This article from CareerJournal.com speaks to a common problem – good hires who are a bad fit for the position. There are many variables within a minimally structured hiring process. To simplify the equation, either the position was not clearly defined or, more likely, the employee’s skills, style and motivations were assumed or unknown during the hiring process.
From the article:
“Employers are well-schooled in how to eliminate jobs or fire poor performers. Yet they often don’t know what to do with people who are doing their work passably, or even better, but aren’t suited for the job, for reasons ranging from personal chemistry to mismatched skills.
In that gray area, employers often fumble, either keeping people on because they don’t know what else to do, or seeking evidence of poor performance — even when that isn’t the real issue.”
The real danger here is a subtle lowering of performance standards. This approach leads to accepting mediocrity which can dilute a high performance culture. The best solution is to use a reliable, repeatable hiring process that identifies the position’s needs and the candidate’s abilities.