A staggering 3 in 4 U.S. employees agree that their current jobs don’t utilize their skills and abilities most effectively. This statistic adds validity to the timeless hiring phrase, “hire slow, fire fast”, as the unfitting fulfillment of positions needs replacement to make the most of jobs.
The online shopping giant Mazon, alongside Better, a virtual house investment assistant, practices this sliver of advice. Each year, Amazon offers as much as $5,000 to their employees who man fulfillment centers, incentivizing them to leave. Better recently made headlines after firing 900 of their staff through a Zoom call this past December.
Many companies approach the implementation of the phrase hesitantly, with most hesitancy regarding the advice to friend fast. Misperceived, firing is disjoint from drama, and can be dealt with calmly and even systemically, which eases tension and uncertainty. After firing, instead of grieving the loss of productivity, view the let-go as the rehabilitation of a hiring error and proceed with an evolutionary attitude. When firing an employee, allocate more words toward explaining their inability to contribute to long-term goals as opposed to listing their inadequacy in meeting short-term ones. Lastly, approach the separation with empathy and kindness, extending a helping hand as they reset and proceed to find new work.
With patience on the front end and decisiveness on the back end, you can maintain a healthier work environment, more cooperative team, and workplace zest by hiring slow and firing fast. Change the way you do business, and up your trajectory of success, by following this advice and retaining strong employees for even stronger results.
