We finally hired someone because the two of us were getting buried in work and I genuinely thought this would give us some breathing room.

Good CV, relevant experience, interviewed well. We both came away thinking we'd found someone who could take ownership of things without needing their hand held all the time.

Except... that's not really what's happening.

Tasks get done, but only after I've explained them in detail, checked in a few times, and sometimes basically walked through the whole thing myself. I wanted someone who'd take things off my plate, but right now I'm not sure I'm saving any time at all.

The annoying bit is that they're not lazy or difficult to work with. They're perfectly nice, and when I give very clear instructions, the work is usually fine.

But we're a small startup. We can't document every little thing or have a meeting every time something unexpected comes up. Things change all the time.

Now I'm wondering if we hired the wrong person, if I haven't managed them properly, or if I expected way too much from someone who is still settling in.

How long do you give a new hire to find their feet? And how do you tell the difference between someone who needs better support and someone who just isn't right for the role?

Because I really don't want to make a bad call here, either way.

7 hours ago, Kwame Hughes said:

We finally hired someone because the two of us were getting buried in work and I genuinely thought this would give us some breathing room.

Good CV, relevant experience, interviewed well. We both came away thinking we'd found someone who could take ownership of things without needing their hand held all the time.

Except... that's not really what's happening.

Tasks get done, but only after I've explained them in detail, checked in a few times, and sometimes basically walked through the whole thing myself. I wanted someone who'd take things off my plate, but right now I'm not sure I'm saving any time at all.

The annoying bit is that they're not lazy or difficult to work with. They're perfectly nice, and when I give very clear instructions, the work is usually fine.

But we're a small startup. We can't document every little thing or have a meeting every time something unexpected comes up. Things change all the time.

Now I'm wondering if we hired the wrong person, if I haven't managed them properly, or if I expected way too much from someone who is still settling in.

How long do you give a new hire to find their feet? And how do you tell the difference between someone who needs better support and someone who just isn't right for the role?

Because I really don't want to make a bad call here, either way.

How long have they been there? Two weeks and three months are very different situations.

12 minutes ago, Daniel Hastings said:

How long have they been there? Two weeks and three months are very different situations.

Just over a month. We gave them a practical task during the interview and they did well. That's why I'm confused.