Plucking a Diamond from the Rough

In any company, large or small, one employee can be the difference between success, and a costly, stressful, and non-productive work environment. Every manager or business owner faces the daunting task of building a great team filled with motivated and qualified employees at one point. When the time comes to expand your team and begin looking for prospects, do you have the experience and skills necessary to see the true potential in a prospective employee before making an offer of employment? Sadly, many managers or business owners fall victim to a trap of flashy resumes and impressive work experience but there are many other aspects that any owner or manager must take into account when hiring to ensure that they are not becoming a victim of the dreaded "C Word"; Compromise.

Begin with the End in Mind:

A great place to begin your assessment on whether a prospect would be a good fit is to inquire about their long term goals. An effective employee will have a plan of what they would like to be doing in 5 years. The answer to this question might not be working for you, but this will give you insight into their long term goals. Ambitious goals show a prospects motivation and desire to better themselves and their career skills while working with you. A sponge works best after exposed to water. Apply this concept to an employee and ensure they are willing to absorb knowledge and grow from experience.

Synergy is Key:

Synergy: A combined effort by two or more parts yielding a greater result than the sum of their individual efforts. Understanding this concept is crucial to any manager because, after all, this is the main reason additional employees are hired. When evaluating a prospect, you must consider your work style and seek an employee who shows characteristics that compliment you and your business vision. This can be applied to a simple concept such as computer brand preferences, (i.e. Windows or Mac) or to a more complicated topic that might be important to you such as an introvert or extrovert personality. Get to know yourself and your work habits before you start the search for your star employee.

Understand, Then be Understood:

Every prospect will have skills that instantly stand out. The key to finding your next star employee is finding the skills that do not. You must understand what an employee is capable of to ensure a good fit. An employee who is exceptional with one aspect of a job can be a nightmare when it comes to others. Understanding your company and the place the new hire will fit in will determine what skills they are going to need. If you need an employee who understands Excel and can provide correspondence to customers, do not hire a prospect who exceptional Excel skills but no experience writing emails or communicating with customers. Understand what the open position will demand from an employee and fill that position with experience and knowledge.

These are a few of the traits and guidelines that we, here at Resources for Excellence, use when evaluating a prospective employee to fill an open position for any of our clients. If you do your own employee management and Human Resources, please feel free to apply these concepts to your next new hire search. If you have tried over and over again to find that star employee with no success, give us a call. We have years of experience when it comes to human resources and other business management aspects that will elevate your business to new levels of Excellence. 

- Lawrence Johnson     

July 17th, 2013