When you are recruiting staff there is a lot you need to consider. You will need to think about the individual’s suitability for the role, their ability to fit into the company culture as well as the value they can bring to your business.
With over 10 years’ experience recruiting top graduates; we know what qualities and soft skills are required in a good employee.
Give A Grad A Go have come up with a definitive list of the top qualities to look for in an employee. Good employee qualities go beyond matching the job description.
Our expert recruiters would advise that you should look at 3 main categories when hiring employees; the candidate’s personal skills, professional skills and their suitability to your business.
1. Personal Skills
Excellent written and verbal communication
Communication skills are vital across all industries and sectors. A good employee will be able to communicate clearly what they are doing and why they are doing it. They will also be able to clearly understand when others converse with them, whether that be their colleagues, clients or suppliers.
Autonomous way of working
Having the ability to work in a role independently is another important attribute. Asking questions when necessary, but trying to seek the answers out using their own initiative first, is a great quality to have as an employee. This in particular is ideal for managers as it saves time for them and the employee will likely to be given more responsibility which can help their career progression.
Active listening skills
If the candidate you are interviewing is a good listener, then they are likely to also be a fast learner. This is because they will be able to proactively hear and retain information they have heard and apply it to their work, utilising it productively for the advantage of the company.
If you are looking to find an employee with strong active listening skills, we recommend setting some tasks during the graduate interview process, to test candidate’s listening skills. This is also a good way to measure candidate’s interest in the role, as people tend to more easily retain information they have an interest in.
Confidence in their abilities
There are benefits to hiring extroverted employees and benefits to hiring introverted employees. If your employee has a good balance and the confidence to be able to execute projects, pose questions and voice new ideas and opinions, then they could be a valuable asset to your company.
Positive attitude and outlook
While some roles require specific training or qualifications, a soft skill that will be beneficial in every industry is positivity.
If your employees build a positive attitude in your company then this will increase motivation, productivity and employee satisfaction.
Positivity is a key thing to look out for in an employee, and it is it your responsibility to keep your employees motivated and happy by offering incentives and acknowledging their positive mind-set.
Why not reward ‘Employee of the Month’, to show recognition of good attitude. It’s no secret that any employee would love to be rewarded for their services, so it makes sense to think about team incentives and look for the perfect corporate gift at Successories.
