Study: Bad hires are a lousy lot
(Hysob Shin, hshin@ajc.com)
Follow us on Twitter @AJCBiz
Ever had to suffer the consequences of a bad hire?
A new study by CareerBuilder.com finds that 69 percent of employers say bad hires lower productivity, affect worker morale and even result in legal issues.
Bad hires are also costly: 41 percent of companies estimate such hires cost them more than $25,000 individually, and a quarter put the cost at more than $50,000.
So, why make such a hire, you might ask? CareerBuilder found 38 percent of employers said they needed to fill the job quickly, 21 percent simply didn’t know enough about the employee before hiring him or her and 11 percent didn’t check references.
“The more thoroughly the candidates are vetted, the less likely they will be a poor match,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. (Was that a collective “Duh!” we just heard?).
In addition to the impact on productivity and employee morale, bad hires also can damage relationships with clients, according to 22 percent of respondents.
Finally, most bad hires have the same thing in common, according to more than 60 percent of respondents: They fail to produce quality work, they don’t work well with others, they don’t show up for work, and they simply have bad attitudes.
(Commenting closed. Check out the wide range of views on this topic.)
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94 comments Add your comment
Chilly Willy
December 13th, 2012
11:40 am
“Finally, most bad hires have the same thing in common, according to more than 60 percent of respondents: They fail to produce quality work, they don’t work well with others, they don’t show up for work, and they simply have bad attitudes”
The above statement refers to Uneducated Fast Food and Retail workers!
First
December 13th, 2012
11:41 am
and there are other reasons that of course AJC won’t list.
First
December 13th, 2012
11:42 am
closest I have ever come and still 2nd. I feel so like that idiot in Athens.
Phil I. Buster
December 13th, 2012
11:57 am
More reasons for a bad hire:
Relative or in-law
Friend of relative or in-law
Drinking buddy
Hunting buddy
Fishing buddy
Person you are having an affair with (see Arkansas, University of)
Former college roommate
Friend of former college roommate
Tom
December 13th, 2012
11:58 am
@Chilly Willy The hell it does! I find it next to impossible to find good people. Most don’t have work ethic worth a crap. They don’t produce or they are lazy and stubborn. This comes from a guy that will do anything if you are willing to try.
HR Girl
December 13th, 2012
12:09 pm
Couldn’t agree more with what is posted. One more:I have been told to my face that they prefer sitting at home, receiving assistance of all flavors than putting in a honest day’s work. Who raised you????
see no evil
December 13th, 2012
12:12 pm
Remember that this state has runn off a great number of immigrant labor, especially those that work as farm labor; that crowd was not considered lazy or bad hires! To the contrary, as a group they are glad to have work and apprciative. Bad hire: let’s put the prison population to work in the agricultural fields!
The real bad hire has come on election day in the state of GA!!! We are such suckers.
Judge Smails
December 13th, 2012
12:26 pm
Here is a good way to tell if your next hire will work out with your team. Have a peer interview. They will expose themselves to a peer, while putting on a show for their soon to be boss.
Judge Smails
December 13th, 2012
12:28 pm
Also, if I can’t pronounce your name, I’m not going to give your resume much consideration.
Truth
December 13th, 2012
12:33 pm
Or how about this?
The hiring manager is a sociopath and has turnover because they are a horrible person.
The company is a low rent sales company (the majority of CareerBuilder’s clientele) with entry level jobs (also CBs sweet spot).
The leadership are nothing but a bunch of materialistic,middle aged losers who churn 20 somethings like a fraternity.
Furious Styles
December 13th, 2012
12:38 pm
Bad hires are and will ALWAYS be a part of the process. Employers must simplify the hiring process. The best way to find out if someone can do the job, is to put them out there to see if they can do. It SHOULDN’T take long to figure out whether you’ve got a snake eyes.
When employers have 2-4 rounds of interviews, computerized testing, targeted selection style interviews and other convoluted hiring process, it further compounds the problem.
Dr. Socrates
December 13th, 2012
12:40 pm
I can personally attest to hiring one extremely bad person for an important job. Her resume looked fantastic, she interviewed well, and performed well for two days before we learned she was literally crazy. She was able to cover up her psychological issues long enough to get the job and thought she could hide behind the law once she got it.
