Your company is only as good as the people who work for you. But every company needs its varied cast of characters, like The Brady Bunch, That ‘70s Show, or Friends. No offense to Monica, but if she were surrounded by five identical personalities, no one would tune in for long.
Find your Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey, and Ross by hiring employees with different strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. That being said, the following four types of people are a great place to start.
#1 The Get-Things-Done Guru
The multitasker, the taskmaster, the jack of all trades, the one you go to with a quick project that needs to be handled stat. These go-getter employees will always pull through when you need them—and get you out of a bind on more than one occasion.
During the hiring process, you can use these characteristics to spot the ultimate doer:
- Their resume features multiple jobs, obligations, or personal projects at any given time. This shows they’re able to juggle plenty of responsibility. For recent graduates, did they hold leadership positions in clubs while attending school full-time with a stellar GPA?
- They took on tasks that were not necessarily within their department during their last jobs. This means they’re willing to go above and beyond for the sake of the company by stepping up as needed. The keyword here: initiative.
- They exhibit an excitement for learning, even as it pertains to other parts of the business. They’ll be eager to take on tasks that teach them new things.
#2 The What-If Worker
Despite your company’s long-established systems and expectations, it never hurts to have someone in the room who’s not afraid to ask, “but what if we tried this?” Maintaining the status quo will only benefit you for so long. You need people on your side who are always looking forward to the future, brainstorming innovative new ways to handle old problems.
This type of employee can be easily spotted in an interview through the use of hypothetical questions—what would you do if…? Their answers will always be more creative than those of their counterparts while also maintaining the thoroughness and sensibility expected of any employee.
#3 The Voice of Reason
With every innovative dreamer, your team also needs a realistic thinker—like the angel and devil perched atop your shoulders, except they’re giving you solid business advice.
Fill your team with what-if workers and voices of reason to maintain a constant working balance. You can guarantee you’ve found a reliable, logistical employee through a background check, in-depth social media search, and tradeline report.
Wait, what is a tradeline?
This underutilized metric is a type of credit report that can give you an idea of how your candidates approach personal financial management, which says a lot about how sensible and trustworthy they are. This is especially important if you’re hiring someone to work on the business side of your company—you can’t risk having two devils on your shoulder if your “voice of reason” ends up being rash and irresponsible (with money or otherwise).
#4 The Long-Term Investment
New hires with excitement, fresh perspective, and big ideas are great, but there’s something to be said for long-time veterans who know and understand every inch of your company’s industry. And in order to fill your team with long-term legends down the line, you have to hire employees with staying (and climbing) potential.
A good long-term investment will exhibit the following qualities:
- Self-starter who requires very little instruction and oversight and who shows resilience and drive when faced with obstacles.
- Shows solid intuition by asking the right questions during their interviews.
- Passionate about your company.
- Has big ideasabout long-term strategy and isn’t afraid to point out potential improvements.
- Meshes well with the current team and shares your company values.
When you find the perfect person, you have to invest your time, give them consistent feedback—both good and bad—and offer them expansion opportunities as you slowly integrate them further into your company. If you rush them up the corporate ladder, they may end up hating their job and looking for something new.
Find Your People
Every company has different needs. An accounting firm may require steadfast, nose-to-the-grindstone, toe-the-company-line types, while a creative agency needs adaptable, innovative thinkers. It all depends on your expectations of your employees.
However, everyone can benefit from a little variety—including you.