I am proud to run an organisation that is laden with superstar employees. The success of E-Web Marketing is down to the incredible work ethic, determination, passion, skill and responsibility of my employees. Yet finding superstars to help your organisation thrive can be a difficult process. How can you separate the cream of the crop from individuals who are just going through the motions in order to get their weekly or monthly pay packet? Fortunately, my experience has enabled me to discover a trio of great qualities that every superstar employee has and I am going to share them with you below.
1 – Passion Over Profit
One thing the general public dislike is a company that indulges in naked profiteering. Such organisations live only for the almighty dollar and see customer service as an inconvenience. This happens because these businesses have no real core values and hire anyone whose first and only goal is to make profit by any means necessary. Yet even companies which have customer service as one of their core values can be infiltrated by employees looking for the quick score with no regard for the consumer.
The best companies understand that passion is one of the main reasons why they have such success. They fill their organisations with people that are genuinely passionate about what the company stands for, the products/services offered and most importantly, what they can do for the customer. A superstar employee is motivated by the industry and how it can improve the lives of others. When you focus on passion ahead of profit, you will actually enjoy a greater level of revenue! Every single person I’ve surveyed said that they would do business with a company that values the customer ahead of profit if everything else was equal. Imagine that, consumers choosing the company that cares the most about them. Who would have thought it?
2 – Being Proactive
Inefficient employees are like chemicals; they remain in their current state until something induces a reaction. Superstar employees take the initiative and are always looking for ways to improve their performance. They don’t wait for you to give them a project; they go out there and find one for themselves. They don’t wait for customers to complain about the service, they look for potential flaws in your company’s makeup that could lead to future complaints.
3 – Taking Ownership
If you employ staff with a ‘victim’ mindset, you will always lag behind the competition. In a recent blog solving employee performance issues, I spoke about the importance of letting employees find their own solutions. Superstar employees know what is expected of them and never look to place the blame on anyone else. They shoulder the responsibility with pride, refuse to make excuses and never complain about their workload because they know they have the ability to do it all at a high level of performance.
Taking ownership includes an ability to look ahead and be aware of their work’s end result. They instinctively know if they are heading in the right direction and are not afraid to alter their strategy if it seems apparent that their current plan will not yield long-term results. When you combine personal responsibility with a desire for results, you have a superstar employee that will stand by their work.
The combination of passion, proactivity and taking ownership leads to a superstar employee that loves his job, is constantly looking to improve and will always admit an error and look to immediately rectify it. Best of all, the enthusiasm displayed by these individuals is infectious and spreads through a company in no time. The colleagues of superstar employees can’t help but raise their game once they are in the presence of such high quality personnel. I consider myself very fortunate to have a team filled with these qualities at E-Web Marketing.
Are there any qualities missing from our list? What would your definition of a ‘superstar employee’ be?