10 Warning Signs of a Bad Employee

Unfortunately, not every new hire is a perfect fit from the start. Some new employees need extra time and support to get on a sure footing. For others, things go immediately off track and don't improve.

How can you quickly address small issues before they grow into big problems? Are you dealing with a hiring mistake or an employee who just needs a boost? Knowing how to spot when an employee isn't a good fit will help you decide what to do to maintain your culture and productivity.

Keep reading to learn how to spot new-employee red flags and what to do next.

What are the signs of a bad hire?

Bad or difficult hires come in different varieties:

• Some misrepresent their skills and show signs of incompetence.
• Some can't handle workplace pressure.
• Some need constant attention.
• Some are unable to learn new skills or respond to developing situations.

The worst bad hires drag the entire team down with their negative behavior. Any of these bad hires can cost your business. Here are the warning signs of a bad worker:

1. Frequent errors or low-quality work

Everyone makes mistakes, especially when new to a job. Some mistakes are a sign that the employee may have gaps in their training or skill set. These employees may benefit from additional support.

However, consistently missing details, overlooking important things, and making the same mistakes over and over may be warning signs of a bad hire. You'll want to address the issue immediately, so that the new hire doesn't affect productivity or your work product.

How to address the issue:

Avoid hiring a big talker with mediocre skills by first finding out who they are and what they can do:

• Verify skills and personality types early in the hiring process through pre-employment testing to prevent hiring employees who make frequent mistakes.
• You can also use skills assessments during the onboarding process. This enables you to offer better, more targeted training and support.

2. Missed deadlines

A problematic new employee may miss deadlines and seem unable to manage their workload. Your new hire may be lazy and irresponsible, but these problems can also signal that they're just indecisive or have an unorganized work style.

The problem might not show up at first if teammates pick up the slack. Over time, however, the underperforming team member can negatively affect morale and lead to quality issues.

How to address the issue:

Address the new employee's missed deadlines before frustration builds across the team.

Look at the employee's workload and how they're managing their time. If expectations are clear, they may just need some training or coaching. A little structure and guidance might turn a struggling employee into a successful one.

If your personality testing uncovers traits and attitudes that are a mismatch for the role, you may need to move the employee to another position or replace them.

3. Lack of initiative

It may take some time for a new hire to have the confidence to take responsibility and work in a self-directed way.

One of the signs of a difficult employee is always waiting for direction, not taking initiative, and depending too much on other team members. The cause can be more than mere low confidence. You might be dealing with someone who has a reactive personality type.

How to address the issue:

• Make sure that the employee who lacks initiative has a clear understanding of their responsibilities.
• Encourage them to take ownership of small tasks and then give them more responsibility as their confidence increases.
• Along with making expectations clear, give them feedback that helps them solve problems.
• If you have an employee with a reactive personality, help them grow into the role in ways that fit their learning style.

4. Difficulty adapting

Change is part of most workplaces. Priorities shift, workflows need adjusting, and new software, equipment, or processes may upend the way things are done.

If you have an employee who is inflexible and struggles to adapt to change, they may bring friction and productivity problems to your team. Innovation is vital to a thriving business, and that requires employees who adapt to change.

How to address the issue:

Inflexibility can be one of the signs that an employee isn't a good fit. Alternatively, you may just need some understanding to arrive at a good solution:

• Try to find out why the employee is resisting change. It could be uncertainty or a lack of clarity.
• Improved communication, extra training, and an environment that rewards flexibility can build confidence and encourage adaptability.

5. Negative attitude

A pessimistic employee who lacks enthusiasm, complains endlessly, or is rude can harm morale. No matter how impressive their technical skills may be, a bad attitude cancels out the positives.

Beyond creating a difficult work environment, the employee with challenging behavior can damage customer relationships. Everyone has a bad day now and then, but a consistently negative attitude is one of the most damaging traits of a bad employee.

How to address the issue:

Start with understanding what is going on with the pessimistic employee. A non-confrontational check-in might uncover stresses and personal challenges that the employee is bringing to the job. It's important to be compassionate and curious, not critical. Simply listening can go a long way.

Offer guidance, resources, and feedback that can help the employee bring a more positive version of themselves to work.

6. Poor communication

A new hire may hesitate to speak up and ask questions. This can result in misunderstandings, mistakes, and delays. Productive exchanges and clear dialogue are essential elements of a collaborative workplace.

Employees need soft skills in communication, like active listening, the ability to express themselves clearly, and the confidence to say “I don't know” or “I need help.”

If poor communication is left unaddressed, it results in inefficiency, poor work product, and broken trust.

How to address the issue:

• Foster a work culture that encourages people, especially new hires, to ask questions, get clarification, and ask for help.
• Offer constructive feedback without blame.
• If a new employee's communication is an issue, coaching and soft skills training may help them get more comfortable with speaking up and contributing.

7. Overstepping

Some people think getting ahead requires stepping on coworkers or asserting dominance. When a new employee is trying to take over, they may think they're showing initiative or leadership. What they're really doing is being disrespectful and upsetting the rest of the staff.

How to address the issue:

If an overeager employee is trying to take over other people's responsibilities, you may need to step in to clarify their role. Help the new hire understand your corporate culture and how people tend to work together in your environment.

With guidance, you can redirect the energy of a competitive and driven personality in ways that benefit the team and fit into your culture.

8. Inconsistent attendance

Not being on time and failing to show up are warning signs of a difficult employee. Someone who is regularly late or who often misses work is a disruptive force on your team. They upend schedules, and their absence signals disrespect or disregard for others on the team.

Being sick or having to deal with unexpected personal issues happens from time to time. But if absence and lateness are regular occurrences, you may have a problem that puts your productivity, team spirit, and company reputation at risk.

