Sterling Management Resources believes organizations should hire for organizational fit in addition to skill set and core competencies. Our testament to this is our collaboration with The Omnia Group to create a profile assessment tool for clients to use, at no cost, to assess accounting and finance professionals through Sterling Management. It measures candidate traits and behaviors against a composite profile of successful financial professionals representing various industries and job levels. Because traits attributed to successful financial professionals can be applied across other vertical markets, we invite all Sterling clients to explore the benefits the tool offers. Making it available is one more way we fulfill our mission to provide comprehensive strategic partnering in our services. – Sterling Management Resources

Disturbing Behavior: Five problem personality types and ways you can modify their behavior to improve workplace productivity.

By Rhonda J. Wilson

Brian Van Bower remembers one talkative employee who didn’t know where to draw the line between becoming acquainted with clients and getting his job done.

“I just told him he needed to focus his attention and conversation on pool issues,” recalls Van Bower, owner of Aquatic Consultants Inc. in Miami. That little talk was all it took.

But often, dealing with problem behaviors isn’t so easy. Too frequently, the behaviors are allowed to continue, which ultimately hurts productivity — and the bottom line.

For example, if 1,000 employees in a large company wasted 1-1/2 hours each day, it would cost an employer 1,500 hours per day. This totals $30,000 at $20 per hour.

Staff turnover should be factored into the equation as well. “Good, honest, hard-working people do not hang around companies where these behaviors are allowed to thrive,” says Linda R. Dominguez, executive coach/strategist and owner of Executive Coaching and Resource Network in Westlake Village, Calif. “So the cost is in turnover, credibility and productivity.”

The following are five common problem behaviors, along with some tips on how to identify and deal with them.

1. The Bully

2. The Crisis-Maker

3. The Loafer/Procrastinator

4. The Passive/Aggressive