20 Great Employee Qualities (and How to Uncover Them)

20 great employee qualities

When evaluating potential hires, consider these characteristics of a great employee and gauge which are most important for the job and your organization.

1. Ambitious

Ambitious employees want to do well and continuously develop their careers. They’re often willing to take on challenging assignments and learn new things. People with ambition are typically motivated by setting high goals and working hard to achieve them.

2. Autonomous

Autonomy is an excellent quality for employees in positions with minimal oversight. Knowing you can trust your team to do their assigned work can save time and improve efficiency.

3. Collaborative

Many roles require employees to work together. When you’re hiring employees for teamwork-heavy positions, the capacity for collaboration helps substantially. Look for candidates who respect colleagues’ thoughts and ideas.

4. Adaptable

Flexibility is required in any role. Processes can change over time, and employees’ responsibilities might shift. Employees who quickly adapt to change typically grow with the organization.

5. Communicative

Most jobs require some communication with collaborators, internally and externally. Responsive employees who explain clearly and respectfully can be valuable assets. Seek candidates who actively listen and ask clarifying questions.

6. Confident

Confident employees may require less direction to excel and could be open to taking risks because they believe in their abilities. They may also feel comfortable presenting new ideas and taking initiative.

7. Creative

What works for your company today may not work tomorrow. Hiring creative, innovative employees can help keep your organization moving forward by driving continuous improvements. Creative thinkers often question the status quo and look for ways to improve long-standing practices and procedures.

8. Detail-oriented

Most jobs require some attention to detail, so it may be beneficial to hire employees who notice a project’s small elements and take the time to ensure accuracy. Detail-oriented employees can help ensure accuracy and prevent costly mistakes, particularly in high-visibility roles like accounting, engineering, and programming.

9. Enthusiastic

Employees who show enthusiasm for their work often enjoy learning new things and applying new tactics and ideas. They often bring positivity and excitement to the workplace, creating a more pleasant atmosphere.

Enthusiastic employees often enjoy their work because they’re excited to perform their duties. This trait may increase overall job satisfaction and reduce employee turnover.

10. Hard-working

Hard-working employees put in time and effort to meet their goals. They’re often conscientious, contributing as much as possible to avoid putting pressure on colleagues. Hard workers usually take extra time to complete a project to a high standard rather than submitting something unpolished or unfinished.

11. Honest

It’s vital to hire people who are truthful with you, other employees, customers and collaborators. Honest employees also tend to be transparent and accountable, which are also great employee qualities.

12. Humble

Ideally, the people on your team will feel pride in their work. Humble employees work hard because it’s the right thing to do. They’re typically more intrinsically motivated than extrinsically motivated.

13. Curious

An employee who strives to learn more and build their knowledge is almost always an asset to your company. Inquisitive people may use the information they gather toimprove work performance. Because they’re curious, these employees are also well-equipped to investigate alternative solutions and spot potential problems or opportunities.

14. Leader

A person who demonstrates an ability to delegate tasks and guide others, even early in their career, may be likely to be a strong leader for your business.

Candidates with leadership potential may also display empathy, integrity, problem-solving skills, accountability, resilience and self-awareness.

15. Empathetic

Employees who demonstrate empathy generally work well with others. They consider situations from different perspectives, and that understanding can help their performance in team-based or client-facing roles.

16. Organized

An organized employee is neat and detail-oriented. They tend to develop digital and physical systems to maintain order, which helps keep them and their projects on track.

Organized employees may save time for themselves, their department and the company by knowing where materials are and submitting work on time.

17. Passionate

Employees passionate about their work can be an assetto your company. They likely care deeply about doing a good job and meeting their goals. When passionate people also have qualities such as organization, autonomy and reliability, they’re likely to be highly productive and satisfied with their jobs.

18. Positive

A positivestate of mind helps keep employees happy and contributes to a positive company culture. Look for people who enjoy their work and maintain an optimistic perspective,despite challenges or setbacks. Positivity can help improve the entire team’s morale.

19. Proactive

Proactive employees constantly look for ways to take initiative, improve processes, identify potential issues or expand their contributions.

These employees can save your company money and time by suggesting ways to improve workflow or solving problems before they arise.

20. Reliable

Reliable employees consistently complete assignments on time, show up to work when scheduled and follow instructions when given. These employees do their jobs correctly and are accountable when things go wrong.

Why is it important to hire quality employees?

The best time to search for qualities of great employees is during the hiring process. While workers can develop positive traits, it’s often easier to cultivate characteristics they already have.

When you go into a hiring cycle knowing what personality traits and qualities you need for the role, it’s easier to put the right people in the right position. This type of hiring alignment can have a variety of important benefits:

Saves time: Matching an employee‘s qualities to the needs of the role saves valuable time on oversight and counseling, particularly formanagerial staff.
Promotes positive morale: People who have good traits for employees help keep the workplace positive, which helpsboost employee morale.
Increases productivity: Employees with the right qualities for the position are typically more productive than employees who don’t have compatible attributes.
Reduces turnover: When you select employees with qualities that match the company’s goals, values and mission, they may be more likely to stay in their jobs for the long term.
Keeps customers happy: Employees who enjoy and excel at their jobs usually have positive, effective interactions with customers.

Tips for uncovering a potential employee’s qualities

Use these tips to identify candidates with great employee qualities during the recruiting and hiring process.

1. Review their resumes

The first place to look for the qualities of a good employee is in candidates’ resumes and other application documents. First, look for keywords that describe the traits you’re seeking, such as “leader,” “reliable” or “creative.” Pay attention to the tone of the cover letter. It may hint at the person’s enthusiasm, passion or confidence.

Next, check resume bullet points to see if candidates demonstrate relevant characteristics. For example, if a person highlights team successes in addition to individual accomplishments, it could indicate that they’re highly collaborative.

2. Speak with references

A candidate’s references can help you determine whether they have the character of a good employee. Check candidate references, and after inquiring about the information on application materials, ask each one to describe the candidate’s best qualities. If the position demands a specific quality, ask about it directly. Consider calling more than one referencefor multiple perspectives.

3. Administer qualification tests

For positions that require specific skill sets immediately upon hiring,consider administering qualification tests. Choose technical and analytical skills tests specifically designed to evaluate responses to scenarios.

4. Meet with candidates face-to-face (in-person or via video call)

Many qualities of a great employee, including confidence, humility, positivity and enthusiasm, are often easiest to identify during a face-to-face interview. Phone interviews may be great for preliminary screening interviews.

However, meeting with someone in person or via video call gives you an opportunity to incorporate posture, demeanor and reactions, potentially providing a better understanding of the potential hire’s personality.

FAQs about great employee qualities

What are the most important qualities of a great employee?

Most jobs benefit from workers who are reliable and hardworking. For some jobs, certain qualities are more critical than others. For example, a remote programming job might require the employee to be detail-oriented and able to work autonomously. As an employer, it’s helpful to prioritize certain qualities and use them to evaluate each candidate.

Why do employee qualities matter?

An employee’s skills and experience can tell you if they can do a job, but their qualities help you understand how they work. Qualities can determine how effective an employee is and whether they work effectively with others. If you’re searching for a new graphic designer to work closely with the creative team, for example, you may need someone with a strong eye for design and advanced skills in illustration software. To satisfy the teamwork aspect of the position, consider looking for communication and collaboration qualities.

20 Great Employee Qualities (and How to Uncover Them)

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