Bud
December 13th, 2012
12:40 pm
@Judge Smails What does a persons name have to do with anything? Christopher Seward, Grab that persons ip address and report them to the state as that is illegal!
Truth
December 13th, 2012
12:40 pm
Show me the answers from clients of the Ladders and Ivyexec and let’s look at those results.
CBuilder is a joke
George
December 13th, 2012
12:48 pm
WOW Georgia you never seems to amaze me
Charles
December 13th, 2012
12:54 pm
Candidates getting vetted???!!! That went out the door in 2007 when Obama was elected the first time.
Mark Richt
December 13th, 2012
12:58 pm
How bout them Dawgs?!
jb
December 13th, 2012
1:04 pm
@Judge Smails – I am a computer science PhD student at Ga Tech and I live with 3 roomates who I can’t even pronounce their names (also PhD students). I am pretty sure none of them are going to be submitting their resumes to you, so you don’t have to worry.
bill
December 13th, 2012
1:05 pm
They are not “bad hires”. They are people who were hired by “bad hirers”. Get it straight
Light
December 13th, 2012
1:05 pm
But what’s even worse than a bad hire is when no one tells the bad hire that their performance is not up to par and everyone has to deal with or work around the person that’s not pulling their weight.
Dylan
December 13th, 2012
1:07 pm
There are also bad employers, or simply bad organizational fits. Getting the other side of the story, not just employers, is also a good barometer. I took a job once that within the first week I was sorry I accepted the position. They were nothing less than mean. When I left the business, during my exit interview I learned they have a 90% turnover rate. That speaks more about the business than the employees. There needs to be a better way for potential to be vetted.
DH
December 13th, 2012
1:08 pm
Someone really had to do a study to figure this out????
say what?
December 13th, 2012
1:11 pm
I have worked full time for 22 years, graduated from GSU and UGA. I was let go due to budget constraints from my employer.
What I am finding is that I am overqualified. All I want is to start a new full time job in a new career field, training and organization development. For this I am unqualified.
So look at a person’s job stability rather than those assessments, and recent credit history. HR is flawed, and that is how someone above got a dishonest person who played the mental health game long enough to get a foot in the door.
And for people to keep claiming there are jobs out there, people just don’t want to work, your day is coming. Karma is gonna knock down the door and treat your children the way you seem to want to treat others.
Who wants to go to half of the hh income and utilities late, after having worked full time for most of their lives? Terrible outlook from GA.
Jed Clampet
December 13th, 2012
1:15 pm
Ran off good immigrant labor or illegal labor? When are you going illegal is illegal. Can I make and undocumentated withdrawal from a bank? How about using some one elses social securiy number for employment or credit? There are good labor pools in the US, employers need to match the correct position with the person.
Jammer
December 13th, 2012
1:17 pm
It used to be a simple process, at least for me. Did the candidate show up on time for the interview? Neatly groomed? How were they dressed? Could they carry on a conversation in compete sentences? I went with my “gut” feeling about how I felt they would fit into our company. Was seldom disappointed with this method.
Sal Monella
December 13th, 2012
1:25 pm
bill, you hit the nail on the head. Thank you! Oh, and on the application for employment if your first name appears to be a poor attempt at an “ethnic” name (i.e ‘LaQuanethra’) you can bet you will receive a “thank you for your interest” form letter in response.
stupid
December 13th, 2012
1:26 pm
how many of the bad hires vote Democrat ? I would assume about 98%.
Sara Tonin
December 13th, 2012
1:27 pm
say what?, There’s always a need for someone to make the french fries!
Arlethia King
December 13th, 2012
1:28 pm
This conclusion is not “Rocket Science!”
sam
December 13th, 2012
1:29 pm
@Jed – What do Bad Hires have to do with illegal workers? Last time I heard Mexican laborers work like there is no tomorrow- doing jobs no one else wants to do no less.
checkcall
December 13th, 2012
1:31 pm
Standard Georgia economic and social opinon: Everything is black and white. People are lazy and should be happy to work for less than a liveable wage when the federal government will pay more for you to do nothing.
