Toxic hires - types, traits, and tips for tackling

Hi! Welcome to Behind the Curtain, a newsletter about people dynamics in start-ups.?

This month’s topic is toxic hires. We explore it with? Trember , Omnisend ,?and? Turing College . Buckle up!

Telltale signs

When you hear "toxic hire," you likely conjure a picture of a mean, cocky, selfish individual who breaks the rules and undermines others. In reality, toxic employees are rarely outwardly rude and self-centered, but they can be deeply upsetting to work with.

A toxic employee, before being labeled “toxic” quite often, is a hard-working, intelligent, and high-performing individual. But over time, emotional chaos emerges around them, which has a de-energizing and frustrating effect on the team.

Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer Bosko Todorovic at Trember shared his interaction with such an individual. He told us a story about a Head of Sales hired in desperation. After joining the team, the hire started playing political games against his colleagues, complaining about them to the upper management. Even during the interviews, red flags were all over the place. However, Bosko admits ignoring his gut feeling - the candidate was a real sales professional who "sold" himself.

One such employee in a small team can derail the atmosphere. Fortunately, this was not the case for Trember. The team, being open and honest, soon noticed what was going on.

Sometimes it can be hard to admit that something is wrong - we tend to trust people and their potential to change. Meanwhile, they can play the victim card and blame others for their behaviors. These individuals often use the "I" word more than "WE." There are several signs to look for, such as a negative attitude, unwillingness to help others, insubordination, lack of following directions, and gossiping.

Preparing for termination

Different toxic employee types can be found in the scientific literature -?The Bully, The Pessimist, The Gossiper,?and many others. While typical traits of toxic conduct are well-known, their actions in a workplace can manifest differently.

Toxic employees are most likely to be led by strong emotions, which they may use strategically to influence others. They can be high performers who will use their laboriousness as a cover. They will articulate elaborate defenses when their behavior is finally put in question so that you will undoubtedly start doubting your instincts. It's all a part of their manipulation game.

That's why Rimant?, COO at @Omnisend, sees these types of hires as the most dangerous ones that can disharmonize the team and the whole business, leading to broken processes and bad results. Handling these situations is challenging because the toxic employee does not expect to be terminated - they cause a big drama. There could be no professionalism left when their manipulation turns out to be ineffective. According to Rimant?, flawless preparation for handling it is a must. Not only emotionally but also legally.

The best way to deal with toxic people is to identify their real needs and offer counseling or coaching. Even better - is to avoid them in the first place.

Digging deeper

Avoiding toxic hires is difficult because you cannot screen the person 100% during the interviews.

In most cases, the toxicity is not the result of poor performance or lack of technical skills; it comes from stress, dissatisfaction, or anger in their personal lives. You must dig deep to uncover such states, and pre-hiring interviews usually need to be more profound.

Benas Sidlauskas, Co-Founder at @Turing College, had experience with a complicated hire who left the whole company under immense stress. Since then, they have aimed for a deep screening before hiring. As he states, the lesson was learned. Before making the final decision, Turing College conducts an in-depth screening - 2 out of 3 founders need to confirm that the person is the right fit. Many different questions are asked, and the candidate's reaction is precisely monitored.

Your company’s culture is a delicate thing. You spend years building your brand, building relationships with clients, and ensuring everything look just right. Then, one day, you make an offer to someone who doesn’t fit the profile. It's inevitable, but it's up to you how you choose to deal with it.?