Values A Company Should Hire For

Values A Company Should Hire For

The employee : Are you willing to work late hours?
The prospective employee : Yes, I am.

The employee thinks : “That’s a loyal one I’ve got here.”
The prospective employee thinks: That’s a good excuse to get away from home (Perhaps he is having a troubled relationship at home).

The employer hires for the wrong reasons and the employee gets hired for the wrong reasons. Their values just don’t match here. Which brought in the question – what are values in business?

Value may be an abstract concept, but it is the essence of how a business functions. There is no yardstick to measure value, but there are some qualities that contribute to it. Companies looking to hire a good employee can look for these values in him.

While talking from the employee perspective, he must be familiar with the terms, mission, vision and values in business before applying for job in a particular company. They are also fancy terms that form the essence of a company – the beliefs and principles followed by the company. While companies focus on technical competencies, they tend to forget the basic values they should be hiring for. Any time these values don’t match with the employee, friction happens and the relationship goes haywire.

Here are the basic values you should look out for when you are hiring

Integrity

It is not a surprising fact at all. Employees with integrity become successful. Just for example’s sake, imagine that the project manager has given an employee a particular task; say, a presentation for a client. Unfortunately, the presentation itself got rescheduled because the client had to leave for a personal emergency. The employee puts off completing his presentation and will not attempt it until he hears the client is back. This employee is not working with integrity here. He should have completed the presentation and made the necessary update as and when required. Whether you are being watched or not, you have to keep working. While interviewing your prospective employee, make sure he is a person with integrity.

Accountability

Accountability at workplace is a must. It is applicable to both the employee and the boss, and irrespective of hierarchy. A person with good degree of accountability will:

• Be present at work during his entire shift/or till the next person relieves him
• Completes all the tasks that are assigned to him on time
• Assumes responsibility for the tasks that he has to do
• Is consistent in doing the right moves applicable to the job

Just as the employee is responsible for his actions, the company also has certain responsibilities towards him. When both follow what is expected of the other there is accountability on both sides.

Work-life balance

Work-life balance is a broad concept where you learn to prioritize work and your lifestyle. Here “work” denotes career, ambition and achieving company goals, and “life” could be your personal life outside of work. In today’s society, the word busy is synonymous with success and sometimes, your employee might be willing to sacrifice a little bit of pleasure to get work done. However, it is within the responsibility realm of the company that the employee gets sufficient free time so he can spend time with his family and feel no regrets. You can also do little things by ensuring your employee doesn’t skip his meals, gets free time to recharge himself and participates in the parties and fun activities held in the company. For a good work-life balance, the office ambience should encourage a fun and free culture.

Commitment to work

According to Insight National Employee Satisfaction Study, only about 21% of the employees feel entirely committed to their employers and only 12% of the employers feel committed to their employees. Even so, this definitely should be a value you should hire for. There are several ways in which you can improve the commitment levels of your employees once you have hired them. Commitment plays a fundamental role in the success of a company and unless priorities on both sides are met, there will be no commitment on both sides.

Paying attention to detail

This is definitely a value your employee should be having. In today’s work culture, your employee will have to handle multiple tasks at a time, but he cannot lose his attention to detail. To know how detailed and thorough he is as a professional, you can analyze his resume.

Passion

Employee passion is crucial. You can check for your prospective employee’s passion by checking his work record and his achievement over the years. You don’t need an employee who just goes through the motions of work automatically and mechanically. When a person is passionate, he would love his work and works actively. A passionate employee would not just follow orders blindly, but thinks for himself and encourages others.

Ambition

Ambition is not a negative trait when used in the right manner. Without ambition, your business would stagnate and if you do not have motivational or ambitious people working for you, your business will not go anywhere. Ambition, combined with previously mentioned values would be a good combination for the success of your business.

Conclusion

The core values mentioned above would always remain the same in business, while strategies and practices change. The prospective employee must also be aware of your company’s goals and relate to them. Keep these in mind when you hire.

Interesting links about the topic:
Why it is Important To Have Shared Values Between Companies and Its Employees ?
Different Ways Hire People Who Fit a Company’s Culture
Why Should Hiring Should Be Match To Your Company’s Values

Pictures: Flicker.com / 드림포유 / Vadim Timoshkin

The author: Reema Oamkumar is engaged as a thought leader at www.Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.