deliverables. You discuss it with your assistant and everything seems fine for a while, then it slips again. Your best customer calls with complaints. A new prospect gets cold feet and goes with a competitor.

You can’t afford these kinds of issues!

Problem team members don’t go away by themselves. But they can end up costing you a fortune if you don’t handle them right away. Do yourself a favor and take the time to find out as much as you can about a potential addition to your team (and make sure they match a well thought-out job description). And if you do hire the wrong people, get rid of them quickly! Don’t get caught on a sinking ship.

Sheri McConnell, founder of Association of Web Entrepreneurs, had an up and down performer a few years ago. Through the our coaching program, Virtual Team Building Telebootcamp, she discovered the 5 key signs it’s time to let someone go (as well as some excellent tips on how to release someone gracefully without major breakdowns.)

As a busy entrepreneur, it’s easy to get caught in these types of difficult situations.   I think any successful entrepreneur (including myself) would look back at these types of mistakes and wish they knew then what they know now.  So to help you avoid those expensive mistakes, I’ve put together a program to help.  Just go to Virtual Team Building Tele-Bootcamp to find out how our proven system will show you all of the costly common mistakes entrepreneurs make and how to avoid them.  The program also contains everything you’ll need to successfully build your very own Virtual Dream Team, step by step.