At some point in time, most companies will need to expand their team and build out departments. Reasons for expanding and hiring new employees vary. Whether the company is becoming more innovative with team culture, looking to bring in new and refreshing management styles, or the business is simply growing, new hires are a necessary part of the process. It is very common for hiring staff to put an enormous emphasis on picking the candidate with the best personality. Instead, recruiters and management teams should invest the time and dig deep in order to attract top talent within a respective industry. Regardless of the position, there are certain qualities that management should look for when considering onboarding a new team member.
Understands Company’s Mission
When job seekers are looking for employment, applicants are quick to glance over a company’s core values on their About Us page. Sure, including buzz words from a company’s mission statement will sound great on a cover letter, but by no means does that equate to the applicant actually possessing the company’s core values.
New applicants should be mindful of a company’s values and be able to explain how they plan to apply them to daily duties and responsibilities. Instead of managers simply asking applicants to which company value is their favorite, managers should push these types of questions a little further. Challenge the applicant by asking, “Which value would you anticipate struggling with the most and how would you plan to mitigate these issues?” Managers should look for applicants that are not only willing to engage with a company’s core values but are also clever enough to use them to complete their work regularly.
Be Consistent…and Humble.
A manager’s dream would be to have all their employees understand their individual tasks and be able to produce consistent results time and time again. While also providing consistent results, a real standout employee will have humility as one of their main qualities.
When entering the interview process, applicants think it is crucial to look their finest by only providing examples of their best work. While highlighting one’s accomplishments is great, some applicants can come off too strong when only describing their successes and not touching on any areas in which they could improve. This indicates they may get caught up in their individual accomplishments rather than the success of the company as a whole.
Almost always, there is a way to spin negative experiences into positive lessons to learn from. All applicants have gone through difficult work turmoil. Instead of opting out and throwing in the towel, much can be learned by working collaboratively with others. Humble employees will speak more to the contributions from others and how they were able to overcome a difficult time together.
Be Approachable and Reliable
Being curious about others’ success is a great quality to look for in new employees. The more willing new employees are to volunteer their own time to their colleagues’ success, the more approachable they will become. Having this vital support will help to alleviate work stress and make for a more cooperative environment. Colleagues will be intrigued by this type of involvement within the workplace and be inspired to do the same.
It is safe for new employees to be soundboards for their colleagues, but employees should never turn this opportunity into a time for gossip. When professionalism is maintained, employees will begin to look to each other as reliable resources to turn to for advice and support. However, some employees might want to lean on leaders an excessive amount. It is advised to know when to pump the breaks and keep the positivity flowing so no one gets worn down.
Works Autonomously
Who doesn’t love a go-getter with a can-do attitude? Just give them the right resources- and off they go, solving every problem that stands in their way. Working autonomously means cutting out unnecessary communication and taking the lead with minimal guidance. Managers love to see this quality in new employees when done correctly.
If new employees can prove they have worked autonomously successfully in the past, they should then have free rein to act on their own authority. This is if and only if they can accurately compute their workflow data back to managers.
Managers want to know how to track their employee’s success and how employees plan on tackling projects. If employees are able to maintain their drive while also documenting their process, they should have no problem with executing their own success.
High Sense of Self-Awareness
Being self-aware is not only beneficial to have outside the office, but great employees bring this trait into their professional life, as well. Having the quality of being self-aware is a balance of both patience and confidence and is critical for an individual’s reputation, growth and daily progress in the workplace.
Self-aware employees are likely to be open-minded and embrace new thoughts and ideas. These characteristics help to smooth out any bumps that can occur while implementing new processes. Employees who are more self-aware are more sympathetic and willing to work with and help improve other colleagues’ shortcomings.
Considering the perspective of other’s takes time but is vital if new employees desire to build their synergy. Simply taking the time to understand where another colleague is coming from will help implement more self-awareness in the workplace.
Hard Working and Enthusiastic
Managers want new employees who are ready to work and remain positive and enthusiastic even while tackling challenging tasks. All too often, managers are tempted to hire mediocre employees due to a minimal number of applicants. When interviewing, hiring managers should see that applicants that have astounding can-do attitudes while also hitting deadlines and consistent results.
In positions that may require employees to be remote much of the time, like property management, hiring someone willing to work hard will give you confidence knowing the job will get done without having to give constant direction.
Bottom line, hard workers are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Positive attitudes are an amazing asset to have around the office, but hard-working employees are essential. When deadlines are approaching quickly, some colleagues feel obligated to help at the last minute. Instead, you need someone who will be enthusiastic to take on the work when first assigned and who won’t give up until it’s completion.
Conclusion
When recruiting staff, companies should put a greater emphasis on seeking out professional qualities over personality or technical skills. Management should take the proper amount of time to seek out the top talent in the industry. The qualities described above should help managers consider the best candidate in their hiring journey.