Talent means nothing in absence of discipline

By Viqué-Ocean Kahinju

Have you ever encountered a highly talented or skilled employee ruined by their naughtiness? Or have you ever experienced a toxic employee? Several organisations are bothered by such staff members.

Like bad apples among good ones in a package, they need to be disposed of as soon as possible because they can negatively influence the rest of the staff and potentially, the entire organisation, says Benjamin Agasa, an organisational psychologist at the Chartered Institute of Professional Development in Entebbe.

Unfortunately, though, notorious employees can be hard workers who achieve a lot and can be major contributors who strive to bring their ideas to fruition. For such people, developing their moral fibre and people skills is not a priority.

Their behaviour can be a nightmare to their bosses, says Agasa. "Their intolerable personality can affect teams and present management with a huge headache," he adds. "Something needs to be done to prevent such a bad behaviour before real trouble strikes?"

Though talented and productive, these people can engage in behaviour that is harmful to an organisation. For instance, they argue unnecessarily, and or disparage the contribution of their coworkers.

They may gossip or bad-mouth colleagues and bosses openly. They may expose company secrets and sometimes withhold ideas or terminate projects and not consider both the business outcomes and the impact on fellow employees.

And they can look down on others to such a point that colleagues can become so disappointed that they quit, reducing and even weakening the team. According to Organisational Psychology System, avoiding such people can save companies more costs.

However, Agasa says these people can reform if given opportunity to clean-up their character. But, he says if they fail to heed advice or react to the reprimand from management, they should be fired. Top talent or skills mean nothing without discipline.

Management should keep records of the employees' misdemeanours for reference when they fire them to avoid unnecessary complaints, he warns. Employers should look out for certain characteristics, especially during an interview, so as to avoid employing such a person, according to Joseph Mukose, a human resource expert.

If a potential candidate for the job seems to be unco-operative or contradictory to the values of the organisation, know that they are toxic and will cause confusion in the company, he notes.

The interviewer should pay attention to what the person says and does avoid. Usually, the personality traits of a difficult employee come through rather obviously when they are given the chance to talk.

Some may come off as over-confident, self-centered and arrogant. Mukose, however, says it may be hard to single out the suspect traits, so the interviewer should ask directed questions like "advise me about a team project or development".

Other tips include:

• Think about running personality tests.
• Confirm references before hiring.
• Set clear expectations directly.
• Have a comprehensive job description to which you both agree upfront.

"If you fail to agree on most issues stipulated in the interview, be frank to the interviewee and inform them that you come from different worlds and you cannot work together," Mukose says.