Avoid Hair Trigger Hiring
When there are problems in a particular area of your business, make every attempt to determine the causes of the problem before hiring additional full-time permanent employees to deal with the problem. In other words, don’t automatically assume that the problem is too few people.
For example, suppose a distribution company is constantly dealing with backlogs and delays in shipments.The first reaction is probably to hire more people to pick and bundle orders. But is the problem one of too few people or is it a process problem? Before hiring the additional order pickers, it is much more prudent to closely examine the process and make it as efficient and accurate as possible. And ask yourself if there are marginally performing employees currently involved in the process that need to be dealt with? To hire more people without fully understanding where the problems lie will simply reduce your bottom line. But a natural reaction when process problems or backlogs occur is to hire more people.
Try to avoid hiring additional people right away unless you are certain that the process in question is as efficient as possible and that the employees involved in the process are performing up to expectations. Never hire another employee to compensate for marginal employees. Deal with the marginal employees and either expect them to elevate their productivity or terminate them and hire high performers. Don’t hesitate to hire additional employees when necessary, but first ask yourself if it truly is necessary.