There is one thing worse than hiring the wrong person. That is to hang on to the employee long after the evidence suggests you should let them go. This is a problem that challenges managers at all levels of the organizational hierarchy; both within our industry as well as with the clients we serve. For our clients, it many times is a result of the recruiter not "implanting the DNA for success" that we covered in our last article.
 

Without getting into a discussion regarding hiring practices, let's begin by simply stating that most managers, at one time or another, find themselves in a situation where they have an employee who should be terminated and yet, they take no action. It may be a problem of unacceptable performance, poor attendance, negative attitude or lack of congruence between the manager's primary operating style and the functional preferences of the employee.
 

Regardless of the reason, the longer the manager holds on to that employee, thereby condoning their incompetence, the harder it will be for that manager to terminate them. Meanwhile, the entire work unit suffers because they must make up for the performance deficiencies of the problem employee. Although all of this may be clear to the manager, in many instances, they still do not take action.
 

Remember...

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