As an employer, one of your major responsibilities is to find, hire and retain an ideal employee for your team and business.  You struggle through hundreds of resumes, interview dozens of people and try to narrow it down to that one employee who possesses the right skills and right attitude to be a part of the team – hence, the ideal employee.  What qualities does an ideal employee have?  This employee will normally:   

• Be properly trained and developed

• Have individual and group development plans

• Have a wide range of competencies

• Be willing to assume responsibility

• Be self aware and aware of others

• Be able to align personal goals with employer’s goals

• Share the same values as those of the employer

• Share skills, knowledge and experiences

• See work as natural, recreational and creative

• Have the skills to solve task related problems

An ideal employee is created when their expectations of the workplace and their expectations of you as an employer are met.  How do you align the goals?  If you work with your employees to develop goals and provide opportunities to learn and grow, you are creating your ideal employees.  Additionally, with clear communication of your expectations of them and their role within the workplace, you are setting your team up for success!

Retention
Once you have your ideal employees, you must keep them.  It takes more than good pay and benefits to keep employees motivated and satisfied.  Workers most likely satisfied with their jobs share these common traits.  They:

• Have the materials and equipment they need to do their work properly

• Have the opportunity to do what they do best every day

• Feel their opinions count

• Have been recognized or praised for doing good work within the last seven days

• Feel that their supervisor or someone else at work cares about them on a personal level

• Receive encouragement for their professional development

• Have had a conversation with someone in the last six months about their progress

• Feel the company’s mission or purpose makes their job important

• Feel they have had opportunities to learn and grow within the past year.

How do you find out which of these relate to your workforce?  Simply ask your team.  Raise the issue at a staff meeting, one-on-one session, or in an employee survey.  Then respond to what you hear.  In the meantime, take time out to have fun. Whether it’s contests, pizza parties, or dress-down day, the attitudes that are created with the change of pace helps build relationships and break down barriers.

Additional Tips
Do not forget the basics when it comes to managing:

• Offer training and clearly define roles and responsibilities
• Celebrate successes
• Foster teamwork
• Offer employee perks while still getting results
• Show staff appreciation
• Reward employees for reaching goals
• Improve employee trust through better communication
• Choose an employee incentive program
• Communicate

These simple tips can have a tremendous impact on creating and maintaining ideal employees and can be motivational factors in keeping employees happy in the workplace.   

Managing employees effectively is the key to creating your ideal employees.  Your success will be a reflection of your attitude toward the business.  You set the tempo and pace for your employees.  If your standards and expectations are high, and you demonstrate your commitment to meeting these goals, they will follow.  If you show genuine care and open communication to your employees, they will respond.  If you offer a comfortable, successful working environment, they will be motivated and happy to stay.