When you start a business, you’ll need to hire people at some point. This number will grow as your business grows. As with any place where you bring a group of people together, there’s bound to be a clash of personalities, perspectives and belief systems. Despite these differences, such a diverse collection of people can still form a great team that delivers on organizational goals.
A problem employee is, however, a whole different ballgame. These are persons who are not only unnecessarily difficult to work with but also add less value to the business than they should. They can lead to loss of customers, deteriorating business reputation, diminished team motivation and a lack of cohesion.
One study showed that such employees can cost a business as much as $8,000 per day in lost opportunities. Fortunately, there are telltale signs that can help you identify a worker who’s pulling everyone else back. We look at some of these below.
1. Poor work perrformance
This is the most obvious and arguably the most critical warning sign. An underperforming worker will produce mediocre output and regularly fail to live up to expectations. The result is that their colleagues and supervisor are frequently forced to intervene and remedy the situation.
The poor performance may be due to laziness or incompetence. When someone is hired, they are tasked with discharging a specific role and remunerated accordingly. If they are unable to fulfill their responsibilities, there’s little reason to retain them. Employee time tracking and scheduling tools such as Humanity should give you useful insights on who isn’t delivering.
2. Lack of teamwork
No worthwhile business is a one-man show. Even startups that initially have the founder as the only employee eventually have to hire people. An employee’s ability to work well and build camaraderie with colleagues is therefore vital. A worker who the rest of the team doesn’t enjoy interacting with is likely the one who isn’t perceived as pulling their weight.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link so an employee who cannot form a positive working relationship with their colleagues is a liability to the business and should be eased out of the organization.
3. Unteachable
People are hired for a job because they have demonstrated the knowledge and experience necessary to carry out a task. That doesn’t mean they know everything they need to know. Successful businesses organize regular training sessions, seminars, and workshops for their staff. They also grow the employee’s expertise through regular performance appraisals.
However, training and feedback is futile if the worker is unwilling to listen to, accept and act on it. Employees who are impervious to criticism or coaching are detrimental to the business and should be let go.
4. Resistance to change
The business environment is never static. Companies that succeed are those that take cognizance of changes in laws, regulations, technology and consumer preferences, and quickly adjust their policies, procedures, processes and products accordingly. To do this, every employee must be on board to support the changes and align with the new direction.
Workers who aren’t amenable to change create an unnecessary internal hindrance that distracts from the focus on the customer. The earlier you can replace them, the better for the business.
5. Failure to take ownership
Your best, most skilled and hardworking employees won’t be immune from making mistakes or failing once in a while. However, when they do error, they should take responsibility and make amends as opposed to blaming everyone else but themselves.
A worker who repeatedly rejects ownership of an undesirable outcome that can clearly be attributed to their actions is one you want to rid your organization of. It’s a sign of dishonesty and it’s unlikely to be the only thing they are insincere about.
6. Poor communication skills
Someone could be good at their job but unable to communicate effectively. Communication was once viewed as a skill for managerial and customer-facing roles. Back office workers could keep to themselves as long as they handled the technical aspects of their job well.
Nowadays, companies recognize good communication as fundamental for any job. Poor communication can be a source of confusion, frustration and lost time. An employee who is good at their job but cannot communicate isn’t worth keeping.
Labor laws, employment contracts and company procedures mean you may not be able to walk up to an underperforming employee and abruptly notify them of their termination. This could trigger costly lawsuits and damage claims by the aggrieved party. So as you keep an eye on problem employees, its best to take a preventative approach by setting up a robust hiring process.