The Leading Edge - Spring 2008 - (Page 14)

q&a in a nutshell by Chris de Santis WHEN DO yOU DECIDE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH FOR A NEW EMPLOyEE? Q: We just hired someone for a new position created because our company is growing. as the owner, it was a big decision to commit to a permanent, fulltime person rather than temporary, parttime workers. However, two weeks into the job, this person seems like the wrong fit for our company and his work is not on par with what i expect. Should i give this person time even though it may impact our clients or should i send him on his way with our best wishes? How do i know when enough is enough? this person was hired because performance wasn’t tied to any other aspects of working at the company. Let’s say this person should have been good to go on day one. It’ll make this easier. You’re a small business owner, which means you have to wear many hats. But training an employee doesn’t seem to be one of them. Let the person go. It doesn’t end there. You’re likely to repeat the pattern going forward unless you change your hiring behaviors. You should step back before you hire the next person and take an inventory of what you bring to the table, especially as it relates to your work temperament. You don’t want to hire a copy of you. Even though initially it’s easier to work with someone who is similar to you, but doesn’t necessarily bring a different perspective and therefore her contributions may be limited to just agreeing with you. You also need to decide what roles and responsibilities will stay with you and what you will give over to this person. Next, what base line experiences must this person possess to be considered for the position. Is it a growing business? If so, you want to hire someone who can grow with it and not someone who doesn’t share that perspective. Do you know the traits and temperaments a successful candidate should possess to succeed in your business? Consider using a concept called “Behavior Based Interviewing.” As I mentioned, first consider the relevant work experience needed as a prerequisite for consideration. Next, ask yourself what it will take for a person to be successful working in your organization. Consider things like teamwork, organizational skills, and people skills, to name a few. Once you decide on what’s essential create an open-ended questions that. Their answers demonstrate whether or not they possess the traits critical to succeeding in your place of work. For instance, if you felt “works well under pressure” was critical, don’t ask someone if he or she works well under pressure—only idiots would tell you they don’t. Instead, ask something such as, “Tell me about a time when circumstances got out of control and you had a deadline looming. What did you do?” If the person says it’s never happened, then it’s unlikely this person has faced much pressure and therefore he or she might not be right for the job. If the person tells you a story where he or she succeeded in the face of adverse circumstances then you may have found one of the traits essential to pinpointing a winner. I know what you are thinking as I would be thinking it too. “I don’t have time for this, I have a business to run. I can’t sit around all day coming up with questions to ask people. I rely on my gut.” I would mention that if you are in this situation and looking to replace someone after two weeks, you might reconsider listening to your gut as a font of wisdom. Also, and more importantly, you are building a business. It’s best to adopt good habits, aligned with succeeding, earlier rather than later. This approach has proven more successful as both parties are better matched. In the long run, it’ll save you time and money. Save your gut reaction for those things that can’t be solved with doing a little homework. e Chris DeSantis uses his 20 years’ experience in training and development as an independent consultant. He specializes in the design and delivery of management and organization development interventions. A presenter at Leading Edge Alliance seminars, DeSantis focuses his work on assisting individuals or groups in identifying obstacles to effectiveness and subsequently works with them to create user friendly solutions aligned with the company’s strategic initiatives. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, an MBA from the University of Denver and an MA in organizational development from Loyola University. A: Your question is a good one—in essence when is enough, enough? It’s also a tough one to answer. I don’t have much context as to what business you’re in and what activities this person is expected (or was expected) to assume with the new position. I also don’t have much information about you and how you operate as a manager/owner. Nor do I have any context for how he/she works or why you chose him/ her. Having said all of that I’ll still take a stab at it. Just know that my advice is chock full of assumptions. First, let’s assume you hired him/her because of the experience s/he was supposed to bring. I say that as you are already losing patience with this person after only two weeks on the job. I will also assume you know there is a learning curve relative to any job someone takes and apparently this curve should have been mastered in less than a two-week window. This also suggests to me that the job is one of two things: it is either not terribly complex or do you have a workplace question you want answered? What do you want to know to make work a better place? Send your questions to deSantisCP@aol.com to get Chris deSantis’ two cents as to what he thinks you might want to do. 14 VOLUME 8 n ISSUE 3 n SPRING 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leading Edge - Spring 2008

The Leading Edge - Spring 2008 Contents No Place To Go But Up Lessons from Harvard Bits & Pieces Conducting Business Outside the United States Top 10 Misconceptions of Doing Business in Ireland In a Nutshell: Q&A The Leading Edge Alliance

The Leading Edge - Spring 2008

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