Characteristics of a Great Employee

Some years ago a massive study was conducted in America, England and Australia to try to determine the most important characteristics of successful managers. They asked over 100,000 successful managers what they believed was their most valuable skill. The number one answer was hiring the right people. If you want great success in your business then hire a great team. It sounds very simple but what constitutes a great employee? Here are seven qualities of a great employee.

1. A passion for their work.
Most employees come to work for the money; great employees come to work because they love what they do in their job. The first things to look for in a job interview are signs of passion about the job.

If you can build a whole team of people who are passionate about what they do then you will automatically achieve synergy from that team. In other words the team will achieve much more than the total potential of the individuals.

2. A firm belief that they are there to make the business successful.
Every great employee realizes that the only reason the business hires employees is to help the business be successful. The great employee has a genuine desire to help the business succeed and a sense of pride that they are part of that winning formula.

3. A dedication to self improvement and self education.
A great employee doesn't rely on the business to provide them with the necessary education. They are already committed to educating and improving themselves. They are constantly assessing their own results and looking for ways to better those results in the future.

A great employee always demands a higher standard of themselves than the boss demands of them.

4. Good people skills
Regardless of the type of job a person does, they will have to interact with other people at some point in time. Most jobs require constant interaction. A person who understands, and enjoys applying, good people skills will always be a better employee than an equally qualified person who lacks people skills.

A person who builds good working relationships with customers, suppliers, other staff members and management, is a person who is an asset to your business.

5. An ability to organize themselves.
Self organization includes time management, particularly punctuality, an ability to efficiently organize their work load, and an ability to accurately project the time it will take to complete a task.

6. The ability to either work in a team or to lead a team.
A great employee has to either be a good team player of a good team leader. Ideally they can do both and they know when they need to be in team player mode and when they need to be in team leader mode.

7. Respect for the boss
An employee who does not have respect for the boss should become an ex-employee as soon as possible. It is the boss's responsibility to develop and apply the characteristics of a good leader and it is the employee's responsibility to be a loyal follower of that leader.

An employee who lacks respect for the boss is a loose canon that no business can afford!

The next time you have to select a new employee try assessing them on these seven attributes and you will be pleased with your result. It is also valuable to assess your current employees on these seven attributes to determine who needs to be phased out and replaced with someone of better quality.