The reason most employees don’t work out is that the company didn’t do their homework upfront. In hiring, companies often fail to fully appreciate both what attributes are necessary for success in a certain role and what attributes a candidate possess.
William T. Brooks authored the following list in his book, The New Science of Selling and Persuasion: How Smart Companies and Great Salespeople Sell. This list is a great starting point for putting together a profile for potential employees in any position. These attributes apply for every role within your company, from finance to human resources, and every job in between. They are in no certain order and the importance of each individual quality will vary by role. Try reordering them by significance based on the position you are looking to fill.
- Self-starting
- Goal Achieving
- Customer Focused
- Empathetic
- Objective Listener
- Influencer of others
- Leader of others
- Continuous learner
- Planning and organizing
- Developer of others
- Flexibility
- Results of orientation
- Conceptual thinking
- Resiliency
- Decision making
- Team player
- Problem solving
- Personal accountability
- Diplomacy and tact
- Self-management
- Conflict management
- Interpersonal skills
- Accountability for others
Check back next week for a post on how to use these attributes to guide your hiring.