Six Types of Employees to Avoid

Some employees turn out to be the proverbial "employee from hell." One of the biggest mistakes an employer can make is to hire the wrong person. A poor hire can have a dramatic impact on the cost of business operations, both from a workers compensation standpoint and from an overall management standpoint. The wrong employee in the wrong position is an accident (or alleged accident) waiting to happen.

With the downturn in the economy over the last two years, many employers have had to downsize their operations. Most of those employers have taken the reduction in staff as a handy way of ridding themselves of the problem employees. Granted, some of employees who have been laid off work are great employees. However, if an employer has the choice of which to let go between the excellent employee and the problem employee, it will be the not-so-good employee that is laid off. (WCxKit)

While it is not always easy to recognize the potential problem employee during the hiring process, there are some definite clues an employer can look for to identify employees that pose headaches for your company in the future. Pre-employment personality testing and psychological testing can be used to identify several types of employees from Hell, including:

1. Mr. Always Unhappy – This potential employee will always find something to complain about. If he is talking, he is gripping, but he is not a constructive critic. He will find fault with every initiative of the employer. Mr. Unhappy will destroy morale of everyone in his department by keeping everyone in a continuous agitated state.

2. Ms. Happy Independent – This potential employee has no financial obligations. She still lives with her parents or someone else who supports her. Ms. Independent does not need her job so she never strives to do her best work.

3. Mr. Duck Out of Water – This potential employee is often drowning in financial obligations and has a family to support. Mr. Duck OutofWater desperately needs a job, so he is willing to take any job offered to him. His prior position was one of authority, respect and much higher pay. If he is hired, he will be grateful for the job until he realizes that he no longer has the authority and command he had in his prior job. Mr. OutofWater if he stays around long enough will morph into Mr. Unhappy.

4. Mr. Low Production – When this employees prior employer had the opportunity to rid themselves of him, they did so. Whether it is a lack of motivation or a limited intellectual capacity, Mr. Low Production will never produce either the expected quantity or expected quality that should come from the job you have available.

5. Ms. Anti Establishment – This employee opposes everything management wants done. She knows for a fact that all businesses are corrupt and will exploit her. Ms. Anti Establishment will know more about how the company should be run within a week of being hired than her manager will ever know.

6. Ms. Something For Nothing – From a workers compensation standpoint, this is the most dangerous employee. She has collected on one or more work comp claims at every one of her former employers. She will fake an injury shortly after being hired and will use every possible tactic she can to not have to return to work any time soon.

Small employers normally do not have the staff to undertake pre-employment screening and do not have the expertise to administer personality testing and psychological testing. There are pre-employment screening vendors that are available to any employer. The pre-employment screening can be done at the facility of the vendor, at your business or on the internet websites of the pre-employment screening vendors. While you have to pay for the testing of some people you will decide not to hire, the cost of testing is minor compared to the cost of hiring the employee from Hell.

There are three primary types of psychological testing. They are:

1. Personality testing that provides insights into the values, ethics and behavioral characteristics of the potential employee.

2. Aptitude testing that evaluates a job candidate's reasoning skills. The test measure verbal, numerical and abstract thinking.

3. Motivational testing that identifies the areas of interest and importance to the job candidate and identifies what motivates the person.

Personality testing and behavioral testing adds an element of objectivity to the pre-employment screening process. The pre-employment assessment testing will provide the employer with information on the aptitudes and behavioral traits of the potential employee. The pre-employment assessment can provide the employer with information on the ethics, values, honesty and integrity of the employee candidate. Often the behaviors identified in the personality testing can be confirmed through reference checks and background screening. (WCxKit)

If you hire any of the employees from Hell, not only do you create personnel problems for your company, you increase the probability of workers' compensation claims. There is a definite correlation between having problem employees and higher incidents of work comp claims. Almost all questionable work comp claims arise from employees who have performance issues. By identifying the potential problem employee and not hiring them, the employer can save the hassles and headaches they create, and work comp cost, too.

Note: obviously these thoughts are tongue in cheek, sort of, so take them with a grain of salt.

Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: [email protected] or 860-553-6604.

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Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.