The most important part of any hiring procedure is not the interview or the practical examination but it is the assessment of all the information gathered about the applicant and deciding whether he or she is fit to work for the company or not

In this part, an employer should be able to make a clear distinction on potentially great, average and bad employees. Of course, more often than not, you would have to see their actual performance before you can actually put these labels on your employees but years of experience will teach you how to know detect good and bad employees right from the start.

To help you get to know the difference between the three, here are the major characteristics that each kind of employee displays.

Bad Employees

Bad employees are those who not only produce less but also cost you more. These are the people who are not only lazy about work, but does things that can damage the reputation of your company, turn off customers, inflict harm on co-workers, or cultivate a negative working environment.

These people are those who spend more time gossiping than working, who complain about the smallest things and who lack honesty and integrity. Examples of dishonest employees are those who extend their breaks, who ask co-workers to clock in for them when they are late or absent, or who steal from the company. It can be small items like office supplies to big amounts of money.

One good way of avoiding these kinds of people is through an effective employment screening or background check that will provide you with information about the person’s background such as education records, employment history, criminal records, Social Security number, drug testing records, credit reports, military records, medical records, professional licenses, character references, former and current residences, driving records, vehicle registration, sex offender’s list and incarceration records.

Average Performers

Average performers, meanwhile are the people who are in between the bad and great employees. They are not that bad but not that good either. They work enough to complete the task but they never work harder that what is expected of them.

More often, these people work simply for the paycheck. They do not have passion about their work and they do not have the drive to produce the best results. They are contented with results that are good enough.

It is easy to spot average performers because you can see them slouching in their chairs, appearing uninterested in what they are doing and they hardly give out a smile, as if their work is the most boring thing ever.

Furthermore, average performers tend to look for someone or something to blame during problematic situations (the computer is too slow, I always get dizzy when working too hard and so on). These people do not work until you give them instructions, they do not have the initiative to exceed your expectations. In short, average employees are those who give substandard job performance. As long as they get paid, they do not care about anything else.

Top Achievers

Productive employees, exceptional talents, top achievers—these are the kinds of people who contribute significantly to the growth and success of the company. These are the people whom employers look so hard for. A great employee is someone who…

1. Has intense passion for his or her craft

Great employees love their job. They care about it more than the paycheck. They enjoy what they do and look forward to every day at work. Even though their job is not perfect, they do not focus on minor drawbacks but more on the positive qualities of their work.

2. Exceeds the employer’s expectations

They do not only produce the best results, they work even harder to give more than what is expected of them. If an employer requests this paperwork to be done in one week, a top achiever accomplishes that within three days without compromising the quality of the work.

3. Finds something good in every situation

A great employee does not focus on minor annoyances and do not let a setback ruin their performance. These employees are solution-oriented and they never let one little (or big) problem ruin everything for them.

4. Craves to learn more

A great employee is not a know-it-all. He or she is aware that there are more things to learn about and appreciates and takes advantage of every learning opportunity presented to him or her.

More Qualities of an Excellent Employee:

1. Understands and follows instructions

2. Works independently but gets along with co-workers

3. Never lets an employer down

4. Always arrives on time and has good attendance

5. Has proactive and positive working attitude

6. Has honesty and integrity

7. Intelligent and self-confident

8. Has high energy level and creative imagination

9. Has good leadership skills

10. Flexible and can easily adapt to changes

Knowing the difference between bad, average and excellent employees will help you a lot in finding the right people who will contribute positively to the progress of your company.