As any business owner knows, finding quality, dedicated employees and retaining them is no easy feat. When you have an especially valuable employee, it’s important to recognize his or her talents and show your appreciation through some type of reward whenever possible. 

If you’re not sure how to recognize a valuable employee, we outline employee traits below that can help you know when you have a star player on your team.

Valuable Employees Are Unconcerned with Their Own Ego

Any good business owner knows that ego can get in the way of effective collaboration and even sabotage projects from the start. People with large egos often want all the credit when things go well and none of the blame when they don’t. They’re most concerned with how they appear to others rather than the good of the project or the team. 

Highly valuable employees, on the other hand, don’t wrap their sense of self-worth around how others see them as an individual. They’re much more concerned with making honest contributions and take ownership of their own mistakes.

Consistently Positive Attitude

No one can feel happy and positive 100 percent of the time. Even so, the most valuable employees understand that mindset is everything and they choose to remain as positive as possible. 

They rarely complain, talk about others behind their back, or attempt to take credit for something they didn’t actually do. This sense of ownership over their own contributions and positive attitude can act as a cascade when others pick up on it and emulate the highly valuable employee.

Valuable Employees Are Proactive

The most valuable employees never sit around after finishing some work and wait for someone to tell them what to do. Instead, they look for solutions on their own and solve problems before less motivated employees even know they exist. 

People with these employee traits also have excellent multi-tasking skills and feel excited about learning new skills. They are often proactive about the latter as well, seeking classes, workshops, and other opportunities to become even more valuable to your company.

Flexibility is the Name of the Game

You will never hear your most valuable employees say, “that’s not my job.” While understanding that their own job duties come first, they’re happy to jump in and do whatever needs to be done. 

They’re flexible enough to know that priorities and procedures change without becoming so attached to a certain way of doing things that they become upset when you need to make changes. These employees never see themselves as above doing any job when everyone benefits from it in the long run. 

Need Help Recognizing Your Best Employees?

It’s human nature to take people for granted, especially when they have proven themselves dependable. We invite you to schedule an appointment with Capital Business Strategies today to learn more about attracting, retaining, and rewarding your most valuable staff.