Early Performance Red Flags & Intervention For New Hires

Some new hires will take to the role and your company like a fish to water, others will need a little more time to adjust. Before writing your new hire off as a “dud”–and wasting all that time and energy hiring a new person– let’s take a look at some early performance indicators and possible solutions.

They’re just not getting it

Unless your new employee has done something terrible in the first six weeks (like stolen money from the donations tin or behaved inappropriately towards others) then their difficulties in adjusting may not be their fault. Don’t expect your new hire to be a “mind reader”. They don’t know what’s expected of them unless it’s communicated clearly. Is it possible that your new hire isn’t “getting it” because performance outcomes have not been laid out or negotiated properly? It takes a good leader to communicate realistic expectations and give constructive feedback.

They’re just not fitting in

It’s always important to hire a candidate who gets your company culture and gets along with the team. That said, it also takes time to build rapport and relationships. Your new hire may be “not fitting in” because, again, performance indicators and expectations haven’t been set out. Just because they haven’t fit in perfectly from the get-go doesn’t mean they never will.

What not to do

Letting go of a new hire is a huge waste of resources. But more than that, it will actually impact on your team and even diminish morale for those who have just witnessed what happened. Then you’ve got the headache of risking the same situation with your next new hire. Take a step back and reflect on your intervention processes for new hires. If your new employee is raising performance red flags, it’s time to re-evaluate your way of handling things.

What to do instead

Even just one twenty-minute chat with your new hire can resolve the issues you’ve been having, putting you both on the same page again. However, ideally we encourage regular catch ups to ensure everything stays on track. During your meetings, ask the new hire how they feel they are going, and ask them for any feedback they may have — you could find this very enlightening. Then, give specific examples of where their behaviour is not working for you and specify how things need to be done next in the future. Together, negotiate and agree to actions and goals to be reviewed at the next meeting. Finally, ask the employee what their understanding is of what you’ve just discussed, to make sure you’ve been clear in your delivery.

Congratulations, you’ve just rescued a floundering new hire!

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