Hire Slow, Fire Fast
Nearly 3 in 4 employers say they have hired the wrong person for a position. Here is the discipline that fixes it.
MBA Stack · Infographic
01
Slow to hire, quick to fire
Amazon
Pays people to quit
Once a year, Amazon fulfillment centers offer full-time employees up to $5,000 to leave — with one caveat: those who take it can never work at Amazon again.
We want people working at Amazon who want to be here.Melanie Etches, Amazon spokesperson
Better.com
900 fired on one Zoom call
In December 2021, Better.com laid off 900 employees on a single video call. Social media called it harsh.
We overhired and hired the wrong people, and in doing that, we failed.Vishal Garg, CEO of Better.com
02
What it actually means
Hire slow
- Don’t just replace the last person who left
- Consider your real needs and expectations
- Draft the job description around business goals
- Name the skills needed for long-term success
- Weigh how well a candidate fits the team
Fire fast
- Firing doesn’t have to be extreme — sometimes it’s just the wrong fit
- Forgive mistakes, but don’t keep a bad fit
- Treat it as a hiring mistake and confront it head-on
- Focus on long-term benefit, not the immediate gap
- Approach people with compassion and ease the transition
03
What it does NOT mean
- Grabbing the first qualified applicantTake time to consider — don’t hire someone just because they applied early.
- Waiting for a flawless hire to appearMost people who fit your criteria can be trained to be excellent.
- Firing on a whimIt’s no substitute for training, coaching, or moving a good employee to a better role.
- Setting impossible expectationsSelective hiring is a luxury — you still need a company people want to work for.
04
Why hiring at the right speed works
Culture
Protects the team
Build teams that naturally work well together, staffed by people who happily clear your bar.
Agility
Keeps the company sharp
Less bureaucracy, less bloat, and an organization that can still move quickly.
Everyone
Better long-term for all
A bad fit won’t be happy staying — and the rest of the team shouldn’t carry one person.
4.5M
people voluntarily left their jobs in November 2021.
