At the tail end of 2021, Better.com came under heavy criticism for holding a mass zoom call where 900 employees were fired. The CEO of Better.com admitted that the company had overhired employees as well as hiring the wrong people which led to this decision to let so many people go from the company.
This left many people unemployed as well as tarnished the reputation of the business overall. These things could have been avoided if more time was taken in finding the right candidates for their positions.
Taking extra care in considering candidates is a large part of the hire slow fire fast way of finding employees. Hiring slow doesn’t just mean taking a long time to read applications, set up interviews, etc, it means taking the extra time in really making sure a company knows the kind of person they are looking for before they actually hire someone.
This means carefully crafting job descriptions, making sure they understand the way their team works, and understanding what skills a person should have to succeed long term in their position. While this may take some extra time, it ensures that the person who is getting hired will be a better match for their position.
On the other side of that, firing fast doesn’t mean holding impossibly high expectations and getting rid of employees that can’t meet them. Instead, firing fast allows for compassion and forgiveness for mistakes, but not allowing employees who are a bad fit to overstay their welcome in a business. If someone is not producing work that is deemed acceptable for their position, it can be damaging to everyone if they are permitted to stay. Instead of dragging down an entire business for one person, it is more efficient to remove the problem right away.
If companies take the time to carefully select their candidates and make sure to remove employees who are not a good fit, overall business will increase. Workers who are a good fit will be happier at their job and worker morale is a large part of what makes a company successful. It may take slightly longer to make these adjustments, but the benefits far outweigh any downsides.