Is this a problem with the federal government, or is the free market economy failing to produce jobs that pay a liveable wage?
abbysenia
December 13th, 2012
1:33 pm
Truth
December 13th, 2012
12:33 pm
Or how about this?
The hiring manager is a sociopath and has turnover because they are a horrible person.
The company is a low rent sales company (the majority of CareerBuilder’s clientele) with entry level jobs (also CBs sweet spot).
The leadership are nothing but a bunch of materialistic,middle aged losers who churn 20 somethings like a fraternity
Dylan
December 13th, 2012
1:07 pm
There are also bad employers, or simply bad organizational fits. Getting the other side of the story, not just employers, is also a good barometer. I took a job once that within the first week I was sorry I accepted the position. They were nothing less than mean. When I left the business, during my exit interview I learned they have a 90% turnover rate. That speaks more about the business than the employees. There needs to be a better way for potential to be vetted.
Both are true… I get tired of conservative always blaming the worker and acting as if employers are infallible gods. There are companies that base their strategy on high turn over…so they don’t have pay decent wages or benefits or raises. We would be surprised to see the behind the scenes of some of the places we do business with!
Native Atlantan
December 13th, 2012
1:40 pm
@Sam — totally agree……incredible work ethic doing jobs no one else would/will do. BTW – most companies have a 90-day probational period. If you don’t perform during the 90-days, out the door you go with no questions.
KYHA
December 13th, 2012
1:40 pm
Tell Fulton County this..they have awful employees which I consider bad hires! While myself a great prospect candidate can not even land an interview while they employ their cousin’s baby mamma and step dad’s uncle nephew!!
I am a very good employee. never called into work in 5 years!! How about someone from HR reach out to me for an interview and I can prove what a good hire is…
and YES I am mad………
KYHA
December 13th, 2012
1:41 pm
actually I am bitter…But I am sure you can tell..
Marinemom
December 13th, 2012
1:46 pm
Wow, George, you never “seems” to amaze the rest of us.
Robert Young
December 13th, 2012
1:51 pm
Where are the sources for this information? It’s an interesting article and I would like to quote it but I cannot without the actual survey data source.
blkshepherd
December 13th, 2012
1:54 pm
@ Judge Smalls
And you win the award for Dumbest Post! The person that hired you should be fired for being an idoit. and a very Merry Christmas to you too!
blkshepherd
December 13th, 2012
1:57 pm
typo Judge Smells, Smalls, Smails Judge Salmon, whatever..all still amount to the same..Idoit.
Ace
December 13th, 2012
2:06 pm
Despite all the fun and sarcasm above, this is getting serious in this country when we see the work ethic falling in some people. I am in the mortgage business and have only missed work when too sick to drive and when hospitalized. Most of my co-workers pull their weight or they are GONE. But we still have had a couple of hiccups in hiring like all companies. There are those who can interview very well as they have practiced or trained for that, but don’t live up to their “promise”.
That is where references are the key and should not only be checked, but legally going as far as you can to see what kind of a worker the person really is. In this litigious age, many HR depts. have to give the reference and give no more than position title and dates. That’s when it would be good to ask for names of co-workers or supervisors.
Burned
December 13th, 2012
2:07 pm
I agree with the commentor, Truth. Some companies “always get bad people”. Really? Always? Often the manager IS the bad hire sociopath who lures people in with lies. Bait and switch. I’ve always followed the rules and typically outproduced my colleagues–because I’m doing the work while they are having play time. I’ve had my employment history tarnished by more than one of these people, Studies have actually shown that top managers are disproportionately sociopaths, lacking any moral compass. That’s how they get ahead. And if you’ve done well on a project you gotta go bye-bye because your name isn’t going on that–that’s how promotions get acquired. Thanks to weak labor laws, they keep getting away with it… and look at the resulting economy.
Judge Smails
December 13th, 2012
2:18 pm
Boy…That was easy!
It usually take me a couple tries to get the “wackos” all riled up.
Nicely done!
Employers are no picnic either!
