Qualities of a Great Employee

Identifying high-value job candidates and employees is a crucial aspect of any business. If you are a wise entrepreneur, then you will have put considerable care into your hiring protocols and hold frequent performance reviews along with clear guidelines.  

This guide can help you and your hiring managers better identify the intangible aspects of individuals that can be a great resource to your firm. 

Appreciate Ambition

 While it may not always show up in his or her work metrics, look for employees and candidates that demonstrate a growth mindset. People with this worldview are looking to constantly improve themselves, be it in or out of the workplace.

 Appreciate those who talk about their hobbies and passions with a desire to learn and improve, as this almost always crosses into their attitude at work.

 An ambitious worker can always be taught, while a capable but unwilling employee can be a drag on both the productivity and morality of all those around them.

 Ambition can also be infectious, as growth-minded workers are usually positive people and can motivate the rest of your firm to improve themselves.

 Search for Cooperative Independence 

Going with ambition, eager workers are often quick to learn their jobs so that they can perform without excessive supervision, but this should not be confused with isolation. Any successful team needs to strike a balance between autonomy and communication with the rest of their department. This will depend largely on an individual’s role within a firm, but the concept remains the same.

Don’t confuse constantly needing assistance with being a good teammate. Good employees should be willing to ask for help when necessary, but they should never want to be a drag on production. A good crew should want to give back as much as they can while learning how to handle their role.

Hire Humility 

Much like maintaining harmony between independence and being a good team member, you need to find the proper balance between ambition and humility. High-performing but arrogant employees can quickly rise to become toxic leaders that poison your business. 

Seek ambition, not arrogance. Positive but ambitious employees grow precisely because they are humble to admit that they aren’t perfect and can always be doing better. Surrounding your employees (and also yourself) with these personalities will always result in good outcomes no matter what your company provides. 

This can be especially difficult as many candidates know the right words to say in an interview but don’t always do the right thing in their actual work. This is partially why the traditional annual performance review is going away in favor of more frequent evaluations.

Curate Confidence 

Humility does not mean meekness. Find employees that are growth-minded but confident in their current abilities. These workers are often innovative, take calculated risks, and don’t require constant assurance and supervision that they are doing their work properly. 

Candidates that are demure or too quick to agree during the interview process might become well-meaning employees, but their constant need for advice or comfort might not work well in your business model. A lack of confidence can even be disastrous in fast-paced, high-stress, or even dangerous work environments. Encourage your workers, but avoid those who need coddling. 

No interview or performance evaluation protocol will ever be perfect, and this is mostly because work culture and employee production can’t always be broken down into concrete numbers. Intangibles can make or break a seemingly stable business model. 

Never forget to pay attention to the social or soft skills of your employees/potential hires. If you’re interviewing a candidate that is unproven technically but demonstrates the previous qualities, then you might have found a diamond in the rough. 

For all other company culture or hiring advice, Corporate Business Solutions Consultants can make sure that your entire staff is happy and productive.