It’s time to break from this mentality. The problem with a "hire fast, fire fast" mentality isn't its harshness but its inefficiency. You don't want to keep spending money on bad hires.
When COVID hit in March, we saw just how inefficient this strategy was. You had many seemingly “successful” companies conduct massive layoffs. So what happened?
Where does this mentality come from?
Many people in sales believe in the idea that more reps = more results.
So in an attempt to get results faster, companies go out and hire a bunch of reps. Most of these companies have a lot of investor backing, which means they never think twice about the costs wasted on having to hire and rehire. But that’s not what the most successful startups do.
The most successful companies spend time developing a strong process where onboarding is emphasized and retention is met. Sure, there are going to be times when you need to fire fast, but when you prioritize a strong hiring process, you make a lot less mistakes.
Think about this. If you had to spend your own money on hiring and recruiting, would you be more careful with who you hire? And, how you train them?
Cost of hiring and firing fast
This mindset doesn’t just come with the cost of time spent replacing an employee. The faster you hire the more often you need to:
- Hire managers (and spend more money)
- Promote reps who aren't ready
- Increase HR and L&D involvement and costs
You also will have a lot more leads to manage. And for reps that aren’t great, you might risk losing business relationships with those leads even before they start. That means higher acquisition costs for customers.
Not only will you burn through capital and waste your resources, you’ll also create a lot of strain on your hires. This “Hire fast, fire fast,” can make new hires:
- Overwhelmed
- Undervalued
- Quit (probably even before you fire them!)
The average tenure for a SaaS sales representatives is under a year and a half.
A year and half isn't that long. If you hope to hire employees who stay past the average tenure, then you'll need to make sure you're hiring process is above average as well.
How to hire better
Look, nobody likes a long hiring process and it often feels like if you have the money, why not go on a hiring spree to jump start revenue. But if you don’t improve your hiring process, you’re going to create a lot of unintended consequences for your sales team.
Here’s some suggestion on how to hire better:
- Have a strategy in place. Don't just hire to hire. Make sure you find the right person.
- Provide support and training on day 1. If you invest in your employees, they will invest in you as well.
- Be empathetic. No one gets comfortable with a new job in one weeks time.
As much as you need to hire good reps, you also need to give reps time to grow into great reps. Can anyone say they are a fan of long and complex hiring processes? We sure are not. But you need a strong hiring process to build a strong business. And remember, more reps doesn’t always equal more revenue.
It’s time to stop wasting time, energy, and resources on a strategy that just doesn’t work.
If you are looking to improve your hiring process, reach out to the team directly to chat.