December 13th, 2012
2:21 pm
Trues stories:
My company was bought out. I was in corporate. The new company didn’t need two corporate staffs,so I went looking. 28 years in the business (Chemical engineering) two degrees, (one an MBA) and exemplary work record. (Four absences in 28 years) .Polished up my resume,and started looking. There was no lack of interest. I had networked well and had always kept in the middle of the salary band. Travel is no problem- I’m Platinum Medallion from my last three jobs.
Company Number One: Put off phone interview twice. Called a couple of hours late when the call finally came. Asked desultory questions. The whole thing lasted about twenty minutes.Then silence.Not even a thanks, but no thanks canned email (I sent a thank you the next day).
I had honestly forgotten those people when they called FIVE WEEKS later asking how soon I could do a second interview.I politely told them (truthfully) that I had already found another position and was no longer available. These jokers asked if I would be willing to leave my new position if the situation was right. I told them I’d get back with them. I hope they got the message.
Company two: (Big employer in Atlanta,BTW) Advertised a job I was interested in and I applied. There was no answer at all for about three weeks. Then they arranged a phone interview. It went okay,and I was optimistic,but realistic.I got a follow up interview and then met with peers. I did well and was told to expect an offer. The company abolished the job soon thereafter and I had to find this out from a friend that worked there.Again, dead silence.
Can you people in business not communicate?
SMH
December 13th, 2012
2:30 pm
1) Education has nothing to do with a bad hire. They can have all the education in the world and still be an a**wipe. We had one of those at my job….she gave no flips whatsoever and she was on probation. You would have thought she would have at least faked it until she made it. She didn’t even try. Lost her job after 3 months.
2) Why everytime someone mentions persons that are lacking morale and interest in their jobs it somehow relates to persons working in the service industry? That’s not cool at all.
Judge Smails
December 13th, 2012
2:33 pm
Hi blkshepherd!
It’s acxtually spelled IDIOT
Have a nice day
gdfo
December 13th, 2012
2:34 pm
Hiring the right person to do a specific job is the responsiblity of the employer. Georgia is a Right to Work State. OK. What is happening is that people who are making the Hiring decisions maybe unqualified to make a good business decision. Many people that I have met and done business with may have been good at one thing but not other things. Hiring the right person, at some point, has to involve a judgement of a persons ability and capacity to do that specific job and also that persons character. Any business is much better off when the final Hiring decision is made by the actual owner of the company AFTER the tests and interviews are finished.
There are managers who are afraid to hire anyone who they think is smarter or more accomplished than they are. Whether it is true or fact is beside the point with them, it is about power. Managers are afraid to hire anyone outside their culture,and anyone who is Older than they are. They want someone they can control, not someone that can do a good job or accomplish something or excel in a project.
I met a woman recently, who claimed to be a former CEO of a company and she stated that all people are dishonest and cheat, by nature. Then she complained about the very workers she hired. The problem was her judgement and her readiness to BLAME other people for her own lack of ability.
VR
December 13th, 2012
2:37 pm
@JudgeSmails:
A. You probably can’t pronounce any names more than one syllable.
B. You probably never have been nor ever will be in a position to make a hiring decision.
Somer
December 13th, 2012
2:38 pm
The worst employees are old union workers. I work for a fortune 500 company that closed many depts & just dump old unskilled workers that won’t retire(taking care of grown kids & grand kids) into more technical positions to simply keep them employed. They rely on skilled coworkers to help them all day, every day. The mgrs act like their hands are tied cause they don’t wanna fight the union. I litterly work next to 60-70yr old people making $25/hr who have to be shown how to email or add an attachment while the Ga Tech grads wait on us at lunch time at the bar & grills. They don’t like me cause I made up a sign for my cubical that read “It’s NOT my job to help U earn your paycheck!” We just received a nice bonus & they won’t buy their younger, year round trainers a cup of coffee. My job take a month to learn. My dept has been open 2yrs & their are many who still don’t get it. They are ALL over 60 & have never been in a tech job in their life. This is the real reason your kids can’t find jobs. This is why companys can’t stand unions
First
December 13th, 2012
2:42 pm
The HR dept at most firms is a joke and that is why the hiring manager will keep the employment agencies employed. I have been hired 3 times (15 years) without going through the idiots in HR.
kuhndog
December 13th, 2012
2:45 pm
Your best BS’ers seem to be the most sucessfull, I don’t think that translates to a good worker.
dre
December 13th, 2012
2:56 pm
Why are there are sooooooo many bad hires in city and federal government – which make you jump through hoops just for an interveiw??? Could it be they have a racial quota to fill???
