For many businesses, one of their most difficult processes is recruitment.
This is because finding individuals who are the right fit for your company is not as straight forward as most people anticipate. In the first instance, a lot of businesses think that they can post a job advert online and the model employee will walk through their doors willing to tick all boxes within a matter of days and unfortunately, this simply isn’t the case.
What often happens is that the wrong kind of people apply for the position and in many instances, the wrong people are hired for one reason or another. This leads to disappointment and frustration on both sides, and it makes the whole process of growing a department or a business both arduous and disappointing.
Sometimes, individuals are hired for their skillset alone, yet their personalities simply don’t gel with the existing team in place. This can quickly create a divide and in some cases, resentment or tension. In other companies, people can be hired on a ‘who you know’ basis, whereby a friend or colleague has referred them as a great addition to the team, only for them to start and be underqualified or lesser skilled than expected. The list can go on and on, and the circle of recruitment can be endless.
However, this needn’t be the case for many businesses out there if you look for, and focus on, the 3 most important traits in employees.
Serial entrepreneur, Gilles Baudet, owns a range of nationwide businesses and has experienced recruitment from multiple angles and has found that – skillset aside – if you can find employees or people to work with who embody 3 key traits, your success and retention rate can be transformed.
Here are the 3 most important traits in employees, according to Glasgow entrepreneur, Gilles Baudet:
Positive Attitude
Attitude is everything, particularly in the workplace. A positive mental attitude can totally transform the way an employee deals with a difficult situation, or hitting a deadline, or performing a task, or well, anything! Their general outlook and demeanour in terms of attitude can totally dictate the atmosphere and vibe in the office environment. This ultimately contributes to your company culture and as a result, will directly affect the efficacy and productivity of your team. The same can be said for a negative attitude – which can be toxic and detrimental. If the person you’re interviewing shows a positive attitude with their personality and possible examples of where they have remained positive in the face of professional adversity, this is definitely a green flag!
Student Mentality
In order to become the best employee, you must always be keen to learn. Without a passion for extending your knowledge and understanding of your practice, you will soon fall victim to outdated practices and ultimately, become dated in your skillset and fall behind. When you are interviewing prospective employees, take note of how often they mention learning and development and how important they feel this is. When and if they start working for you, make sure this is monitored. In fact, if they have a student mentality, you won’t need to monitor it, as it will be clear that they are developing and becoming better and more effective at what they do, and they will certainly ask a lot of questions and network with those around them to improve!
Strong Work Ethic
When it comes to work ethic, this is key to look for in any new hire. A strong work ethic means that your new employee is essentially committed to getting the job done – whatever it takes. This doesn’t always mean working every hour God sends to the point of burnout. What it does mean is that if they don’t have the answers, they’ll look for them. If they’re not sure how to do something, they’ll find out and figure it out. It means that if they have 1 hour to perform a 90 minute task, they may find a more effective way to get it done in the time allotted. A person will a weak work ethic will perhaps turn up late, do the bare minimum – if that – and leave, with little commitment or care for their role or responsibilities. When interviewing, ask questions that will allow you to find out more about how a prospect team member would approach certain tasks or scenarios to find out where their head’s at, because if they have a strong work ethic – you’ll soon find out!
So, when you’re ready to make your next hire, what will you look for?