Diary of an Entrepreneur – Hiring and Firing
By Blog

Welcome back to our Diary of an Entrepreneur series – Part One, Part Two, Part Three

For our next installment of our popular Diary of an Entrepreneur series, let’s talk about hiring and firing. What makes a good employee and what makes a bad employee, and what turns a good employee into a bad employee? There are numerous factors in what determines a good employee and a bad one. Ultimately, the buck stops with the employer. If the employer cannot provide a workspace or environment so that their staff can do their job in as easy a manner as possible this is when frustration sets in. The frustration turns to anger, anger turns to hate, hate turns to fear (sound familiar? Then it should as this is what master Yoda told Luke Skywalker before he left for Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back.)

Ok, so enough of that, but this is kind of what happens. If you fail as an employer then expect your employees to fail too. So what does this have to do with Hiring and Firing? Well, when you are hiring you need to consider the team already in place, especially if you have a close-knit team, so performing reference checks is a must. You must do your due diligence. Fail to do this and you just might be planting a ticking time bomb into your team. Unfortunately, sometimes you need to bring in the bomb squad. So, the easiest way to do this is to have a witness, state the facts and invoke whatever clause you have in their contract. Leave emotion out of it. Be professional and courteous and follow this up with a letter of dismissal. If you feel sabotage is afoot then escort that bomb out of the building.

Right, so enough of the negativity or positivity, depending on what way you are inclined. So what makes a good employee? Positivity is key. You want someone who is organised, used to following processes, someone who is courteous, considerate and punctual. Naturally, they need to be able to meet the job description, but you want a team player, someone who is not only going to contribute positively to the team but the environment. You never want to have a situation where you can feel the tension. Tension is a distraction. Lucky for me, I have a dedicated team who go above and beyond the call of duty. So, in summary, good work environment, reference checks, leave emotion out of it and have some fun!