Prevent Bullies from Joining Your Team Through These Strategies
Bullies don’t have any business whatsoever in a company. They might be highly qualified or they have credentials to back their job application up. The problem is that they could potentially bring other people down because of their attitude, and this could still bring the entire company down. You might see your people leaving gradually because they could not stand the bully whom you have hired to be a part of the group. Here are some ways to avoid having them in your company in the first place.
When doing interviews, focus on personality
The problem with employers is that they usually think of qualifications when interviewing someone instead of looking at their attitudes. You have already checked their qualifications through their resume. It is not like you can test how well they would perform by simply doing the interview. Attitude on the other hand can be easily gauged during the interview. You will know it based on their responses and how they say their answers. You will also get their “vibe” while speaking with them. It can be tested with how they create emails or reply to chats.
Have a team dealing with the hiring process
The problem with just a few people doing the hiring is that they might not gauge the attitudes and personalities of all applicants. Having a diverse group can see the quality of their responses or their mannerisms during the interview in different perspectives. It is suggested having ordinary employees and not just executives doing the interview. Besides, they will be working closely as a team more than just reporting to the managers. You will also know how different they are when responding to someone on the top and someone whom they think as co-equals.
Hire someone only if the decision if unanimous
This comes with a huge risk but some companies believe it works. The unanimous rule states that everyone has to agree with the decision of hiring someone. Just one person vetoing the decision could lead to the rejection of that applicant. It is also a good strategy to ensure that these 12 people become willing to help out in letting this new employee succeed. If one does not feel well about somebody from the hiring process alone, the rest of the employees might also have the chance of disliking the said person. It is not a perfect rule, but it could help.
Make the interview more casual
Instead of a formal office setting for the interview, go out for lunch or do the interview in a cozier location. This is where you can really see the true personality of the person. The responses also become more organic and less structured. The questions should also determine their personality more and how they would act in different situations than just testing how well they know something.
The ultimate goal here is to avoid having bullies at work. You won’t necessarily stop all other bad attitudes, but you can at least prevent one major issue from crippling your other employees.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) from USA (LeBlanc Construction Photos 2012) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
2nd image by National Assembly for Wales from Wales (Business Breakfast Meeting) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
