Starting a business is easy. Have an idea, some skills, a customer or two, and you are in business. However, growing a business is tough. One thing you’ll learn, is to grow a business, you have to build a team. Hiring productive employees or team members will be a core focus as no one person can go it alone.
When hiring, my focus is on the person and how they will fit within the existing team. I’ve found that hiring great people that do not fit within the team can be very distracting and actually you’ll lose productivity. Having skills, you are after is great but if that person will not fit within the team, do not even consider having them join your team.
Don’t confuse diversity of team members as not being a fit. Diversity is very important to hiring productive employees and will strengthen the team as a whole. It’s great to build a team of diverse skill-set and backgrounds to provide the overall balance to a team.
When I look at hiring productive employees, I seek the following characteristics.
Integrity
Integrity is the top characteristic I look at when hiring productive employees. One must do what’s right, even when it’s tough to do.
Accountable
Taking personal accountability for one’s actions and results builds confidence and reliability. Being a service based business, our customers are relying on us to ensure we deliver results.
Teamwork
Being able to work with others and build strong relationships goes a long way. To grow, one must always seek feedback from others and be able to give constructive feedback.
Learning and Self Improvement
Technology is changing every day. New products, new methodologies, new challenges. Hiring productive employees is about find those that constantly seek to quench their thirst for learning what’s new.
Leadership
Having leadership characteristics is important to any team. Being able to step up and lead can be difficult at times but important to driving productivity.
Happy
We spend so much time working that a productive employee also knows how to have fun and be happy. I’m a believer that your attitude makes your day, even when it’s been a difficult day. Being around someone that always has a pessimistic attitude is wearing and drains your energy.
What have you found key in hiring productive employees?
