Employee Qualities That Boost Business Growth

In my experience as a business mentor, I’ve realized that many business owners don’t fully understand the value of a good employee. They often overlook what a strong team can do for their business. And I know from experience that dedicated and passionate staff who work well together can catapult you to the stars. And vice versa. If your employees are not committed, not passionate and mediocre in their work, your business will inevitably suffer.

Your employees represent your company. Customers form perceptions about your business based on their interactions with your staff. In other words, your business is as good as your employees are in the eyes of your customers.

At the same time, employees take work and responsibility off your hands. By hiring them you hand them over parts of your business, whether it is sales, finance, or marketing. This means you need to trust them greatly. After all, you’ve invested significant time and energy into building this business!

In larger organisations where many employees have been hired throughout the years, getting another employee on board is a routine exercise. With small businesses it’s different, we’ve all been there. When you are starting as an entrepreneur you know how stressful it is to get an outsider in and trust them with your business.

No matter the size of the organization, certain employee qualities are crucial for progress. My experience across businesses of all sizes and industries has shown this. These qualities are key to building a forward-moving team.

Before you ask for degrees and credentials try and make sure first that the employee you are looking to hire is:

Passionate

Proactive

When people are vested in what they do they are willing to make improvements in your business. Some of the best system and process enhancements and even innovations within organisations often come from employees. That is why you want somebody who would come up with solutions to weaknesses and gaps in your business rather than adopt a victim mentality, complain, and justify their bad performance with such issues.  At the same time, it is much healthier when solutions and approaches come from the staff rather than top-down. Embracing these ideas is easier for everyone. It also strengthens employees’ commitment when they see their contributions matter.

Fits into your company culture

Every company has a certain corporate culture. A joint demeanor, attitude, outlook on the world, and way of doing things. Your organization has a specific culture, whether you’ve intentionally built it or not. Corporate culture defines how your business is perceived by customers and stakeholders. It unites you. When a new employee comes into your company regardless of how talented and skillful, if their personality clashes with the corporate culture in your organisation, that normally creates unnecessary tension. And let’s face it – it won’t last for long.

Not afraid to experiment

Truly valuable employees are the ones who know their worth, in other words, what they are capable of doing. And because they have that confidence they can make decisions when needed and think on their feet. But also, they can take calculated risks, take responsibility for their mistakes, and admit failure. Not everybody has the personal qualities to do that and genuinely speaking many people prefer to stick with the well-established norms and tested approaches and solutions.  However, a star employee knows that failure is part of success and they are not afraid to get out of their comfort zone even at the risk of failing in the end.

Author and marketing guru Simon Sinek says:

Customers will never love your company until your employees love it first.

Based on my experience I firmly believe that this is true. This being said, if you are looking for people who have the above qualities, make sure you also provide the environment for them to unleash their potential. If you micromanage and don’t support your people when they make mistakes, you won’t build a team to support your growth. You will build a team of employees to depend on you for every move they make, afraid to ask questions and make changes and ultimately a team that won’t bring any improvements to your business.

If you have any questions or if you’d like some help and to discuss how you can strengthen your business and incorporate strategies to make it grow organically and sustainably,, you are welcome to contact me.