From the hiring desk
You Already Know the New Hire Isn't Working
It's week five. Something is off.
The work is late or thin. The team is quietly routing around them. You keep making excuses in your own head.
You already know. Owners almost always know by week three or four. The knowing isn't the hard part.
The hard part is admitting it out loud, because of what it costs you to be wrong.
Why you keep them too long
You just spent a fortune hiring them. Weeks of interviews, the agency fee or the job ads, the training hours. Cutting them means that money was wasted. So you spend more to avoid admitting it.
You doubt yourself. Maybe the onboarding was bad. Maybe the role wasn't clear. Sometimes true - and worth one honest look. Usually you already gave them more clarity than the last three people needed.
The conversation is awful. Nobody starts a business to have that conversation. So it gets scheduled for "after this project" and the project never ends.
What waiting actually costs
The team sees it before you do. Every week a misfit stays, your best people do a little extra to cover, and they notice you not noticing.
That's the real bill: not the salary, the message it sends everyone watching.
And the person themselves? They usually know too. Most people in a failing role are miserable in it.
The faster, fairer way
- Name it this week. Sit down and say exactly what's not working, with examples. Not "attitude" - "the last three deadlines moved."
- Set one short window. Two weeks, one or two specific things that must change, in writing. Not a performance plan that drags for months.
- Watch what happens next. People who can fix it usually fix it fast, or tell you something real about what's broken. People who can't, get quieter.
- Decide on the deadline, not after it. If nothing changed in the window, you already have your answer.
Firing fast isn't cruel
Letting someone twist for four months while you avoid a hard hour - that's the cruel version.
A clean, honest exit in week six lets them find a seat that fits and lets your team get back to work.
And it teaches you something for the next hire: what you missed in the interview, what to screen for, what to ask. Write that down while it's fresh.
The hire isn't the mistake. Every owner makes hires that don't work. The mistake is the six months it takes you to do what you knew in week three.
I work to get the hire right the first time, and if a placement truly isn't working out, that's exactly what my guarantee is for. Every placement backed by a replacement guarantee. If you're carrying a hire you already have doubts about, let's talk.