Good employees are relatively easy to find; they’re the workforce on the ground that has a knack for getting things done – and all businesses need them. But truly remarkable employees? These people aren’t so easy to identify; they’re the workforce that help to grow a business – and they’re essential for success. All employers need employees who fit this remarkable bill, however identifying them isn’t always easy – especially if you have a large existing workforce with plenty of high performers.
So let’s take a look at ways to identify a truly remarkable employee, so that you can create and nurture a new kind of workforce; a workforce that’ll achieve business goals:
1. Remarkable employees believe that quality matters – always
For many employees, getting the job done to a satisfactory quality is a job well done. But to a remarkable employee, this isn’t enough – remarkable employees want to exceed all expectations, even if that extra hard works goes unnoticed 99 percent of the time.
Employers need to look out for this trait, but also remember that it’s easy to mistake the signs of a quality-conscious employee – such as taking a little extra time on a job, or trying out different ways of doing things – as inefficiency or disobedience.
2. Remarkable employees are highly creative and improve their environments
All businesses need worker bees, but they also need people who think outside the box and are not afraid of trying new things. Creativity is one of the most desirable traits in an employee for many businesses and people with creativity should be invested in, as their ideas may well improve business operations and customer relations.
Similarly with being careful when assessing conscientiousness, you’ll need to strike a fine line between creativity and risk taking – as the two go hand in hand.
3. Remarkable employees can be a little bit different
I’m no behaviourist; however in my experience most remarkable employees can be a little bit different – they can be idiosyncratic and unpredictable, quirky and wacky. But they will blend this with professionalism and style; they’ll have the ability to light up a room and motivate all those around them and mould their personality to the needs of their employer.
Employees who are eccentric and a little bit strange should be nurtured – they could become extremely valuable public-facing workers in the future, or they could become essential for motivating a workforce on the ground.
4. Remarkable employees ask for – and take on board – all input
Remarkable employees are improvers – they strive to be better, to outperform themselves every single day and they are not afraid to ask for input, whether that input is positive or negative. They’ll then take this input and apply it, while ensuring that quality is never sacrificed in the process. It’s easy to spot these individuals – they’re the ones who can’t wait for their annual performance review and are always asking for advice.
Don’t mistake this for requiring direction, though – remarkable employees know what their role is; they just want to improve how they perform in that role.
5. Remarkable employees can analyse any situation and make intelligent decisions
All roles come with a degree of pressure, and there will be times where even the most experienced employees start to show their weaknesses. Even so, remarkable employees will take a step back and analyse such situations before moving forwards – even when a deadline is near or when there’s no business-approved solution that’ll satisfy a customer.
Being good under pressure is a clear trait here. And this isn’t only good for them, it’s also good for those around them as a cool head is as contagious as a yawn.
6. Remarkable employees will not be silenced
Remarkable employees speak up when others won’t – they question the conventional and they are not afraid to do so; even if it risks their job. This, of course, can lead to a level of friction with a worker, however it’s important to remember that there is emotion behind every opinion put forth, and that remarkable employees have an innate feel for the issues and concerns of all those around them – there is usually a reason for the greater good.
Of course, remarkable employees are not idiots – they aren’t going to speak out against an employer or boss. They’ll simply analyse the situation and make an intelligent decision.
Takeaway
Remarkable employees show a number of traits that can be found in good employees – but in the case of remarkable employees these traits are amplified. Quality is the primary concern, creativity will improve their own working and they’ll strive to be better by actively seeking out input, advice and additional training. You will have such people in your workforce right now – and it’s vital that you identify them quickly and nurture them; the last thing you want is to lose them and miss out on all they can bring to your business.