Don't Tread
December 13th, 2012
2:59 pm
“Ever had to suffer the consequences of a bad hire?” Daily.
When you have people who can’t adhere to a deadline, who spell things incorrectly and use the wrong words in a sentence (in an email going out to customers, no less), who don’t bother to check their work, and can’t calculate simple percentages (and realize that the sum of all the parts has to equal 100% of the whole), is it really any wonder that hiring these people costs money and productivity? (And these are the so-called “college graduates” – don’t get me started on the others!) And to boot, many of these folks have problems with drugs (surprise, surprise) and obeying the law.
Random, frequent drug testing and some real background checks would weed out most of these miscreants and give some deserving people a chance.
Fredo
December 13th, 2012
3:02 pm
It ain’t the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I’m smart! Not like everybody says… like dumb… I’m smart and I want respect!
Puhlease
December 13th, 2012
3:24 pm
It’s one thing to hire a “bad hire”…it’s an entirely different thing to keep them employed. It’s the worst thing for morale when “good hires” have to put up with a slack “bad hire” becuase the “hirerer” doesn’t want to admit he made a mistake.
In the Tank
December 13th, 2012
3:30 pm
When u have to hire a certain number of ppl with a particular skin color, then Quality goes out the window for the required “Quantity”.
SMK
December 13th, 2012
3:41 pm
Laid off in March after 17 yrs. Highly qualified for a specific type of job. Company called me from LinkedIn, HR Interview, brought me in for an interview, then nothing (no “Thanks but no thanks” even); didn’t apply for anything until August (took a few months off). Applied at a major employer here in Atlanta – HR interview, brought me in for a 3 hour interview including a practice project, then nothing (again, not even a “Sorry but no.”). Applied in October for two more; interviewed for both, offers from both, and accepted the one that was able to complete the entire process in two weeks (application to offer). So far, so good. HR is missing out on a lot of good people, and companies need to fix their hiring processes so they can get the right people into the right jobs. There are companies hiring and growing – you just have to find them.
Class of '98
December 13th, 2012
3:42 pm
I guess Judge Smails would have never given Mike Krzyzewski a shot.
InDemand
December 13th, 2012
3:44 pm
Another reason for hiring bad employees: assuming that having worked for a large, well-known company equates to “high quality” employee. Fortune 500 companies are so big that the bad hires can hide for years and some large companies are afraid to fire them once they’ve been around for a few years.
Ms. L
December 13th, 2012
3:46 pm
Bad hires can also come from when a company misleads you about the job. They present it as one way but when you start the job its a different type of work (e.i. telemarketing).
Billy Pilgrim
December 13th, 2012
3:46 pm
A firm right here in Atlanta decided to be an early adopter of resume scanning software to screen applicants. It so happens, I used to work for this firm and helped to create a new department. When I left to go back to grad school five years later, my boss told me to come back anytime. After seeing the job advertised, I applied and was rejected for a “lack of relavant experience.” I called my boss and he told me he had to hire the best candidate out of a lackluster field—and why I didn’t apply. I told him what happened…and he said HR minds the gate and no one dares question its judgment. No question there are bad hires, but has anyone considered an incompetent HR department that likes push button solutions to difficult problems?
Liquasia
December 13th, 2012
3:47 pm
My worst hire was someone I had known and worked with years earlier in a different job. Mostly based on auld lang syne and with minimal vetting I unwisely brought the individual on board into a position for which he was totally unsuited, and problems galore ensued.
As others have already posted, friendship, family relation etc. should not be a factor in hiring.
Somer
December 13th, 2012
3:49 pm
People kill me blaming racial quotas on everything. If you’re white & don’te have it together in a country that was built & made for you to succeed please don’t blame it on color people……IT’S U!!!! THE WHITE MAN IN THE MIRROR
Blain
December 13th, 2012
3:49 pm
The majority of them are probably democrats looking to get something for nothing.
