What makes a good employee? Although the necessary skill sets and possibly even personality types vary greatly by position and industry, there are certain traits that every leader should be aware of when considering who it is that they want to hire.
Effective leadership plays a crucial role in determining the success or failure of an organization. However, companies that provide a promising service or have the most incredible leaders can suffer the damage effects of poorly selected employees.
Although leadership is often examined through the lense of what qualities make a leader, it is critical to acknowledge that the people surrounding and supporting a leader play a pivotal role. Although it may seem nearly impossible to predict what a potential employee will bring to an organization, there are certain markers that can help determine who it is that you want joining your team.
Clarify What You Want: When hiring, make sure that you have a good sense of what your company is, where it is trying to go and what kind of people will aid in that process. Additionally make sure that the jobs you are hiring for are clear for the sakes of both the candidate and the employer. Clarity means that you know what you are looking for and are better suited to evaluate the person applying.
Proven Dedication To Their Career : When considering a prospective employee, you want to be sure that you are investing in someone who is dedicated to nurturing their career. If someone inexplicably changes jobs or careers frequently, it may be a sign that this person is not interested in staying at one place for very long. If you are looking for employees that have what it takes to commit to your company for the long haul, you may want to pass on this person.
Ability to Learn And Analyze: In addition to making sure that a prospective employee has the necessary credentials in order to perform their job, it is important to look for signs that this person has the capacity and curiosity to always be learning. Clues to this ability can appear on a candidate’s resumée or more likely while interviewing or speaking with their references. Does this person problem-solve and ask when they don’t know or understand something? Does this employee love a new challenge? Or are they more comfortable staying within the confines of what they know? The heart of this trait is that you want to know that your employees are willing to learn and to change just as your company should be doing. This desire to learn level of adaptability ensures that your employees will rarely get bored and will be an ideal pool for moving up within your company.
Fit (Compatibility): When considering any sort of partnership, the decision to proceed or disperse often comes down to fit. In this particular case, both the representative of the company and the potential employee must decide if the objectives, missions and other employees are in line with the beliefs and personality of the employee. Furthermore, the representative of the organization must truly consider whether or not they believe that the company and the employee will complement each other or not.
Interns Are There For A Reason : While many have argued the problems with the role of “intern”, there is a way to utilize this role in a way that is beneficial to both the intern and the employer. By cultivating a competitive internship program, you are already securing a vetted pool of potential employees. Although internships mean different things depending on the company, you should consider this as a chance to try out, train and vet new talent before fully committing them to your team. By screening interns as potential employees instead of temporary workers, you are creating a whole new channel for real talent.
Keep Refining The Hiring Process: In the quest for improvement, change is inevitable. Knowing this it is critical to assess and tinker with the hiring process. Evaluate the overall health of the company-employee relationship and see what is working and what could improve. If it comes down to who is or is not being hired, then perhaps it is time to reconsider the criteria used to determine who will or will not be hired.
Get Digital: Get to know who you are hiring as individuals not just as who they present themselves to be on their resumées and during interviews. Make sure that HR looks into the social media properties of potential candidates. This can paint a much more human picture of a future employee.
Although the process of hiring and building a team of employees that is effective, dedicated and growing can be challenging, there are certain strategies that leaders can use in order to find and attract the best talent for the job.