Can You Discern a “Toxic Hire”?
Candidates are naturally on their “best behavior” during the interview phase of the employment process, so how can one tell whether or not they will be team players or dysfunctional nuisances once on the job? The latter are usually quite good at disguising dysfunctional traits, so interviewers need to know what to look for in the hiring process. According to online sources, the following steps can be useful in ferreting out those who will be “toxic” once in the workplace:
Ask all employees that the candidate has interacted with to flag any negative behaviors. Start by giving your finalist candidate an identification badge at check-in that makes it visually clear to everyone that they are a finalist interviewee. And then encourage each of your employees who interacts with them outside of the interview, when their guard is down, to report any indications that they might be toxic. Educate each of their likely contacts at all levels and make sure that they are fully aware of what they are expected to report and how it will benefit the company. After the candidate has left the building, have these employees immediately report any red-flag “toxic” behavior.
Ask your recruiting staff to identify any red flags. Because most employee interactions with a top candidate (both formal and informal) are likely to be with the recruiting staff, it is vital that you include this step: specifically ask all involved recruiters, coordinators, interns, etc. to first identify and then report any negative jerk behaviors and/or negative attitudes.
Schedule one-on-one informal meetings with a member (or more) of the team. Candidates are more likely to let their guard down during what appears to be an informal one-on-one meeting with a future teammate. You should schedule at least one “one-on-one” meeting between your candidate and one of the team’s key employees. Place it in a completely informal setting (usually over coffee or during a brief stroll).
Give the candidate a facility tour. “Zappos” found that candidates are likely to be relaxed and themselves during a facility tour. Therefore, after the interview, give your top finalist one of these brief tours. And throughout the tour, listen intently to the candidate’s interactions with the employees they meet. Also, pay attention to the types of questions that the candidate asks during the tour. Use those questions to assess the candidates’ research on your company and their genuine interest in working here.
Schedule a peer interview. Consider supplementing your regular interviews with peer interviews. Peer interviews (without a manager present) have been shown to be quite effective in developing an accurate picture of the candidate. The candidate is much more likely to let their guard down and to be frank. In addition, because the teammates will realize that they may eventually work alongside this individual. They will be extremely diligent in identifying any potential signs that this candidate may be toxic.
Schedule an after-work social activity – depending on your company’s policies and culture, consider after-work drinks or dinner. Zappos found them to be highly effective.
Employee referrals can count as an added assessment step – your top-performing employees aren’t likely to make a referral of someone that they don’t know extremely well. Thus, if your finalist is a referral from one of your top employees, you should treat the fact that they are a referral as another indication that they are not toxic.
Ask their Uber driver – if you will be supplying a candidate with Uber rides. Recruit a designated Uber driver and educate them about their assessment role for your company. Especially after rides to and from the interview, have the Uber driver call you when they see any red flags. And in the cases where you are putting the candidate up in a hotel, ask the desk clerk to report any troublesome or bad behavior after they check out. (Richard Branson once disguised himself as the Uber driver for all candidates. They were all rejected because of their attitudes toward their perceived “inferior.”)
Finally, decide whether to include your normal cultural fit assessment – Unfortunately, most corporate assessments of fit are severely flawed. Because corporate fit is seldom clearly defined, most of the assessment factors are painfully subjective. However, if you have data showing that your particular fit assessment method has been accurate, add it to your toxic identification checklist.