Some businesses have good employees, but the best businesses have great ones! There’s a significant difference between good and great. Good employees do their work as you would expect and rarely cause any issues. Great ones do all of this but take things to the next level and go above and beyond what’s expected of them.
So, how do you ensure that you end up with great employees instead of good ones? Realistically, it all comes down to your hiring process and the key things to look out for to identify the difference between a potentially great employee and just a plain old good one. Speaking of which, here are some things to consider:
What do previous employers say about them?
A good way of seeing if someone is a great employee is to see what their previous employers say about them. If they receive rave reviews and their former employers are really upset that they left, then this indicates they’re clearly a very valuable employee. If their previous employers aren’t properly raving about them and don’t give a glowing review, then it’s possible they’re good at the most and not great.
Do they fit your company culture?
This refers to how someone fits in with the culture of your business. All businesses have a culture within themselves which is reflected in the way they do things, their beliefs, and the direction they see the company going. If you someone is a cultural fit, then it also tends to mean they’ll get along well with everyone and slip into their position without any issues. When someone doesn’t fit the culture, then there’s more chance they won’t have a seamless transition to your business, and they may have differences of opinion with other employees and so on.
Are they asking you any questions?
For me, one of the telltale signs of a great employee is that they’re asking questions during a job interview. Good employees will answer every question you fire at them, and they’ll usually do a pretty decent job as well. The majority of the time, what separates the best from the rest is that they have some questions to ask you. This shows they have an interest in your business, the confidence to give you a bit of a grilling, and that they’re willing to do a little bit extra to make a good impression. This could transfer into their performance for your business as they’ll always try and go the extra mile.
Now, it could be possible to turn good employees into great ones, so don’t feel like you’ve made bad choices if your employees aren’t as great as they can be. However, the easiest thing to do is to ensure you make the right recruitments in the first place. Take a look at the questions above, and you’ll soon figure out the difference between a good employee and a great one. Then, you’ll have a business full of exceptional employees that are all working towards a common goal; to help you succeed!