How to address the issue:

Not being dependable tops the list of what makes a bad employee.

Before you dismiss someone for these reasons, have a private conversation to see if you can uncover the cause of this behavior. Make sure your expectations are clear and express empathy in coming up with solutions that work for both of you.

9. Poor cultural fit

One of the toughest things to assess during the hiring process is cultural fit. Yet it's one of the most important success factors for new hires. Pre-employment testing, including assessing culture fit, can prevent many mismatches.

Signs of a difficult employee include behaviors that indicate they don't care to take the time to learn about and adjust to your corporate culture. This leads to strained relationships, communication breakdowns, and tension on teams, which can harm your business.

How to address the issue:

Be specific and direct in setting expectations, communicating values, and explaining norms. Coaching and mentoring can help a new hire adjust and fit into the existing workplace culture.

10. Lack of good judgment and ineffective prioritization

Many jobs entail balancing several different tasks. If a new employee is unable to effectively prioritize these, they may not be an ideal match for the position. This can be related to several things:

• Not understanding the job
• Poor decision-making skills
• Reluctance to do certain tasks

Any reason, though, impacts productivity. If it can't be fixed with a conversation, you may have to take action.

How to address the issue:

• If a new employee isn't working out because they struggle with priorities, they may need help in understanding how their tasks fit into the bigger picture.
• If you've clarified expectations, you may need to provide time management training and coach them on decision-making.
• Ensure that your culture encourages employees to ask questions and rewards making the right choices.

11. Personality mismatch

You might think you understand a job candidate's personality during the interview process, but they can surprise you after being hired.

• Interviews don't always uncover the true temperament and values of a person.
• Candidates work hard to present the best version of themselves.
• Interviewers who don't know the right questions to ask can easily miss obvious personality cues.

When a new hire's personality doesn't fit the job or the team culture, performance suffers.

How to address the issue:

Since personality doesn't come across in a resume and is easy to misjudge in an interview, making personality testing part of the hiring process is invaluable.

You can't change an employee's personality. If you hired an introverted, detail-oriented person for a role that requires being people-oriented and using big-picture thinking, you may need to move that person into a different role.

What to do when you've identified a bad employee

So you've identified a potential problem. Maybe it's an employee who consistently underperforms after six months on the job. They're missing deadlines, their work is sloppy, and other employees are complaining.

What's next? Should you just tell them it's not working out and start the whole process over? Not always.

There are some things you can try when you've identified a poor-performing employee:

• Document the performance issues. Make a clear record of the new employee's unwanted behaviors and performance issues. Documentation ensures that you deal with an employee clearly and fairly.
• Directly address the problem. Ask your new hire questions, give constructive feedback, and offer possible solutions.
• Make a plan and set clear expectations. Define how the new employee can improve. Make goals clear and measurable, with realistic timelines. Communicate these clearly to the new hire.
• If the new employee doesn't improve, take action. When you see warning signs of a bad employee, you face two outcomes: Either you help the employee's performance improve, or you reassign or replace them.

Before taking any negative actions, try to figure out why the new employee isn't catching on. It could be a bad hire, but it could also be a training issue, poor skills in one area, vaguely defined responsibilities, or another problem that can be fixed.

You may also face sensitive cultural issues. In today's global workplace, your employees may be struggling to understand tasks in a second language or discreetly trying to balance religious requirements, health needs, or responsibilities at home.

How to prevent future issues with new hires

The best way to avoid bad hires and prevent future problems is with a proven hiring process that includes effective job descriptions, skills testing, and personality evaluation.

Though this can be a complicated process, it's also a necessary one. But you don't need to do it alone. Use a professional pre-employment testing software to cut down your hiring costs and simplify the process.

Understanding ideal candidate profiles for each position will also help you define an effective job description. This will attract the right kind of candidates. When you start with higher-quality candidates, you have a much better chance of hiring a productive employee who's a good fit.

Hire Success^® can help you use data to improve your hiring efforts. It offers various features that work to streamline and add certainty to the process. The Hire Success^® applicant tracking system narrows your search down to a shortlist of candidates suited to the open position.

From pre-employment personality tests to a lightweight applicant tracking system (ATS), our tools will help you speed up and focus your hiring campaigns. You'll be empowered to make the best hiring decisions for your business.

New employee red flag FAQs

What makes a bad employee?

Bad employees show behavioral issues, skills gaps, or attitude and cultural mismatches. Your organization can suffer from the effects of their poor performance on productivity and morale.

How much time does a new employee need to adjust to their job?

Most new employees need 3-6 months to fully settle into their role. If a new hire takes longer, it's important to root out the reason. You may have a bad hiring process, a bad onboarding process, or both. It's up to you to figure out what's going wrong.

How do I know if I've made a bad hire or if my hiring process needs improvement?

Examine the result of your recent hires. If their performance is disappointing or you have hired more than one who underperformed, quit, or had to be fired, your process is probably the problem.

Explore our hiring process checklist to find out whether you're missing an important step and where you can make improvements.

What does lack of support look like at work?

A lack of support in the workplace can be a lack of training and resources, which manifests in the new employee appearing to be incapable or unfit for the role.

New hires may not always be welcome additions to the team. Before you decide the new employee is at fault, interview other employees and observe team dynamics. Look for conflicting instructions from employees who have different approaches to the same job. For the new employee, this disconnect can be unsettling and counterproductive.

Body language and environmental cues that undermine confidence may also be at play. If a supervisor claims their door is always open, but the open door is accompanied by clear signs of impatience or annoyance, new hires learn quickly to avoid asking for help.