Qualities Of A Good Employee: What To Look For

Finding a Good Employee can be difficult. In a sea of potential employees, how can you find the right one for your business? Most recruiters and HR managers know that finding great employees is difficult because you can’t always measure how successful they’ll be from the skills and duties listed on their resumes.

Instead of focusing on technical skills alone, employers need to assess the characteristics that make up their ideal employee. This person could end up affecting company culture, productivity, and can lose the company money if they’re the wrong fit.

Regardless of industry or type of work, there are key qualities that every person in charge of hiring should look for when they are hoping to find top-tier employees.

Top 10 Qualities of a Good Employee

Hiring the wrong employees will cost your business time, productivity, and money. According to ShareAble For Hires’ Recruitment and Hiring Statistics infographic, “Hiring and firing a bad employee can cost up to $9,700.” That’s a big loss. To help avoid this situation, it’s important to look for the best qualities in every candidate.

You’ll need to find a balance between soft skills and technical skills when you’re searching for the best employee. Soft skills include how they conduct themselves in a social setting, their personality, and their character. High emotional intelligence and communication skills are key no matter the job role.

Soft skills complement the hard or technical skills. Technical skills are those that have been learned, can be measured, and pertain directly to the job roles. For example, a candidate’s ability to type a certain number of words per minute or use an industry-specific program.

Understanding the Importance of Their Job

An employee who knows why their job is important will be successful in their role because the individual understands their value to the company and the job role itself. They know what they’re working toward and why it matters in regards to the big picture. An employee who doesn’t understand their job fully may not know how they fit into the company dynamics and impact the process, which means that they’ll likely be less productive than a person who does have this key comprehension.

Every job at your company is important since it directly impacts productivity and your revenue, and it’s pertinent everyone on your team understands the part their role plays.

Professionalism

No matter the job role, it’s important that the employee you hire maintains a high level of professionalism. If your employee interacts with your partners or customers in any way, you’ll need them to always be professional because they are a representation of your company. Even if your employee is only speaking with other employees, they must always be professional. Unprofessional behavior in the workplace only leads to problems.

If your new employee does not maintain professionalism while on the clock, it could hurt your business—from tarnishing your reputation with your clients and customers, to disrupting the office environment and making other employees feel uncomfortable around them.

Communication Skills

Communication is key in all aspects of life, but especially when it comes to the workplace. An employee who knows how to effectively communicate can improve workplace culture by helping others instead of making other employees feel like they’re being talked down to. Similarly, those who have good communication skills don’t shy away when they need help. An employee who is too afraid to speak up about needing help with something will hinder productivity.

At the same time, communication skills are necessary for handling disputes. Employees who lack the necessary communication skills can say the wrong things to the wrong people instead of making their point effectively. Communication can keep the peace between your employees and make sure your clients are happy with the employees who represent your business.

Honesty and Integrity

Every job role should require honesty and integrity. You never want one employee stealing the limelight from the person who actually did the work. Similarly, the character of an employee can impact your business negatively or positively. A dishonest employee may be more prone to make up lies to cover up their own mistakes, steal from your business, or bad-mouth the company to others. Individuals with integrity are much less likely to cause these problems.

Creativity and Innovation

Even roles that don’t require people to flex their creative muscles can benefit from a creative person. Creative people are natural-born problem-solvers who come up with unique ways to get work done and solve issues that impact communication, productivity, and company culture.

Problem-Solving Abilities

Sometimes your employees won’t have access to the help they need, so they’ll need to come up with solutions on their own. Problem-solving skills are an absolute necessity for any job position because they require critical thinking that can help or hinder the business.

Dependability

You expect your employees to show up to work on time and only leave in cases of emergencies. However, not everyone is dependable. If your employee isn’t dependable, they’ll show up to work late, not finish their work before leaving, and leave at random throughout the day.

Not only does this decrease overall productivity, but it can make your other employees think that you’re showing favoritism by not firing the employee who is going against the company contract.

Positivity

Not everyone can be positive all the time, but finding an employee who is able to stay positive in stressful situations will have a positive impact on company culture. The opposite of this quality might be someone who throws tantrums when things don’t go his or her way or ridicules others for no apparent reason other than to make themself feel better.

Positive people, on the other hand, can keep the energy of your workplace upbeat, increasing the happiness of those around them, and in turn, boosting overall productivity.

Generosity

Your employees shouldn’t be expected to bring donuts every morning, but generosity goes a long way in an office, warehouse, or any other department of your business. An employee who is willing to take the time to help others can improve morale and make your other employees feel like someone at their job cares about them, even if it is just another employee.

Generosity can be anything from helping someone find their lost stapler, to someone who always celebrates their coworkers’ birthdays.

Knowledgeable

In addition to soft and technical skills, a good employee should have a thorough understanding of the key concepts and duties that apply to their job. For example, if a person is hired as a marketing associate, you would expect them to know a little bit about social media marketing. If the person doesn’t have this knowledge or these skills, then you likely hired the wrong person through no fault but your own for not reviewing their resume and asking them the right questions during the interview process.

With these qualities in mind, you’ll be in a better position to evaluate job candidates for any position. When it comes to uncovering whether candidates possess these qualities, you’ll need to rely on a combination of well-researched interview questions, careful review of their resume and references, and your own instincts to pick up on key personality traits. Taking the time to evaluate based on these traits will help you find employees that are not only a good fit for the role, but for your company.

Matt Casadona has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. He is currently a contributing editor for 365 Business Tips. Matt is passionate about marketing and business strategy and enjoys the San Diego life, traveling and music.