Reality guy
December 13th, 2012
3:50 pm
Work ethics, irresponsibility,poor upbringing, poor education (APS graduates), etc. You have to hire them (otherwise you are a “racist”). Just look at these kids. On cell phone all day long (where is you at, what is you doing)…Disattached.When you ask them what day it is, they don’t know. Big companies struggling with poor services they provide. You name them: Cable TV, Telephone (ATT=#1), Home alarm companies, appliance technicians, plumbers, etc. Inability to do any job. Going from the bottom all way up to the governement.(Inability again – debt ceiling, fiscal cliff, etc). “The picture of American presence”.
Tell it like it is.
December 13th, 2012
3:53 pm
This is sad as a race of people all these comments are literally pointing fingers at each other. Some of you guys are critic of each other. History has never shown to have built a monument to a critic. For those who do hiring, this is a challenge to be more thorough in the process. To some critical employees, this article is most likely talking about YOU!
atllaw191
December 13th, 2012
3:53 pm
“stupid” really IS!
Don't Tread
December 13th, 2012
3:59 pm
Oh, wait…I forgot my personal favorite “quality” of a bad hire: Inability to read and follow simple written directions!!!
Horrible Co-Worker
December 13th, 2012
4:14 pm
The place where I work hired a female and she is horrible. I mean when she was in her probationary period this girl would take off time as soon as she earned it. Sick and vacation time. I spoke to the Manager and told him that she is obviously abusing the time, but he chose to ignore it. Now she is still here and out of her probationary period. She lies all the time. She steals her co-workers supplies and she tries to blame other people for what she has done. Nobody trust her and don’t believe hardly anything she says to any of us. My supervisor will feel it when everybody else resign from her and he is just stuck with her.
NotSoFast
December 13th, 2012
4:17 pm
@Chilly Willy. Several of my cohorts worked fast food or retail while finishing our degrees and were often looked down upon and belittled, probably by the likes of you. A person’s education level has nothing to do with his/her work ethic, attitude or ability to get along with other people.
sethook
December 13th, 2012
4:28 pm
So much for another article about politicians.
Univ of Common Sense
December 13th, 2012
4:28 pm
Very interesting comments on here. Shows that ALL of us are HUMANS. I am a 60 yr old who has worked well over 40 yrs and I resent the fact of someone saying that I may NEED to RETIRE. I worked to leave when I GET READY. Yes I am ancient when it comes to high tech, but I am learning and when folks do help me, I say “THANKS” and I have bought lunch, coffee, donuts whatever, point is: Everybody need to learn to work with each other and help one another. We all spend most of our lives AT WORK..I chose to stay, until I AM READY… Thank you…
Busy as a bee
December 13th, 2012
4:29 pm
Employers are no picnic either!
While not as well educated as you, I am not your average bear either,Sadly,I must agree.You are quite accurate in your assessment.Communication is a lost art that most people below 35 have either disregarded or don’t understand. Email is very passive aggressive but courtesy has been traded for disrespect in too many cases.I am seeking a course change at present and have more grit & tenacity that most but it’s pretty discouraging out there.I am staying busy around my place and doing volunteer work during the holiday season. “patience & determination alone are omnipotent.”
crankyoldman
December 13th, 2012
4:32 pm
I work for a company that offers a decent salary and great benefits for entry level positions. Even if you never get promoted out of the entry level position, you will top out (currently) at around $4,200 per month. These positions don’t require anything beyond a high school diploma. And we STILL have problems with lazy slugs that don’t want to come to work, and don’t work when they do bother to show up.
At least we finally started hiring them as temporary part time first. When a full-time position opens up, we already have a few months of work history to base our decisions on when deciding who gets it. So we can avoid being permanently saddled with the slugs most of the time. Although some of them still manage to slip through. The professional malingerers read our HR and benefits manuals thoroughly, and know exactly how many hours they have to work to qualify for disability, family leave, etc. And, sure as Old Faithful, the minute they have the required hours, out they go. If they don’t qualify for anything else in time to be out for Christmas, summer vacation, or Spring break, they will somehow manage to get an OJI. And this is in an office/call center! No fork lifts, cranes, or heavy lifting anywhere in sight.
