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I think not firing someone is a much bigger hit on team morale. If someone is either doing something that affects everyone badly/not doing what they're supposed
by msredmond 15y ago
I think not firing someone is a much bigger hit on team morale. If someone is either doing something that affects everyone badly/not doing what they're supposed to do (causing other people to do their work), why keep them? Firing is a temporary downer; keeping someone on staff who shouldn't be there is a long-term one. If your team is great and they care (which I think all great teams do) you owe it to them to replace that person with someone who is on the same level.
- groby_b 15y agoWell, yes - I'm just talking about the cost of a wrong hire. Sure, if you have a bad apple, get rid of it. But it's better to ignore a few good apples if that means you reduce the likelihood you get a bad one.
- ihaveajob 15y agoTalking with friends at Google, the perception there is that the cost of a false negative is larger than the cost of a false positive. The catch is that you need to have an agile hiring process, AND actually let go of people who don't carry their weight. Most companies fail at both points especially the second, until hard times come and investors demand rolling heads.