Any time you hire a new employee, you run the risk of getting a lemon. Even if standard hiring procedure is followed, sometimes weeding out the less than stellar candidates can be a difficult task.

Here are some traits to think about when it comes to reviewing that new employee checklist:

- Reliable? Probably a pretty big one to look for. Most employees are not going to take a nap in the lounge on a regular basis, but can you trust that they are going to be around when they are supposed to be, and actually working?

- Confident? Is that new employee confident in their abilities, or are they going to continually require affirmation that they are doing things correctly? Recognition is great, but when an employee requires it to feel confident with even the simplest tasks, this can become tiresome.

- Hard Working? Is their goal to get in, watch the clock, and get out, or does that new hire exhibit the characteristics of a hard worker? Will they take pride in their job and work hard to continually improve? That is the employee you want!




- Organized? If they can’t keep things in order, how can you be sure that tasks are being done, on time?

- A Leader? When it comes time to get a job done, is the employee going to wait for someone else to take the reins or are they the type to step up and guide the process. Leadership is a critical quality that can make a big difference, especially in a large team.


- Team Player? When work is delegated to the team, is that employee going to work well within the unit or just sit back and watch the others complete the task? Not only is this bad for your bottom line (why pay someone who isn’t actually working), it can also be terrible for employee morale!



You might be thinking that many of these traits are hard to determine pre-hire, and are thus better suited to a performance assessment evaluation. Why, though, if you can gauge these traits pre-hire, would you wait until evaluation time? A great way to measure these characteristics is with a behavioural assessment. By creating a new employment checklist based on such an assessment, you can better understand an individual’s motivation and behaviour before they even join your team.

For more about how to create that new employee checklist, as well as how to find the top talent that displays these traits, please contact Permanent Search Group/PSG by calling 1-905-276-2006.