Running a business is no easy feat. It’s a journey filled with challenging decisions and obstacles that test your determination, resolve, and vision. One such challenge is recruitment – a process that doesn’t end once you’ve hired a new employee. In fact, the real journey begins after their induction, during the probationary period when you truly find out if they are the right fit for your team.
Just as in the world of sports, where coaches make difficult decisions about who gets to play in the final match, business owners too must show the courage to make hard choices about their team members. A notable example is the Collingwood’s 2023 grand final win, achieved without John Noble, a player who had consecutively played 83 games, but wasn’t picked for the grand final.
The business world may not be as glamorous as a grand final, but the stakes are just as high. We’re not playing for grand finals; we’re striving to build businesses worth owning. This requires the courage to make the right, though difficult, decisions.
A familiar pattern often unfolds in businesses. You hire a new team member, only to soon realize they’re not quite the right fit. However, you hesitate to let them go. Often, it’s because you feel you haven’t given them the chance to succeed.
For instance, you may know intuitively that Gary, your new sales guy, isn’t making enough calls or is spending too much time on emails. But have you communicated these thoughts? Have you given Gary tangible feedback, set clear milestones for him, and defined his role clearly?
Time, as we know, flies. Before you know it, the probationary period is over, and you’re left with an employee who isn’t right for your business, leaving you with a tough decision to make.
The remedy? Be proactive.
When you hire a new team member, remember that your job doesn’t end there. The next six months are crucial for you to evaluate if they are the right fit. If they’re not, you need to make it clear what they need to do to improve.
Ultimately, your goal is to build a team that supports your dream. When you know someone isn’t right for your business, you owe it to yourself and your business to let them go. Sure, it’s not easy. It requires admitting that you made a mistake in hiring the wrong person. But it’s a necessary step for the long-term success of your business.
But remember, there’s a compassionate way to handle such situations. Give your employees feedback. Let them know what they need to do. If they’re not going to make it, at least it won’t come as a surprise.
In the end, it’s the hard choices you make every day that distinguish success from mediocrity. Be brave, be decisive, and keep growing your business! It might not be easy at the start, but it’s these decisions that will lead you to the business you’ve always dreamt of owning.
The path to success is paved by a series of hard decisions and building on them, right or wrong. Every time you compromise something, you inch away from the dream business you have in your head.
So keep making those hard choices, and keep growing your business. Your dream business is within your grasp.
- Hugh Reardon
