Why New Workers Fail

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Author(s): Anonymous

According to a recent study by Leadership IQ, 46% of newly hired employees will fail within 18 months, while only 19% will achieve unequivocal success. Contrary to popular belief, technical skills are not the primary reason why new hires fail. Instead, poor interpersonal skills dominate the list, flaws which many of their managers admit were overlooked during the interview process. The three-year study by Leadership IQ, a global leadership training and research company, compiled these results after studying 5247 hiring managers from 312 public, private, business, and healthcare organizations. The following are the top areas of failure, matched with the percentage of respondents:

* Coachability (26%). The ability to accept and implement feedback from bosses, colleagues, customers, and others.

* Emotional Intelligence (23%). The ability to understand and manage one's own emotions, and accurately assess others' emotions.

* Motivation (17%). Sufficient drive to achieve one's full potential and excel on the job.

* Temperament (15%). Attitude and personality suited to the particular job and work environment.

* Technical Competence (11%). Functional or technical skills required to do the job.

In hindsight, 82% of managers reported that their interview process with these employees elicited subtle clues that they would be headed for trouble. But during the interviews, managers were too focused on other issues, too pressed for time, or lacked confidence in their interviewing abilities to heed the warning signs. Emphasis on interpersonal and motivational issues were critical interview factors.

Copyright Society of Manufacturing Engineers Dec 2005
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