Potential Red Flags to Look for in the Hiring Process

Hiring people for your business can be a tricky task. You need employees, of course, but you also need to make sure you get the best employees possible – ones who will work reasonably hard and stick around. Here are some things to look out for when hiring.

They Show Up Late

Most employers aren’t happy anyways when their employee shows up late. In the absence of a good reason, it could mean that they don’t respect your schedule. At the worst, they are actively inconveniencing the other workers and customers and hurting your business directly. It should be noted that it would be smart for you to be empathetic. Being late once or twice is not the end of the world. Treat your employees as humans, who can’t control every circumstance and need understanding. However: an employee who is late for every single shift means that they likely do not have the right attitude to merit their working at your business.

They Have a Criminal Record

This one is especially hard to figure out. The problem is that criminal records can mean many things. It can mean that they are a bad person, who feels inclined to commit crime for whatever reason. It may mean that they used to feel like that when they were young and now feel remorse. It may mean that they made a stupid mistake as a younger person, and it now follows them everywhere. It may mean that they used recreational drugs a grand total of once. It may mean a lot of things, and somebody simply having a criminal record should not be reason enough to necessarily eliminate them immediately. If you’re unsure, references can help you feel more comfortable with a hire if they have a criminal record.

Toxic Personalities

Nobody’s perfect. You also shouldn’t expect perfect employees. After all, this is a job and a professional environment. Your employees are working here because they’re being paid (although hopefully, they also enjoy being there to some degree). That being said, there are some kinds of people you need to steer clear of. People who are aggressively selfish and expect others to do more work. People who are manipulative and narcissistic. People who don’t work well in teams. People who don’t work well alone. The list goes on – so use the interview to get a good read on them before deciding.

Running a business is hard, no matter who you are. Dealing with the hiring and firing of personnel can be especially rough. But if you do your best to provide a compassionate, kind, hardworking business environment that engenders listening, your employees will follow suit.

Check out this article on how to avoid regrets when hiring for your company!