What are the characteristics of a good employee?
It’s a question that business leaders across the spectrum ask, and with good reason.
For just about any company, public perception ultimately comes down to the employees with whom your customers interact. Therefore, you want to be one-hundred percent certain that the people working for you are having nothing but positive impact on your business.
In order for that to happen, I believe that those employees should possess certain qualities that are necessary, no matter what industry you might be in. So keep reading to learn more about the characteristics of a good employee and you’ll see just what it takes to make your business a success behind the scenes.
Employee Traits Go Far Beyond the Skills They Bring to the Job
It goes without saying that one of the first things you want to look for when you build a business team is the skill necessary to do the job that you require, but a good employee needs much more than talent, because your business offers its customers much more than a product.
In order to ensure your customers get the kind of experience that will keep them coming back, you want to look for qualities like the following:
- Likability – Being likable not only makes customer interaction easier, it makes working within a team easier as well. This may all seem obvious, but this personality trait is first among good employee characteristics for a reason. From making simple eye contact, to showing enthusiasm, to being agreeable when it counts, it’s important for an employee to show that they will fit in with an organization so that things can proceed as smoothly as possible.
- Something Unique That Can Help You – No two people are alike, of course, but the unfortunate reality is that not everyone immediately stands out when you talk to them about open positions within your company. You want to look for someone who, above all else, contributed something significant to their last job. One of characteristics of a good employee is that they go above and beyond their job description, and that significant contribution will often highlight that very personality trait. An employee who has done something major for a past employee will bring the ability to your business.
- Curiosity – If you have a prospective employee who asks a lot of questions about the company, that is a good thing. That shows that they are genuinely interested in working for you and aren’t simply stopping by until something better comes along. That curiosity can easily extend to the actual job, as well. Thank about this: If you asked an employee about something and they didn’t have the answer, would you rather hear “I don’t know,” or “Let me find the answer for you”? Curiosity is a good employee trait because it shows willingness to constantly grow and learn, and that could potentially make that employee and candidate for a leadership position that you might need to offer in the future.
- Cooperative with You and Competitive With Them – No business gets anywhere without its leaders possessing a competitive spirit, so competitiveness is among the characteristics of a good employee for that reason. Anyone that you bring into your business should want to see it go past the competition and succeed so that it eventually becomes a household name. They will, of course, do this by working as a part of your team and realizing from the start that they are part of the larger whole. By taking on your drive to do everything possible to build a strong reputation for your business and make it so that your name become synonymous with your industry, this employee will be just as dedicated as you are in prioritizing your company’s success.
By looking for these characteristics of a good employee when you interview candidates you not only get someone who will make an immediate impact on your business, you get someone who will be able to help you shape the business in exactly the way you want for years to come. Keep these characteristics of good employees in mind when you’re looking to add to your staff. You’ll see just how much easier it is to make sure that your business plans develop in exactly the way you want.
Remember, running a business successfully does not need to be complicated. Keep it simple!
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Manny Skevofilax is a consultant and speaker that helps his clients successfully navigate the challenges of growing their businesses profitably. Since 2003, Manny helps businesses enhance their results by using his experience in strategic planning, financial statement analysis, operations, organizational development, and team-building. His consulting firm, PORTAL CFO Consulting, Inc., has attracted clients from diverse industries in the United States and abroad.
Manny can be reached at 410-808-3441 or via email at manny@portalcfo.com.