Lesson #25
Using the “Mother Rule” Can Help You Avoid Costly Hiring Mistakes
Firing someone who's not getting it done is unavoidable at times, and should never be easy. People and circumstances change, and sometimes a change solely for the sake of change makes sense. Banishing an alleged wrongdoer to the unemployment line, however, is not a substitute for a bad strategy or ineffective boss. Although it may be an oversimplification, it's easier to hire the right person for the job that needs to get done the first time than to rid the organization of the person who probably shouldn't have been there in the first place.
A bad hire is not only disruptive to the business or organization—it's also expensive. According to a variety of studies, the cost of firing senior- or middle-management personnel can be as high as 300 percent of that person's annual salary, and in some cases even higher. This includes the cost of finding a replacement, training, and the ancillary emotional and unsettling peripheral and disruptive effects.
How can you stack the deck in your favor when making a new hire? Thoroughness, thoroughness, thoroughness. It's shocking how often companies hire an executive without defining the responsibilities, scope of authority, and what the person is expected to accomplish in the short term, intermediate term, and long run. Making a good hire is a methodical process that starts with a need and is followed by a tightly structured job description. Keep redrafting this until ...
