- Substandard Co-Workers: The good employee isn’t paid enough to put up with the hiring mistakes ? the people who turn out to be lazy, indifferent, or undependable co-workers.
- Failed to Hire Tough: The employee was not a good fit for the position because the manager put out the “Help Wanted” sign and chose the person she thought interviewed best.
- Mind-Numbing Tasks: The work is boring and repetitive. The supervisor fails to find ways to make it more fun or more challenging for employees.
- No Attention or Authority: The supervisor is so busy fighting fires and doing “important things” that he never has any time to listen to his employees, yet he doesn’t give them the authority to solve problems themselves either.
- No Training: The manager doesn’t believe training is a good investment because “they’ll leave in three months anyway.”
- No Chance for Advancement: When an opportunity for advancement arises, the supervisor calls her circle of friends and hires from the outside rather than promoting from within.
- Lack of Respect: The manager has his wires crossed; he praises in private and criticizes in public.
- Given All the “Dirty Work:” When it comes to job assignments, the manager gives the worst jobs to the best people because they can be depended on to do it right and not complain.
- Lack of Recognition: The supervisor never gives employees any positive feedback for fear they might ask for a raise.
- Scheduling Conflicts: They applied for the job because the employer promised “flexible hours,” but it turns out “flexible hours” means having to work whenever and however long the manager wants them to work.
This was originally published in the October 2011 Humetrics Hiring Hints newsletter.