The 5 “ITs” All Great Employees Should Have
Founder + Partner + CEO
Published Monday, October 26, 2020
As businesses begin to open back up and rehire their workforce, now is the time to build a team with the qualities to succeed. As the CEO of ScreenBroidery, I consistently analyze our ever-changing company needs and culture. Importantly, I question what it takes for all employees to work well together, and what do our outstanding employees have in common that forwards our mission and bottom line? What is the “IT” that our employees have that makes them and our company successful.
Come to find out the “ITs” are not teachable or trainable – they are simply parts of their personality, underlying work ethic, and learned experiences that embody their human nature.
Here are the 5 “ITs” ScreenBroidery team members have, and all employees should have:
Know Yourself – Confidence is a critical value in all positions. To have confidence in anything, you must understand yourself, know your values, and have solid, unwavering positions of general ideas. Know what you stand for and stick to it! Personal values have nothing to do with our organization and everything to do with the employee. His/her views do not need to be complicated and can include favorite foods, favorite songs, or thoughts on President Trump. There are no right or wrong answers, but the idea of personal understanding and acceptance is simple and powerful. If you do not have confidence in yourself, how can you have confidence in the products you are selling, or in the accounting decisions you make, or the process you improve?
Be Unselfish – Hard work and an ability to hustle is hard to find these days, but lack of it is an accurate measure of selfishness. Those that work hard do so unselfishly. They show up early and stay late, they respond to messages after hours, are willing to come in on the weekends when needed. Simply they operate as owners – not because it is their job but because they believe in the company’s mission and everyone’s overall success within the organization. They care about ensuring they pull their weight not to let the team down.
Get and Keep Customers – Every position in the organization is designed to either get customers or keep customers – and sometimes both. This role is the measure of every person in our organization. Those who understand this find ways to expand on the idea and generate pride and revenue. Whether they are in sales or not, they always refer customers, they post messages about their work on Facebook, and they wear company apparel outside of the office.
Resolve Issues – Great employees will identify opportunities for improvement and take the initiative to change them. Everyone identifies bottlenecks and limits of our systems, but great employees will not accept the limit and work to change. Our employees initiate the change on their own accord and bring me in only if needed.
Inspire Others – Good employees help to better themselves, but great employees help better those around them. Our employees view their role as part of a team, and when the team wins, they also win, and we all share rewards!