And they don’t even try to hide it. We had one idiot who really wanted to be a full-time preacher, but stayed with us for the benefits. He managed to get family leave for “depression.” His regular off-days were Sunday and Monday. Want to guess when he was depressed every week? That’s right – Saturday. Every Saturday. Plus the two days before his vacation started, and the day after it ended.
Swoot
December 13th, 2012
4:37 pm
When we stop being PC and tell people how they REALLY perform, maybe we can make some traction. As for now, we tiptoe around poor production for the sake of being sued. The death of us all will be the continual movement toward a PC nation. If you cannot do your job, you should not keep it. There are plenty of people out there dying to work, who can’t get hired because dead weight is still being held onto. Sad sad sad. No one will want to work for anything if they know they are safe regardless of their production. It is basic psychology. No consequences, no changes.
Jake
December 13th, 2012
4:46 pm
“Tom
December 13th, 2012
11:58 am
@Chilly Willy The hell it does! I find it next to impossible to find good people. Most don’t have work ethic worth a crap. They don’t produce or they are lazy and stubborn. This comes from a guy that will do anything if you are willing to try.”
Agreed. I have worked in the IT profession for over 20 years and I have found that most people are just lazy and don’t follow protocol. With the increase of smart phones, they are even more distracted. Most can’t do a damn thing without a phone app. Most don’t have common sense and too many are just lazy. None take pride in anything that they do.
Gee $
December 13th, 2012
4:52 pm
Somer , sounds like you work for the phone company. Good luck.
Roekest
December 13th, 2012
4:55 pm
The Protestant Work Ethic in this country has become non-existent. It’s sad.
Barackeisha
December 13th, 2012
4:58 pm
Swoot
December 13th, 2012
4:37 pm
“The death of us all will be the continual movement toward a PC nation.”
amen
Ben
December 13th, 2012
4:58 pm
What really sucks is when these bad hires who are basically completely lazy or completely incompetent, then end up supported by our tax dollars for the remainder of their lives.
Somer
December 13th, 2012
4:59 pm
Univ of Common Sense….please retire! I have no problem when older people who worked in my field transfer into my dept after their dept close. They are productive and not calling in every time their baby sneeze. Sadly most of seniors that were dumped into my dept came from depts of unskilled labor. People who filed papers or put in new orders for service. If a nurse get laid off, a hospital is not going to give them a job cause their is an opening for a doctor. That is exactly what is going on with these union jobs. These seniors are getting placed in jobs over their head & the dept goes overseas to solve the problem. That’s when we all hurt. The unemployed Americans, their family, the small business owners where the union workers go for lunch or happy hour…..all because people don’t know when to retire but worse, companys stand up to the unions and take control of their job placements.
Working with them
December 13th, 2012
5:33 pm
I work with bad hires who got the job simply for being “cute” – and they get all the awards for being good workers when all they do is talk on the phone all day on personal business and leave early for no reason, come in late, and they get employees of the year from management simply because they are cute. The rest of us are doing all the work and get nothing, not even “good job.” Bad hires are made for more reasons than not checking into backgrounds. They get made because some bosses think with an organ other than their brains.
You are a joke
December 13th, 2012
5:44 pm
Looking at most of these jokes, I would say you ALL are bad hires IF you are employed somewhere. You are trying to be negative and CAN’T spell simple words I am sure you may use in an email at work.
It has nothing to do with the President or political parties. The Hiring Managers need have a brain and use common sense. I work for a very large company that employs over 70,000 worldwide. I can say first hand most of the hiring managers hire based on some of the idiotic reasons you all have named. Yet the people they bring are LAZY, lying, uneducated people. Regardless of what some of you say you use as a way to “rid” the bad hires out, I am sure you STILL hire a bad employee.
RGB
December 13th, 2012
6:10 pm
There are many managers who have no idea what they are doing. Often the smart, committed employees are stifled from helping the company make progress in the marketplace in which they participate and some of these employees are incorrectly labeled “troublemakers”.
