If you’ve ever had the good fortune of hiring employees, you may have faced the misfortune of having to fire employees. BUT – before it gets to that… there is usually a stage of confusion and wonder:

Why is she not doing her job?
Why does he have such a bad attitude?
Why can’t they do what they’re supposed to do?

We’re usually quick to jump to conclusions… I think this person is an idiot. (MAYBE not that harsh – even if we’ve thought it, we would NEVER utter that.) But, we’re quick to try to find the blame on the other side of the training table.

But, I’ve observed… it’s usually not their fault. A lot of time, the employer is missing out on a few key pieces in the hiring equation.

3 Reasons Your Employees Aren’t Cutting It

1.) Your interviewing process is weak.

When I worked in the accounting industry we used to call a weak employee a PURE (a Previously Undetected Recruiting Error.) It sounds harsh, but if someone isn’t a fit, there was a likely a limitation in the recruiting process.

Your job in the recruiting process is to find the RIGHT person for the RIGHT position. Here are some things you need to look for:

  • does this employee embrace my company’s core values? (values > skills)
  • does this person have skills that I can build upon?
  • does this person have a good work or employment history? (meaning: does he/she show up, does he/she stay with people?)
  • does this person want the job? (how much passion does this person have?)

Too often we bring in employees who seemed nice in the interview. (Maybe we want to be friends with them.) But – we need to look at them objectively and make sure they are a good fit coming into the company. AND then once they are hired making sure they are in the right position. ONE person is not good at EVERYTHING! Work with the talents they have. (Forget about the weaknesses.)

Look at your recruiting process… are you falling short?

2.) You aren’t spending enough time on training.

Training is NOT a ‘one and done’ deal. Training goes on FOREVER. Here’s the thing… the person you hire may have a ton of skills. BUT, they don’t know how things are done at your business. (How would they? They’ve never worked for you before.)

It’s impossible to throw something at someone and expect them to just figure it out. (As much as you want that to be so, it isn’t going to be the case.) If you want things done a certain way, you have to teach them. And, this teaching goes on for the life of that employer-employee relationship.

Look at your training process… are you taking a few hours a week to develop your employees?

3.) You haven’t figured out what motivates them.

Everyone is motivated by something in their work. Does your employee want money? rewards? fame? gold star stickers? conversation? responsibility? leadership? friendship? a pat on the back? recognition? Your job as a mentor (you’re not a boss) is to find out what they want to gain from the job.

If it’s money, then come up with a bonus reward system. If it’s praise, then praise them every day for something they achieved. If they want to be artistic, give them opportunities to do so. If they are entrepreneurial, give them a chance to have ownership of something in your business.

Look at your team… what excites each person about the work they do?

Hiring, training, and leading your team requires a huge investment of not only money, but emotional labor. When an employee doesn’t seem to be jiving with your company, you should first take a step back and examine if your recruitment and training processes are falling short. Otherwise, you’ll be falling into this hole every time you bring someone in to work for you.

If you’re interested in more hiring, training, and managing tools, make sure to check out The People Plan for HR at your fingertips.