Employees generally don't become "problem employees" overnight and there are often red flags that the employee might be an issue from the beginning.
Old Habits Die Hard
In October, our Minnesota Vikings brought back Randy Moss who was a former player. At the time, the Vikings offense was struggling and many Vikings fans viewed bringing Randy back as the answer to their problems.
In the past, Randy Moss has been unpredictable and often behaved selfishly on and off the field. In a press conference, Moss criticized his Coach for failing to take his suggestions about how his former team, the Patriots would play the game. However, his rant did not end there as he also managed to explain that he would ask and answer his own questions in response to a $25,000 fine from the NFL. A day later, Coach Childress cut Moss from the team.
Take Quick Action
While many Vikings fans disagree with Coach Childress, there are a few things to learn from his quick decision to cut Moss.
When your company hires a new employee, it is reasonable to expect them to aim to perform above expectations, especially during their first few days on the job. It should be expected that they demonstrate how pleased they are to have joined your company and their commitment to their new role. A red flag should be raised if you do not see excitement, a desire to work hard or if the new employee criticizes management. In most cases, you can safely bet that the situation most likely will not improve with time and quick action should be considered.
What Can be Learned from the Vikings?
As we learned earlier, old habits die hard. It’s reasonable to anticipate a learning curve regarding new skills, but negative attitudes and critical comments are often an indicator that things will not work out well for the future.
It is recommended to have an introductory period as a part of your employee handbook to give you the added ability to take quick action and terminate your own Randy Moss. As with any termination decision, you should consult your organizations Human Resource department or if you are a client of Midwest Staffing Group, you can always review the situation with our HR business partners!