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Dramatic changes have occurred in our industry over the past three years and the stakes are higher than ever. In general, our world has become hypercompetitive and staying in the game with less than the best players on your team doesn't make sense. Examining the characteristics and attributes important to you and your company's success and evaluating your current team in terms of who you will support and who you may need to eliminate are the keys to success in today's market '“ and the way to building employees you can't live without. These are the employees that best selling business author Seth Godin refers to as 'linchpins'? in his latest book, Linchpin. They are true team players.
Creating this all-star team often requires hiring new staff. After going through the evaluation process, you may need to make hiring decisions based on your assessment of gaps in talent and skills. If you are 'filling in'? skills and talent around your existing employees, be certain they deserve to continue with the team as your company recovers, expands and realizes the ownership's vision for the next decade. Remember it is extremely important to have right team members who possess the attributes of a can't-live-without employee, not to mention you owe it to your existing staff to provide like-minded colleagues.
Qualities you might want an employee to posses include being trustworthy, ethical, dependable, disciplined in thought and action, resilient, passionate about the product/ service, creative, good communicators, enthusiastic, confident, efficient, and/or responsible. If any of your employees fall short of your expectations, you may have a team member who will not fit into the long-term strategy of your company and/or you may have a great opportunity to re-evaluate either you or your management team's style in providing a healthy team environment.
When all is said and done, hiring and retaining the right person is only part of the equation. The organization and management has to cultivate an environment in which all members of the team thrive and grow together through collaboration and trust.