Historically, the most important thing to employees is the feeling that they are able to apply their skills and talents and that in doing so they make a difference. When employees feel they cannot make a difference, they sometimes express themselves in ways that aren’t organizationally acceptable.
Employees who “retire in place” and don’t cause trouble are often rewarded for being “good employees”. Remember that most managers receive no training in managing people, so some of these companies need to scrutinize their managers of people a bit more before tossing those troublemakers overboard.
And I agree with First: HR people ARE idiots. In fact, most are Nazis. And I don’t even call Nazis Nazis. Seriously.
Truth
December 13th, 2012
6:29 pm
@RGB- Your post is on the money. “companies need to scrutinize their managers of people a bit more before tossing those troublemakers overboard.”
When you have a clickish staff that rejects change and Managers that have been promoted based on friendship, their is seldom room for one who comes in to actually do the work. What happened to the time when being competent was more important than “who likes you”. Unfortuantely, that is the reality of most dying organizations. I doubt anyone who has been in a job for 20 plus years should still be there if they have not re-educated themselves. I’m not saying that there are not bad hires, but you better look at the internal state of the organization before you start labeling or firing.
@Judge Smails – that expecially goes for you. More than likely, you too have sat too long.
Moe Gibsmedats
December 13th, 2012
6:39 pm
Affirmitive Action hires NEVER work out.
yeahright
December 13th, 2012
7:16 pm
Whatever.
The real Truth
December 13th, 2012
7:18 pm
Everyone bashing HR is hilarious. They don’t make the hiring decision.
The only influence HR has is simply screening the inferior applicants, but only according to the hiring manager’s directions.
For example: Let’s say a job posting is for an Accountant with 3 years of public accounting experience.
The hiring manager told HR they only wanted Big 4 (for those of you who know who the big 4 are…doubtful many of you bafoons do) and a degree from a major US college.
So, if you have a degree from a weak school, 3+ yrs of public accounting experience, but it was for a regional firm and not Big 4…guess what? your resume goes into the round file!
Just because you know the hiring manager and he told you HR was the reason, chances are he lacks the spine to tell you that he didn’t want you.
Khga
December 13th, 2012
7:27 pm
I am with you reality guy….most of the ppl who work in the city and county government are Atlanta natives..(.APS graduates )and are dumb…and lazy as heck….most of these ppl natives go to forprofit or sub par colleges to earn a degree and get a job because of who they know. People have no concern for their jobs and it shows…on the 91 st day 1st day out of probation they are asking for a week off! And don’t get me started on those single moms calling in because they have to take their baby to the doctor!!! I know I’m coming off rude but it is the truth…I am sick of picking up their slack and work because they can’t perform and they have the nerve to complain about not getting a raise…
yeahright
December 13th, 2012
7:48 pm
Right. It couldn’t possibly be bad management….
ww
December 13th, 2012
8:09 pm
HR teams that test their applicants like Merrill Lynch, Genuine Auto Parts(NAPA), Randstad Corporate Office, and others have a much better chance of hiring a good candidate, based on IQ and other scores.
Additinally, some companies run themes, such as “we only want to hire good looking people.” These people do not have the best interest of their company in mind, when they hire candidates.
Finally, I think America is confused in understanding the difference between a real “go getter”, and total ass-hole….there is a difference.
ww
December 13th, 2012
8:13 pm
That should be “Additionally.”
cj
December 13th, 2012
8:33 pm
I took an entry level job I was overqualified for when I returned to Atlanta because I needed a job fast, they took a chance on me since their hiring model was fresh out of college kids, and their model was churn and burn, they asked me if I could “keep up” I asked if the kids could keep up with me. i have been there 7 months and have been promoted. I am one of their top reps. They are now hiring some older workers, Try taking a chance on some of us older folks, you may be pleasantly surprised.
vuduchld
December 13th, 2012
8:47 pm
No need for any of you idiots to worry, you pilgrims are too dumb and stupid to get, hold and grow in any job, so don’t fret about things you can’t control
32 YEAR RETAIL WORKER
December 13th, 2012
9:01 pm
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