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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No its your friendly neighborhood workplace hero!
We live in highly competitive times.
Thus your company may face increase in employee attrition, due to more job options, spread of the big entrepreneurial dream & a very flighty millennial talent pool.
Yet, you want only the finest talent to work with you.
So, the best way to remain the ‘employer of choice’ is to identify and retain your top performers.
Here are the top 14 traits to look out for in your employees, and then pick out the deserving few.
And once you zero out the workplace heroes, don’t forget to reward them!
1. Cultural-fit: A recent survey states that 85% managers want candidates who have the right attitude (cultural fit). So the super-performer assimilates quickly with your company culture, and thus ensures seamless continuity in business.
2. Feedback is king: Your top-employee does not shy away from asking for feedback. If constructive feedback is given, then he acknowledges the need for improvement and works on bringing about that change.
3. Adaptive & flexible: He is flexible and can easily understand co-worker and client needs.This means that your employee can sort out workplace issues, by being more accommodating than the rest.
4. Team-player in the ‘howse’: He does not work in silos but works with the team to complete tasks, from planning to execution.
5. Stress Buster: Research states that 90% of top performers have strong stress-management skills. So your ideal employee has an even temperament, which would mean fewer nasty fights and emotional drama at the workplace
6. Organisation is key: He is organized and prepared to get the most out of meetings; this is turn increases effectiveness and helps save time. This is an important trait, as a recent research claims that employees operate at just over 55% effectiveness, as they are not able to manage their time properly.
7. Money matters: He is able to save costs for his team, and spends money only when necessary.
8. Tech-geek: He understands and stays up-to-date with the latest technology; so that the know-how can make work easier for him and his team
9. A student for life: He always places training and development, high up in the agenda. This is because he understands that organizational learning measures very highly correlate to greater productivity.
10. Accountability: He realizes that he need to be completely responsible for his work and take the blame for any mistakes he commits
11. Intelligent Leader: This may seem like a very basic qualification to have, but a good combination of smarts and management capabilities goes a long way to mold the perfect employee.
12. Attention to detail: They say that there is God in detail. But it is those employees who pay attention to details that end up being perceived as ‘god-sent’ to their managers.
13. Thorough professional: He is always true to his word, avoids skiving off work and is a thorough professional. An honest employee makes for a dependable employee.
14. Give this man a mic, somebody: He believes in communicating, communicating and communicating some more – be it through relaxed and non-threatening body language or verbal communication. This ensures that there is no room for misunderstandings and conflicts are not unaddressed
As a manager, you want your workforce to be loyal, passionate, focused and even work for a nominal pay. But it would be fool-hardy to lose out on the perfect candidate, in the attempt to save some money.
To get the best talent, you need to offer them the best incentives to pick you over others. For some great ideas on how to do this, read:
- The Most Epic Employee Motivation Checklist
- With Variable Pay, make your employees an offer they cant refuse
So next time when you sit down to evaluate your employee’s performance, make sure your checklist have all the above mentioned traits for a top performer. It will surely make your decision making capability logical and better!
