It never ceases to amaze me how many ways sports imitates business.
Case in point: The hiring and firing on my beloved NY Red Bulls team.
On January 7th, the New York Red Bulls fired their celebrated coach Mike Petke. This came as a shock to the team’s many loyal—and deeply disappointed–fans. Petke, a former Red Bulls star player, led the team to their first trophy, the 2013 Supporters’ Shield. And just two months ago, Petke’s team made it all the way to the Eastern Conference final. For many, Petke had ushered in a new period of success and excitement for the team and their fans!
The decision to fire Petke was made by new sporting director Ali Curtis just a few weeks into his new position. Curtis had his eye on former Montreal Impact coach Jesse Marsch for the role and possibly thought Mike Petke was lacking in sports analytics expertise.
If this quick and controversial “house cleaning” seems familiar, perhaps you’ve seen it happen to teams in your work place. When sweeping staffing decisions are made in haste by new leaders, whether in business or in sports, an entire team can suffer.
Check out these 3 Hiring without Firing Strategies:
1) Avoid Quick Decisions and Inaccurate First Impressions
For new management, it can be daunting to come into an operation and a team that has been working together for many years without you. Sometimes in the rush to put a personal mark on the organization, rash changes are made before the manager really gets to know the individuals they will be leading. Current employees may be stressed and their behavior may not be indicative of their true value. One-on-one meeting with each of the staff allows new managers to share their vision, explore team members’ experiences, learn about key challenges and initiatives, review workloads (or work outs!) and lay the groundwork for a good working rapport.
2) Take Advantage of Existing Knowledge
Turnover is sometimes unavoidable, but it shouldn’t be immediate. Some existing employees can help “right the ship” and others might provide valuable insight. Fast firing in haste will never reveal these key personnel. In this way, Director Curtis may have moved a little too quickly with his vision. The Red Bulls were moderately successful over Petke’s tenure, and Petke obviously had a strong understanding of the personnel and the organization overall. With only a few weeks on the job, it’s unlikely that Curtis was able to take advantage of this information.
3) Look for Cross-Training Opportunities
Some say that Curtis let go of Petke because he wanted to move the organization in a more sports analytics-focused direction. Even if this is true, there’s no reason why he couldn’t have incorporated Petke into this vision. According to Forbes, new management change is an excellent opportunity for cross-training and re-training. Not only do these types of activities improve the productivity of employees, but they also function as a great way to assess current skills and team dynamics.
Coming in as new management is never easy, but having a very clear vision of the past as well as the future is key to building a winning team!