In response to yesterday’s Ask Tom, if a new team member is still struggling after five months, it’s time for graduation. Excellent comments were posted by Michelle Malay Carter, Varun Malhotra and Chris Young. Read the comments here.

My turn.

You have two things working against. Both need to be fixed, though it’s too late for this person.

First, you have difficulty making the termination decision because the performance standards for the role have not been set. Everyone knows this person is underperforming, but without a standard, we are all left with only our opinions. Tough to terminate someone based on an opinion without a standard.

So, take this opportunity to create a standard. Heck, create a certification process. Get your team involved to create a performance protocol. All new hires should be considered to be on probation until they meet the standard. Set a time limit and move on.

Second, you don’t have anyone waiting in the wings. If you had too many people vying for that chair, the decision would be much easier to make. For this position, you need to be trading up. -TF